---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The scarce resource is no longer money…"
description: "\"“The scarce resource is no longer money. It’s human ability.”\" — Geoff Colvin"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e98/geoff-colvin-43142_money_the-scarce-resource-is-no-longer-money-i_2451234.jpg"
---

#  The scarce resource is no longer money. It’s human ability.

![“The scarce resource is no longer money. It’s human ability.” quote by Geoff Colvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e98/geoff-colvin-43142_money_the-scarce-resource-is-no-longer-money-i_2451234.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e98/geoff-colvin-43142_money_the-scarce-resource-is-no-longer-money-i_2451234.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e98/geoff-colvin-43142_money_the-scarce-resource-is-no-longer-money-i_2451234.jpg)

> ““The scarce resource is no longer money. It’s human ability.””

[Geoff Colvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoff-colvin/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Human talent, not money, is the most valuable resource today.

**In simple terms:** Talent is the key resource now.

Key Takeaway

Invest in developing people.

Themes

human capital talent resource scarcity economics

Mood

strategic inspirational

Type

analytical optimistic

When to use this quote

- hiring
- team building
- strategic planning
- policy making

Key Concepts

skill development education innovation leadership

Questions to Reflect On

- How can organizations nurture talent equitably?
- What policies protect human capital?

A Different Perspective

Talent can be unevenly distributed.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/)

## Related quotes

> [The most scarce resource we have these days is the idea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dj-spooky/the-most-scarce-resource-we-have-these-days-is-the-idea/)

[DJ Spooky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dj-spooky/)

> [Set the basketball on the kitchen table. Open a cupboard, get out a bottle of sesame seeds, and place a single seed beside the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ashworth/set-the-basketball-on-the-kitchen-table-open-a-cupboard-get-out-a/)

William Ashworth

> [All of the economic signals in the marketplace are essentially subsidizing the use of dirty fossil fuels and penalizing clean energy. There's really only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-inslee/all-of-the-economic-signals-in-the-marketplace-are-essentially/)

[Jay Inslee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-inslee/)

> [The most abundant resources that we possess amongst the 1.5 million nonprofits in the United States are passion and knowledge, yet our most scarce…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-braun/the-most-abundant-resources-that-we-possess-amongst-the-1-5-million/)

[Adam Braun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-braun/)

> [The critical thing about the design process is to identify your scarcest resource. Despite what you may think, that very often is not money.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-brooks/the-critical-thing-about-the-design-process-is-to-identify-your/)

[Fred Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-brooks/)

> [To put it simply and a bit crudely: Our economy is demanding more well-educated workers than our schools are providing. To attract this scarce…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-davidson/to-put-it-simply-and-a-bit-crudely-our-economy-is-demanding-more-well/)

[Adam Davidson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-davidson/)

> [Assume that a surgeon has discovered how to do brain surgery, that he can do only one a month, that 1,000 persons a year…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-read/assume-that-a-surgeon-has-discovered-how-to-do-brain-surgery-that-he/)

[Leonard Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-read/)

> [We must recognize that only scarce resources are ownable; second, that the body is a type of scarce resource; third, that the mode of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephan-kinsella/we-must-recognize-that-only-scarce-resources-are-ownable-second-that/)

[Stephan Kinsella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephan-kinsella/)

> [The definition of the problem, rather than its solution, will be the scarce resource in the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-dyson/the-definition-of-the-problem-rather-than-its-solution-will-be-the/)

[Esther Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-dyson/)

> [“until the late twentieth century—the scarce resource in business was financial capital. If you had it, you had the means to create more wealth,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoff-colvin/until-the-late-twentieth-century-the-scarce-resource-in-business-was/)

[Geoff Colvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoff-colvin/)

> [We become LESS OF A MAN if we exchange FREEDOM for MONEY. We become MORE HUMAN if we receive MONEY for the WELFARE OF…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richie-tien/we-become-less-of-a-man-if-we-exchange-freedom-for-money-we-become/)

[Richie Tien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richie-tien/)

> [Money is human happiness in the abstract: he, then, who is no longer capable of enjoying human happiness in the concrete devotes his heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/money-is-human-happiness-in-the-abstract-he-then-who-is-no-longer-2/)

[Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/)

> [Multinational corporations and a market economy have transformed human beings into instruments of making money. Human beings should be the end. And money should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/satish-kumar/multinational-corporations-and-a-market-economy-have-transformed/)

[Satish Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/satish-kumar/)

> [Money is human happiness in the abstract; he, then, who is no longer capable of enjoying human happiness in the concrete devotes himself utterly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/money-is-human-happiness-in-the-abstract-he-then-who-is-no-longer/)

[Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/)

> [Money is human kind's greatest invention. Money doesn't discriminate. Money doesn't care whether a person is poor, whether a person comes from a good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/takafumi-horie/money-is-human-kind-s-greatest-invention-money-doesn-t-discriminate/)

[Takafumi Horie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/takafumi-horie/)

## More by Geoff Colvin

> [“deliberate practice requires that one identify certain sharply defined elements of performance that need to be improved, and then work intently on them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoff-colvin/deliberate-practice-requires-that-one-identify-certain-sharply/)

[Geoff Colvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoff-colvin/)

> [“Mozart’s earliest symphonies, brief works written when he was just eight, hew closely to the style of Johann Christian Bach, with whom he was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoff-colvin/mozart-s-earliest-symphonies-brief-works-written-when-he-was-just/)

[Geoff Colvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoff-colvin/)

> [“When Tchaikovsky finished writing his Violin Concerto in 1878, he asked the famous violinist Leopold Auer to give the premier performance. Auer studied the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoff-colvin/when-tchaikovsky-finished-writing-his-violin-concerto-in-1878-he/)

