In order to get along in this business world and make key decisions we need to know our Values and Guiding Principles. It is the only true constant. At least it should be.
Core Values and Guiding Principles are foundational to your entire organization. Values are what you base your business on, and Guiding Principles provide the framework for making better business decisions. Together they form a set of accepted guidelines formed by the business that capture how your people act, work, make decisions, set priorities and conduct themselves. It is imperative to set and communicate core Values and Principles or else they will set themselves over time through employee habits.
Use the following guidelines to create or update your Values and Guiding Principles:
First, start with a checklist of Values. This exercise is designed to help you reach a better understanding of your most significant values for your business. You generally need to select the most important to you as a guide for how your business is supposed to behave. As part of this first step you would need to identify a smaller list. The best in imagine that if you had a list of fifty potential values you would focus on only selecting ten and then only selecting five. It is always best to only have five core business values. It is important you create a list that people will believe and remember. This is harder than you think.
Second, define what they mean. That is correct. You and your team must decide what each value means, its definition as it relates to your business. They must connect and make sense. Often the team would discuss each value and determine what it means. Sometimes you get stuck on this step. So you the posted note method. Get each person to write out a couple of points as the definition, place it on a big white board and then work together to create the best wording for that value. Don’t look up or use a form a dictionary or someone’s book what the value means. If you do that then you no one owns it. It is just something that someone said should be your Values and Guiding Principles. No one will use them.
Third, test your Values and Guiding Principles. Use a form of scenario based planning or business problems or opportunities to test your Values and Guiding Principles. Discuss in what way each Value and Guiding Principle apply to the situation being discussed. The key is to be able to make business decisions at different organizational levels using your Values and Guiding Principles. If you can make decisions that make sense and keep what you believe intact then your Values and Guiding Principles are solid.
There is always a challenge with the discussion and thinking around Values and Guiding Principles. Some think it is not important, while others think it is imperative. Either way, Values and Guiding Principles exist in your business culture whether you put them there or not. They rise up organically, as life is anchored in what we believe. If you do not create them, your people will create their own.
As a business leader, it is imperative that you consider and articulate your Values and Guiding Principles and engage your people in doing the same. They set the stage for your business’ decision making and future success.
This Weeks Red Questions: What 5 values do you have for your business? What are your 5 guiding principles? Do you use them consistently to make business decisions?
