--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Another thing he told his customers was…" description: "\"Another thing he told his customers was that one of the great accounting unknowns of the modern age was how to value knowledge. It was an exciting fiel..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cfc/jane-smiley-2120_accounting_another-thing-he-told-his-customers-was_2834050.png" --- # Another thing he told his customers was that one of the… ![“Another thing he told his customers was that one of the great accounting unknowns of the modern age was how to value knowledge. It was an exciting field.” quote by Jane Smiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cfc/jane-smiley-2120_accounting_another-thing-he-told-his-customers-was_2834050.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cfc/jane-smiley-2120_accounting_another-thing-he-told-his-customers-was_2834050.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cfc/jane-smiley-2120_accounting_another-thing-he-told-his-customers-was_2834050.png) > “Another thing he told his customers was that one of the great accounting unknowns of the modern age was how to value knowledge. It was an exciting field.” [Jane Smiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-smiley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Valuing knowledge is a complex, often overlooked challenge in modern economies **In simple terms:** Knowledge is hard to price Key Takeaway Consider knowledge as a strategic asset Themes economics valuation knowledge management Mood analytical thoughtful Type explanatory inspirational When to use this quote - corporate strategy meetings - R&D budgeting - educational funding decisions Key Concepts intangible assets intellectual property knowledge economy Questions to Reflect On - How can organizations better assess knowledge value? - What metrics could capture knowledge impact? A Different Perspective Knowledge may be intangible and difficult to measure ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Accounting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accounting/) [Accounting Unknowns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accounting-unknowns-3679033/) [Age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) [Assessment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assessment/) [Customers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/customers/) [Exciting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exciting/) [Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fields/) [Great Accounting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-accounting-3679035/) [Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge/) [Knowledge Exciting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge-exciting-3679034/) [Modern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modern/) [Modern age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modern-age/) [Unknowns Modern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unknowns-modern-3679036/) [Value Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/value-knowledge-1174543/) [Values](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/values/) ## Related quotes > [Creativity is great-but not in accounting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-scott/creativity-is-great-but-not-in-accounting/) [Charles Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-scott/) > [The value of knowledge is to use it. It is not humanly possible that a person can retain all knowledge of the world, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-garvey/the-value-of-knowledge-is-to-use-it-it-is-not-humanly-possible-that-a/) [Marcus Garvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-garvey/) > [People value that part of knowledge which is known. They do not know how to avail themselves of the Unknown in order to reach…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhuangzi/people-value-that-part-of-knowledge-which-is-known-they-do-not-know/) [Zhuangzi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhuangzi/) > [“Knowledge means true leadership. Honor paid to a man because of his wealth or his power ought not to please him, because it may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-rosenthal/knowledge-means-true-leadership-honor-paid-to-a-man-because-of-his/) [Franz Rosenthal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-rosenthal/) > [“Understanding has more value than knowledge.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-redhead/understanding-has-more-value-than-knowledge/) [Steven Redhead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-redhead/) > [“What was to be the value of the long looked forward to, Long hoped for calm, the autumnal serenity And the wisdom of age?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot-2/what-was-to-be-the-value-of-the-long-looked-forward-to-long-hoped-for/) [T.S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot-2/) > [“In general, sharing and using things decreases their value. However, knowledge increases by implementation and especially by sharing among people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eraldo-banovac/in-general-sharing-and-using-things-decreases-their-value-however/) [Eraldo Banovac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eraldo-banovac/) > [There is only one kind of wisdom that has any social value, and that is the knowledge of one's own limitations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-is-only-one-kind-of-wisdom-that-has-any-social-value-and-that/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Mind you, there is no value in learning. You are all mistaken in learning. The only value of knowledge is in the strengthening, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/mind-you-there-is-no-value-in-learning-you-are-all-mistaken-in/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [There is, it seems to us, At best, only a limited value In the knowledge derived from experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/there-is-it-seems-to-us-at-best-only-a-limited-value-in-the-knowledge/) [T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/) > [The worth and value of knowledge is in proportion to the worth and value of its object.