[Geoff Colvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoff-colvin/)

> [“If you set a goal of becoming an expert in your business, you would immediately start doing all kinds of things you don't do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoff-colvin/if-you-set-a-goal-of-becoming-an-expert-in-your-business-you-would/)

[Geoff Colvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoff-colvin/)

> [“until the late twentieth century—the scarce resource in business was financial capital. If you had it, you had the means to create more wealth,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoff-colvin/until-the-late-twentieth-century-the-scarce-resource-in-business-was/)

[Geoff Colvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoff-colvin/)

> [“if customer ignorance is a profit center for you, you’re in trouble.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoff-colvin/if-customer-ignorance-is-a-profit-center-for-you-you-re-in-trouble/)

[Geoff Colvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoff-colvin/)

> [“Ambitious parents who are currently playing the ‘Baby Mozart’ video for their toddlers may be disappointed to learn that Mozart became Mozart by working…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoff-colvin/ambitious-parents-who-are-currently-playing-the-baby-mozart-video-for/)

[Geoff Colvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoff-colvin/)

> [“What you want—really, deeply want—is fundamental because deliberate practice is a heavy investment.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoff-colvin/what-you-want-really-deeply-want-is-fundamental-because-deliberate/)

[Geoff Colvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoff-colvin/)

[Explore all 9 Geoff Colvin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoff-colvin/)

## More Money quotes

> [You've got to tell your money what to do or it will leave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-ramsey/you-ve-got-to-tell-your-money-what-to-do-or-it-will-leave/)

[Dave Ramsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-ramsey/)

> [Don't let's lose sight of what creates wealth. It is open markets, it is capitalism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-murdoch/don-t-let-s-lose-sight-of-what-creates-wealth-it-is-open-markets-it/)

[Rupert Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-murdoch/)

> [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/)

[Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/)

> [Money is the kind of instrument which is very speedily produced.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatoly-chubais/money-is-the-kind-of-instrument-which-is-very-speedily-produced/)

[Anatoly Chubais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatoly-chubais/)

> [I would borrow money all day long, if the cost of borrowing is less than the expected return.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-schneider/i-would-borrow-money-all-day-long-if-the-cost-of-borrowing-is-less/)

[Brad Schneider](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-schneider/)

> [If you restore a car, and you're making money, then you're doing it wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-leno/if-you-restore-a-car-and-you-re-making-money-then-you-re-doing-it/)

[Jay Leno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-leno/)

> [Maybe you can,t buy a big house.. A new car.. A huge diamond ring.. But if you have just one true friend who loves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cathy/maybe-you-can-t-buy-a-big-house-a-new-car-a-huge-diamond-ring-but-if/)

Cathy

> [“Don't allow money to become the yardstick by which you measure the worth of the world around you!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-james-pritchard/don-t-allow-money-to-become-the-yardstick-by-which-you-measure-the/)

[Andrew James Pritchard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-james-pritchard/)

> [Academically, I was never that interested. I skipped classes. My biggest dream was to have a coffee shop, but I had no idea how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-espinosa/academically-i-was-never-that-interested-i-skipped-classes-my-biggest/)

[Daniel Espinosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-espinosa/)

> [Amongst the financial Twitterati, the term 'muppets' has come to describe any client used and abused by some financial predator. I've adopted the term…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-ritholtz/amongst-the-financial-twitterati-the-term-muppets-has-come-to/)

[Barry Ritholtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-ritholtz/)

> [I doubt that we Americans can come to terms with our money neuroses without understanding the more florid pathology of the very rich for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-slater/i-doubt-that-we-americans-can-come-to-terms-with-our-money-neuroses/)

[Philip Slater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-slater/)

> [“The writer must earn money in order to be able to live and to write, but he must by no means live and write…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-goins/the-writer-must-earn-money-in-order-to-be-able-to-live-and-to-write/)

[Jeff Goins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-goins/)

> [Jobs and money are never the primary cause of stress. Thinking, negative thinking causes stress. The real cause of all problems lie in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-proctor/jobs-and-money-are-never-the-primary-cause-of-stress-thinking/)

[Bob Proctor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-proctor/)

> [Most paper money initially existed as a substitute for gold. That's what gave it value. But right now what gives a currency value is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-schiff/most-paper-money-initially-existed-as-a-substitute-for-gold-that-s/)

[Peter Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-schiff/)

> [The man who works for the gold in the job rather than for the money in the pay envelope, is the fellow who gets…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-french-johnson/the-man-who-works-for-the-gold-in-the-job-rather-than-for-the-money/)

Joseph French Johnson

[Browse all 45,172 Money quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“The scarce resource is no longer money. It’s human ability.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Geoff Colvin"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoff-colvin/the-scarce-resource-is-no-longer-money-it-s-human-ability/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Money"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoff-colvin/the-scarce-resource-is-no-longer-money-it-s-human-ability/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e98/geoff-colvin-43142_money_the-scarce-resource-is-no-longer-money-i_2451234.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e98/geoff-colvin-43142_money_the-scarce-resource-is-no-longer-money-i_2451234.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e98/geoff-colvin-43142_money_the-scarce-resource-is-no-longer-money-i_2451234.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“The scarce resource is no longer money. It’s human ability.” — Geoff Colvin",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Geoff Colvin",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoff-colvin/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“The scarce resource is no longer...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoff-colvin/the-scarce-resource-is-no-longer-money-it-s-human-ability/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoff-colvin/the-scarce-resource-is-no-longer-money-it-s-human-ability/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
