‘Capital’ means ‘Principal.’ What does ‘Principal’ mean in business? The ultimate goal of any business is to create wealth. Wealth serves as the foundation for creating value, and that value must be generated solely through production. To produce, the cost must be invested first; the source of that cost is referred to as ‘Principal.’ In other words, the result of a transaction through trading is ‘revenues,’ and if costs and expenses are subtracted from sales, what remains is ‘profit.’ If costs and expenses exceed revenues, it results in a losing trade; if they are lower, it results in a profitable trade. Therefore, principal serves as the benchmark for profitability; in other words, it is referred to as capital. Whether a business is good or bad is determined by its profitability. If the principal is insufficient, borrowing capital becomes necessary, which is termed “debt.” Just as the number of principals capable of producing tankers differs from those that can create bicycles, the si...
Let’s say you have two options. If you press the blue button , you will receive 1 million USD, and if you press the red button , you will receive 10 million USD, but the probability of winning is 50%. Which button would you press? If pressing the blue button is business, pressing the red button is gambling. In other words, depending on your attitude toward the relationship between risk and reward , we can determine whether we are suitable as managers. But if you press the red button with a 50% chance of winning and you don’t win, and you have to pay a fine of 1 million USD, would you still press the red button? The relationship between risk and reward influences people’s behavior. Business is about creating a structure that is advantageous to me, and building a system in which the structure continues to benefit me is called management. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”