The Hierarchy of Value

In the last couple of weeks, I had numerous conversations about what I call the hierarchy of value. A good friend of mine, I call him Jeff, a private equity investor coined this term to me a few years ago. He used this model to decide which improvement projects to invest in and which to pass on in his companies. He wanted simple rules to help his management teams that go beyond hard value and soft value.
The Hierarchy of Value
1. Revenue Growth
2. Process or Cost Efficiency
3. Long Term Value with Quick Wins
4. Soft / Unclear Value