 Image credit: chrisakinsdotcom It’s not hard to make decisions when you know what your values are. – Roy Disney Two thought-provoking quotes about values... Is there a value MOST important to you? Oh boy, this is a loaded question if there ever was one...recently, I posted this in my social media outlets...Humility - a modest or low view of one's own importance; humbleness. (With the image below.)  I got an interesting response from someone: "That's why she is known as Saint....but the fact is her humility list does not apply to current corporate culture. They are good but of no use." That got me thinking...is there ONE value that is the MOST important? Are there some values NOT applicable to corporate? Before we delve further, let's define core values... What Are Core Values? Core values are the fundamental beliefs of a person or organization. They are the guiding principles that dictate behavior and action. They can help people know what is right from wrong; they can help companies to determine if they are on the right path and fulfilling their business goals; and they create an unwavering and unchanging guide. There are many different types of core values and many different examples of core values depending upon the context. Core Values About Life... Often, when you hear someone discuss why they fell in love with a spouse, a cause, a company they usually mention they have the same values. They are often talking about core values, or internal beliefs that dictate how life is to be lived. Core values about life focuses around BELIEF. As parents, we also try to instill these core values in our children. Of course, core values don't always have to be positive. Some people may be driven by self-interest or greed, and these are core values as well. Corporate Core Values Companies can have core values as well. These are the guiding principles that help to define how the corporation would behave. They are usually expressed in the corporation's mission statement. Some examples of core values for a company might include commitments to:
Companies may also have negative core values as well. Companies that are solely motivated by profit, such as tobacco companies who lied to their customers about the dangers of smoking, may have been driven by core values of self-interest and an overly strong profit motive.  Identifying Core Values...Watch...
While some people or companies might expressly publish their core values, often the best way to identify these values is to watch how they act and behave. A core value is only a true core value if it has an active influence and if the people or company manage to live by it albeit, at least most of the time. Here's a partial Core Values List: Note: those in bold were found in multiple values lists... Achievement Adaptable Adventurous Ambitious Appearance Appreciation Assertive Athletic Authenticity Authority Autonomy Aware Balance Beauty Belief in Others Bliss Boldness Caring Challenge Charm Citizenship Clean Commitment Committed Community Compassion Competency Confident Consistent Contribution Cooperation Courageous Courtesy Creative Curiosity Dedication Dependable Determination Devotion Educated Efficient Empathetic Ethics Fairness Faith Fame Fast Fitness Flexible Focus Forgiveness Friendship Fun Fun-loving Genuine Gratitude Growth Happiness Honesty Hope Hospitality Humor Independent Influence Inner Harmony Innovative Inspiring Integrity Intellect Joy Justice Kindness Knowledge Leadership Learning Love Loving Loyal Loyalty Manage Meaningful Work Motivated Nurturing Open-minded Optimistic Passionate Patience Peace Pleasure Poise Polite Popularity Positive Recognition Reliable Religion Reputation Respect Responsibility Right Choices Sacrifice Security Self-Respect Service Smiling Sober Spirituality Stability Status Success Team - work Tolerance Transparent Trustworthiness Unity Vision Wealth Wisdom From a corporate perspective here are some high-flying performance-based companies and their values: Accenture Stewardship The Best People Client Value Creation One Global Network Respect for the Individual Integrity American Express Customer Commitment Quality Integrity Teamwork Respect for People Good Citizenship A Will to Win Personal Accountability AWeber Respect Cooperation Listen Invite Feedback Learn Educate Innovate Don’t Take Ourselves Too Seriously Have Fun Create Barnes & Noble Booksellers Customer Service Quality Empathy Respect Integrity Responsibility Teamwork Boston Consulting Group Integrity Respect for the Individual Diversity Clients Come First The Strategic Perspective Value Delivered Partnership Expanding the Art of the Possible Social Impact CarMax Customer focus Respect Teamwork Communication Diversity Associate development Fun Quality Pride Continuous improvement Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts Supporting Sustainability Building Communities Advancing Cancer Research Focus on the user and all else will follow. It’s best to do one thing really, really well. Fast is better than slow. Democracy on the web works. You don’t need to be at your desk to need an answer. You can make money without doing evil. There’s always more information out there. The need for information crosses all borders. You can be serious without a suit. Great just isn’t good enough. Rackspace Fanatical Support Results Substance over flash Greatness Disclosure Transparency Passion Treat like Friends and Family Salesforce.com People Technology Resources Teach For America Transformational Change Leadership Team Diversity Respect and Humility Toms Shoes Give Partnership Impact Welcome Feedback Improve Whole Foods Quality Satisfying Delighting Supporting Happiness Creating wealth Profits Caring about our communities Caring about our environment Win-win partnerships Healthy eating education Zappos Service Change Fun Weirdness Adventurous Creative Open-Minded Growth Learning Open and Honest Relationships Communication Positive Team Family Spirit More With Less Passionate Determined Humble A note about HUMILITY... Getting to one of my points about humility...notice how it did NOT appear until Zappos! So, perhaps the person in my social media post had a point...it's a head-scratcher to me... So, WHICH value is the most important? Yes! Like thumbprints, we are all DIFFERENT, our opportunity is to align ourselves with people, companies who share similar values...ideally, while being able to embrace the differences and accept the fact that we may differ from what others hold near / dear. If you are working for a company, you will be best served if your values align...misaligned and it will be only a matter of time before you disengage OR they disengage you! Are there some values NOT applicable to corporate? My opinion...nope! All values are fair game in corporate. Reflective Questions:
Mark I believe each of us is a gift. I create trusted relationships where individuals, teams and leaders NAME, CLAIM and AIM their gifts to achieve optimum performance. Interested to Learn About Yourself or Your Team? Mark is a Certified CliftonStrengths Coach, Facet5 and TotalSDI Facilitator and happy to discuss your situation. SEE Summary List of Other Blogs! Leave a Reply. |
About Mark MyetteI believe each of us is a gift. I create trusted Archives
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