Up to this point, we have talked about value without introducing any formal theory.
This was intentional.
Value exists, moves, and affects outcomes regardless of whether we have a theory to describe it. However, without a consistent conceptual language, our understanding remains fragmented and intuitive.
This is where the Theory of Value Management (VMT) begins.
What VMT is
The Theory of Value Management is a descriptive theory designed to explain how value and anti-value behave within socio-economic systems.
It does not prescribe actions, optimize decisions, or define goals.
Instead, it provides a formal language for describing:
- how value is interpreted,
- how it flows between actors,
- how expectations differ from outcomes,
- how systems remain stable or become fragile over time.
In VMT, value is not treated as an abstract number or a universal measure.
Value is understood as an interpreted change of state within a system.
This interpretation depends on context, on the actor who receives something, and on the criteria that define what “better” or “worse” means in that system.
Why a theory - and not a framework
Many approaches to value start with frameworks, tools, or best practices.
VMT intentionally does not.
A framework answers the question: “What should we do?” A theory answers a different question: “What is happening — and why?”
Without answering the second question, the first one is often based on assumptions that remain hidden and untested.
VMT exists to make those assumptions explicit.
Core ideas of VMT
At its core, VMT is built around several fundamental ideas:
- Value is contextual - it exists only within a defined value system.
- Value is interpreted - the same outcome can be valuable to one actor and useless or harmful to another.
- Value flows - it moves between actors through interactions, not through objects alone.
- Expectations and outcomes differ - planned value and realized value are structurally asymmetric.
- Value can degrade - through delays, misalignment, accumulation of anti-value, or loss of relevance.
These ideas may feel intuitive when stated informally.
VMT makes them precise.
From intuition to structure
One of the main purposes of VMT is to separate concepts that are often mixed together in everyday discussions:
- creation vs. consumption of value,
- effort vs. effect,
- expectation vs. realization,
- local success vs. system-wide impact.
By introducing explicit distinctions, VMT allows complex situations to be described consistently - even when:
- effects are delayed,
- outcomes are ambiguous,
- multiple actors interact,
- and interpretations evolve over time.
What VMT deliberately avoids
To remain analytically useful, VMT deliberately avoids several things:
- it does not define what value should be,
- it does not rank goals or actors,
- it does not provide optimization criteria,
- it does not replace economic or behavioral theory.
Instead, it provides a common descriptive layer that can coexist with different models, methods, and perspectives.
What comes next
Introducing the theory clarifies how value behaves.
But understanding value dynamics is only the first step.
As soon as value can be described consistently, a natural question arises:
If value exists, moves, and degrades in predictable ways - how can we work with it deliberately?
The Theory of Value Management explains what is happening.
What it does not provide is guidance on:
- how to design real systems around value flows,
- how to synchronize interpretations between actors,
- how to reduce resistance and anti-value,
- or how to improve system stability in practice.
Answering these questions requires more than theory.
It requires a methodology built on top of the theory.
Next: Why Æilus is needed - from theory to deliberate work with value.