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/the-worth-and-value-of-knowledge-is-in-proportion-to-the-worth-and/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) > [“I am going to tell a story now, and though I've made a life out of writing words, this is the first time I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dexter-palmer/i-am-going-to-tell-a-story-now-and-though-i-ve-made-a-life-out-of/) [Dexter Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dexter-palmer/) > [“It is perhaps, its ability to penetrate the multidimensional layers of the human condition at all, that makes poetry and art so valuable in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atalina-wright/it-is-perhaps-its-ability-to-penetrate-the-multidimensional-layers-of/) [Atalina Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atalina-wright/) > [“Now everything is done by machines, technology has relieved you of much work. What to do? You become aggressive, you fight, you get angry.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bhagwan-shree-rajneesh/now-everything-is-done-by-machines-technology-has-relieved-you-of/) [Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bhagwan-shree-rajneesh/) > [“The fact is that libertarianism is not and does not pretend to be a complete moral or aesthetic theory; it is only a political…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-n-rothbard/the-fact-is-that-libertarianism-is-not-and-does-not-pretend-to-be-a/) [Murray N. Rothbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-n-rothbard/) ## More by Jane Smiley > [Some novelists are luckier than others in the eras of their formative intellectual years, but all Weltanschauungs return, which means that most novelists have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-smiley/some-novelists-are-luckier-than-others-in-the-eras-of-their-formative/) [Jane Smiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-smiley/) > [There can never be such a thing as a free market, because it is human nature to cheat, monopolize, and buy off others so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-smiley/there-can-never-be-such-a-thing-as-a-free-market-because-it-is-human/) [Jane Smiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-smiley/) > [The only siblings I have are half-siblings. My nuclear family would have been an extra-suffocating threesome. 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It seemed like I had, but actually,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-smiley/we-watched-the-swimmers-and-sunbathers-and-i-thought-about-this-had-i/) [Jane Smiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-smiley/) > [“They throw themselves on the waters of the world, and they know they will be borne up.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-smiley/they-throw-themselves-on-the-waters-of-the-world-and-they-know-they/) [Jane Smiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-smiley/) > [everything is toxic. That's the point. You can't avoid toxins. Thinking you can is just another symptom of the toxic overload stage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-smiley/everything-is-toxic-that-s-the-point-you-can-t-avoid-toxins-thinking/) [Jane Smiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-smiley/) > [“Shame is a distinct feeling. I couldn’t look at my hands around the coffee cup or hear my own laments without feeling appalled, wanting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-smiley/shame-is-a-distinct-feeling-i-couldn-t-look-at-my-hands-around-the/) [Jane Smiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-smiley/) > [“She could not have created this moment, these lovely faces, these candles flickering, the flash of the silverware, the fragrances of the food hanging…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-smiley/she-could-not-have-created-this-moment-these-lovely-faces-these/) [Jane Smiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-smiley/) > [Horse racing is really much more intimidating than anything having to do with literature. When I had horses at the racetrack, I would wake…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-smiley/horse-racing-is-really-much-more-intimidating-than-anything-having-to/) [Jane Smiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-smiley/) > [“Had I faced all the facts It seemed like I had but actually you never know just by remembering how many there were to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-smiley/had-i-faced-all-the-facts-it-seemed-like-i-had-but-actually-you-never/) [Jane Smiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-smiley/) > [A theory of creativity is actually just a metaphor. A pool of ideas, a well of memories, a voice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-smiley/a-theory-of-creativity-is-actually-just-a-metaphor-a-pool-of-ideas-a/) [Jane Smiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-smiley/) > [There are hundreds of Frank Lloyd Wright buildings around the United States and in other