Every crisis presents opportunities for innovation and new
thinking. And while the world seems to be facing a fresh crisis every day,
whether man made or by a force of nature, there is one crisis that presents an
opportunity that every company should explore: the crisis of values.
This
post addresses one simple challenge to businesses and their leaders: examine your values and what you believe
in, make them meaningful, and then put them to work inside and outside your
company because you have a responsibility and a significant opportunity for the
changes we are seeing in the world.
Have you defined what you believe in? Examine and define
your values as a company so that they are meaningful, memorable, and support your purpose.
If a vision
articulates the change a company hopes to make in the world, and the mission is
how it plans to get there, values define the character of an organisation, and
they act as the principles that direct behaviour during the journey.
After paying the price for an explosive growth strategy,
Starbucks lost its way and ended up in a serious crisis. One of the first
things Howard Schultz did on his return as CEO was to re-examine the company's
soul and its reason for being. He made sure the mission and the values were
refreshed and bought back to life. When Bono spoke at an all-company meeting to
announce the roll-out in New Orleans, he said, "Some people say, markets
are not about morals, they are about profits. That's old thinking and false
advice. Great companies will be the ones
that find a way to have and hold on to their values while chasing their
profits, and brand value will converge to create a new business model that
unites commerce and compassion, the heart and the wallet." Today the
company is refocused and refreshed, with its share price at an all-time high.
Everything it does ladders back to its mission and is guided by living and
meaningful values.
Engage your team by sharing the values with every department
in the company to build ownership and engagement.
Companies with
unclear values leave the engagement of their people to chance, whereas
values-driven companies are organic and human communities that function with
passion and focus. As individuals, we are what we believe in and companies
are what their people believe in. Values that live on a wall in a conference
room are often lengthy and forgettable, but shared
values that are alive and authentic drive conviction, consistency, and
clarity. Integrating values and a
connection to human needs into a company's business model, and throughout each
department, presents significant opportunities for innovation. Values connect
and motivate people, and can super-charge teams with energy and commitment in
tough times. They are the lifeblood of a culture, the buttons when pushed
that brings a company to life. Do you know what your company and brand values
are? Have you shared the values your company lives by?
Operationalise your values in every department to challenge
them to develop action-based plans. Having a clear set of values provides a common
communications platform and a set of routines that help connect all departments
and reduce organisational complexity. It
gives people a basis for collaboration--a common vocabulary, a common language,
a common set of principles for decision-making. While the world might be
changing, values that remain constant provide a foundation for stability and
growth. Values people care about inspire them to look for new problems to solve
and to keep anticipating change. Have you shared your values with each
department in the company that have to develop plans to bring them to life?
Develop simple methods to measure the impact of living
values and find appropriate ways to celebrate them regularly.
We know that when
people buy products they build emotional connections with brands. For brands to
make connections they have to express meaningful values. Like the dynamics
of a deep and lasting friendship, these connections are made stronger when
common values are clear and present. Values
are people-centred beliefs that connect people, groups inside of a company with
different skills in different departments, and consumers outside with the
brand. Shared values that are demonstrated in choices and behaviours from a
company create opportunities to engage and inspire people inside and outside of
the organisation.
Have you celebrated your values and the impact they have on
the company's culture and its performance? If not, now is the time to start.
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