đ Â Â Ignore Values at Your Peril
đ„ Â Â The Value of Values
𩠠 Values Assessment
đ Ignore Values at Your Peril
If you ignore your values, you risk crashing your brand.
Major brand crises are often linked to a lapse in core values. In 2015, Volkswagen was caught installing software that fooled environmental agencies into thinking their diesel engines met emissions standards. They did not.
The consequences were devastating. Beyond the fines and lost revenue, the most visible scar is the company no longer sells diesel cars in North America.
Strategies can change, but values donât. Your companyâs core values are the backbone of your companyâs culture and how it approaches every challenge.
In periods of change, your companyâs core values are a powerful tool. They provide a compass on how to navigate issues and challenges you may have never faced before.
When making a major decision, evaluate your options against your values. Youâll avoid costly mistakes when your decisions are aligned with your core values.
One Stat to Watch
115%
Employees are 115% more engaged when their organization has a well-defined set of company values, according to LeadershipIQ.
đ„Â The Value of Values
âWhat does your company stand for?â is a bit of a flippant question. Itâs something consultants like to ask, but donât take it lightly.
Customers gravitate towards companies with shared values.
The challenge of bringing values to life is they require more than words. Your customers have to experience them to understand them.
U-Pak has built its brand on Zero Waste. Instead of sending waste to landfill, it has invested in its energy from waste facility. It transforms non-recyclable waste into renewable energy.
For U-Pak, sustainability isnât marketing copy. Itâs baked right into its service model, operations, and value proposition. Sustainability is even a core value, âWe believe in a Zero Waste future, in which all resources are reused. We support our communities to make them better.â
Customers see insincerity from a mile away. To uncover the value of your core values, focus on your companyâs true passions and interests.
Go back to the original reason the company was founded:
- What challenge or problem was the business designed to solve?
- What kinds of customers did it want to serve?
- Why did you craft your products and services the way you did?
These questions help to lead you to the true values you can share with your customers.
đŠÂ Values Assessment
Having the âwrong peopleâ on your team is like driving on bald tires. It doesnât matter how hard you step on the gas, you just canât seem to get traction.
It cannot be overstated how important it is to have the right people on your team. Having the âright peopleâ can be the difference between achieving your business objectives and missing them.
âIdentifying employees as top performers and turds is relatively easy, but what about the more nuanced cases:
- Has a lot of potential and is a cultural fit, but is not performing well in their job.
- Performs effectively on some days, but is a problem other days.
- Is a top performer, but is a jerk that doesnât align with the values or culture.
Itâs in this middle ground that many managers struggle, including myself.
Assess your team for both performance and fit:
- If someone has the skills but is not a cultural fit, let them go. Itâs binary. You canât train for fit. They either share the companyâs core values or they donât.
- If someoneâs performance is lacking but they are a cultural fit, invest in them. Give them a chance to level up and acquire the skills and capabilities to be successful. But recognize business isnât a charity. If they canât meet performance expectations in three to six months, you may need to let them go.
Itâs never easy, but when you find someone who is not a fit you have to be decisive. The longer you procrastinate on dealing with a misaligned person the worse it gets.
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