countries, too. Wright lived into his 90s, and one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-smiley/there-are-hundreds-of-frank-lloyd-wright-buildings-around-the-united/) [Jane Smiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-smiley/) [Explore all 185 Jane Smiley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-smiley/) ## More Accounting quotes > [We do not know enough about how the present will lead into the future. We shall never be able to say, "Ha! My perception,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-bateson/we-do-not-know-enough-about-how-the-present-will-lead-into-the-future/) [Gregory Bateson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-bateson/) > [“Outer happiness has Diminishing Marginal Utility; the more it grows, the satisfaction decreases. Resort to inner happiness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrmn-ca-vikram-verma/outer-happiness-has-diminishing-marginal-utility-the-more-it-grows/) [Vikrmn: CA Vikram Verma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrmn-ca-vikram-verma/) > [Regulations for international accounting and funding will have to be examined to identify policies that inadvertently discourage institutional investors from putting their resources into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-angel-gurria/regulations-for-international-accounting-and-funding-will-have-to-be/) [Jose Angel Gurria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-angel-gurria/) > [There is no business like show business. There is also no business like certified public accounting, but that doesn't rhyme as well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-shaw-gardner/there-is-no-business-like-show-business-there-is-also-no-business/) [Craig Shaw Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-shaw-gardner/) > [“With great goals, comes the high costs; both fixed and variable. Time is the fixed cost; efforts, variable. Spend passionately.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrmn-ca-vikram-verma/with-great-goals-comes-the-high-costs-both-fixed-and-variable-time-is/) [Vikrmn: CA Vikram Verma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrmn-ca-vikram-verma/) > [The reaction of weak management to weak operations is often weak accounting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-buffett/the-reaction-of-weak-management-to-weak-operations-is-often-weak/) [Warren Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-buffett/) > [“Financial statements are my novels, I am a Chartered Accountant.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrmn-ca-vikram-verma/financial-statements-are-my-novels-i-am-a-chartered-accountant/) [Vikrmn: CA Vikram Verma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrmn-ca-vikram-verma/) > [The religious hypothesis, therefore, must be considered only as a particular method of accounting for the visible phenomena of the universe: but no just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/the-religious-hypothesis-therefore-must-be-considered-only-as-a/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [Accounting consequences do not influence our operating or capital-allocation decisions. When acquisition costs are similar, we much prefer to purchase $2 of earnings that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-buffett/accounting-consequences-do-not-influence-our-operating-or-capital/) [Warren Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-buffett/) > [By their victory, the 3rd, 4th and 5th Marine Divisions and other units of the Fifth Amphibious Corps have made an accounting to their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-w-nimitz/by-their-victory-the-3rd-4th-and-5th-marine-divisions-and-other-units/) [Chester W. Nimitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-w-nimitz/) > [“Invest in self-improvement, be it for learning, be it for earning.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrmn-ca-vikram-verma/invest-in-self-improvement-be-it-for-learning-be-it-for-earning/) [Vikrmn: CA Vikram Verma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrmn-ca-vikram-verma/) > [“In the race to scale a startup, overlooking financial planning is like to building a skyscraper on shaky ground. True growth stems from decisions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-hishmeh/in-the-race-to-scale-a-startup-overlooking-financial-planning-is-like/) [Jason Hishmeh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-hishmeh/) > [One of the things that we're missing from our political dialogue right now is the idea that the United States is a home. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-miller/one-of-the-things-that-we-re-missing-from-our-political-dialogue/) [Stephen Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-miller/) > [There's no business like show business, but there are several businesses like accounting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-letterman/there-s-no-business-like-show-business-but-there-are-several/) [David Letterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-letterman/) > [“Debit the knowledge; credit the books.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrmn-ca-vikram-verma/debit-the-knowledge-credit-the-books/) [Vikrmn: CA Vikram Verma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrmn-ca-vikram-verma/) [Browse all 352 Accounting quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accounting/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Another thing he told his customers was that one of the great accounting unknowns of the modern age was how to value knowledge. 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