Harvesting Intangible Assets

Preface

There would be no advantage to be gained by sowing a field of wheat if the harvest did not return more than was sown.

—NAPOLEON HILL

My father’s father, Morris Sherman, was a farmer in upstate New York in the 1930s and 1940s. When health complications arose in the 1950s that prevented him from working the land, he took inventory of his intellectual assets, which included deep knowledge of the regional farming community and strong and respected relationships with other farmers. He then shifted his business model to leverage these assets and refocused his attention on the family’s farm equipment dealership, which grew each year for many moons until it was sold at a healthy profit.

The Tao of Morris Sherman is simple—understand the tangible ...