In fear of writing something redundant on my “PHD in CEO” blog, I searched Forbes.com for “company values.” Nothing.
How about “culture and values”? Nope.
How about “employee values”? – “First Impressions Count: The Business Value for Dressing for Success.”
Not really.
How about “corporate values”? Eureka! “Corporate Values” was a contender in the 2012 Jargon Madness bracket, which allows readers to determine a winner of the most “meaningless business jargon” of the year. “Corporate Values” topped “Make Hay” in the first round, but tragically lost to “Lots of Moving Parts” in the following round. Though “Drinking the Kool-Aid” took the 2012 Jargon Madness Title, here is the tourney’s visceral description of “Corporate Values”:
“This expression is so suffused with phoniness it churns the stomach. Corporations don’t have values, the people who run them do.“
I know that Jargon Madness was whimsical (I hope), but in the spirit of making an argument on my blog, allow me to take issue with the tourney’s description of “corporate values.” A company’s core values are not based on the “people who run them,” but are the very fabric of every person involved in the company – from executive team to brand new hire. My beloved 1975 Philadelphia Flyers were the “Broad Street Bullies” not because Fred Shero was a tough-as-nails, spit-in-your eye Head Coach COH -0.11% (he was), but the entire team was filled with guys named “Moose,” “The Hammer,” “Machine Gun Kelly,” and a goaltender who loved to smell new shoe leather (Bernie Parent, look it up). Company values are the antitheses of “phony ” and extremely powerful tools that are a necessity of any sized business.
Realizing that lists increase readership, here are my top three reasons why company values are critical to the long-term growth and value of your business:
1) Values are how you hire. It’s been said that when hiring, employers should trade 90 percent talent for just 10 percent character. Hiring the person who best fits your team is vastly more important than the technical expertise that they may bring. Your company values will determine if the person you are interviewing will be able to talk with your team, share with your team and not be a nuisance or an HR nightmare. If “passion” and “accountability” are important to your company, ask each candidate how they are inspired by life and to describe a situation where they had to take ownership of a project from start to finish.
2) Values are how you change behavior. At gap intelligence people are not late to work, instead they are not being “professional” – a strongly held gapCore Value. By focusing on your values, rather than the isolated infraction at hand, it takes away any personal feelings that may be attributed to the corrective feedback. By replacing “Why are you late!?!?” with “Being late is unprofessional and professionalism is very important to us here. What can you do tomorrow to fix this?” is vastly more effective in correcting behavior.
3. Values are the heart of your culture. By hiring based on values and holding each other accountable to the company’s standards, the values become the fabric of the organization’s culture – regardless of who is in charge. If you hire people who lie, cheat, and steal, in time your company culture will be the same. If you want your company to be innovative, you’ll need a team of “smart,” “curious,” “problem solvers” on your staff. The best way to hire and keep smart, curious, problem solvers is to already have an office filled with like-minded people who share the same values.
“Corporate Values” are everything. “Drinking the Kool-Aid” is meaningless jargon.
gap intelligence’s gapCore Values:
- Accountable: We own what we do.
- Professional: A+ work. We carry ourselves with respect and maturity and work with knowledge and confidence every day.
- Willing: Open to new ideas and challenges.
- Passionate: Inspired by life.
- Transparent: Be real. Be open. Be honest. We are building an environment of trust.
“And maybe I’m a little smarter now than I was before all the stupid things I’ve done.” – Herb Brooks
Gary Peterson, Contributor
I write about becoming a better CEO one goof at a time.
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