Have you defined, stated, and promoted your business’s core values? Do you use them in the day-to-day running of your company? Do you review them when making tough decisions? Do you refer to your values when you hire and fire? I sure hope so!
It seems logical to me that values must be stated and used to run any business. I only began to truly appreciate a values-driven organization when I had to articulate them for a small business that I ran. The supporting culture and legacy were there; the values simply needed to be captured and used more directly in running the business. Yet, it still amazes me to see how many entities don’t formalize their values.
To get a great feel for how to create and run a values-driven business, read “Control Your Destiny Or Someone Else Will” by Tichy and Sherman (http://brev.is/2bE3). The book covers Jack Welch’s leadership successes at GE. Creating and living by a concrete set of values is precisely what laid the foundation for GE’s amazing transformation under Welch. Welch’s approach can be tailored to run businesses large and small. When I captured the values for the small business mentioned above, I started with GE’s original values and worked with the team to tailor ours. We ended up with a set of values that accurately reflected our legacy culture while preparing us to realize our future vision.
Here are the values we adopted:
Customer
Passionately focus on driving customer success, and show infectious enthusiasm for our customers. Provide them with more than what they need.
Integrity
Exercise sound judgment and the highest standards of ethical behavior in support of our vision and goals. Be direct and truthful. Respect each other and appreciate our diversity of perspectives. Allocate resources judiciously .
Team Work
Foster an environment of mutual service, not self-service. Succeed as a team; be greater than the sum of the parts. Do what is necessary, when it is necessary, even if we don’t feel like it. Create excitement, have some fun.
Execution
Execute rapidly and intelligently; passionately, proactively, and with thoughtful planning. Insist on excellence. Stay intolerant of “bureaucracy for bureaucracy’s sake.” Meet or exceed goals. Reward improvement and celebrate results.
Urgency
Get things done. Sustain an atmosphere that energizes and engages others. Make difficult decisions when it’s the right thing to do. Motivate and hold each other accountable. Embrace change for the growth opportunities it brings.
We referred to our values in meetings. They were called out during heated debate. We had them posted on the wall in strategic locations around the business for ready access. We used them to check ourselves when making difficult decisions. We used them to run the business.
We run our families based on a set of core values. I shouldn’t admit this, but my children can recite the definition of discipline: “Doing what needs to be done, when it needs to be done, if even if we don’t feel like it.” I managed to get that value inserted into the list above. As a family, we live by our values daily. Businesses need to live by their values, too.
Values matter. They form the very foundation of a business. They don’t take long to define and articulate. Once you have them in place, they help guide the business forward. I hope you have articulated a set of values for your business and that you use them regularly to guide your company.
Here are some links containing content about business values for your reading pleasure:
http://www.mpdailyfix.com/do-values-matter/
http://smallbusiness.foxbusiness.com/entrepreneurs/2010/08/30/values-matter-new-economy/
http://www.slideshare.net/Stewart_Forsyth/do-values-matter-112
“Your beliefs become your thoughts. Your thoughts become your words. Your words become your actions. Your actions become your habits. Your habits become your values. Your values become your destiny.” ~Mahatma Gandhi
Randal Meske 