Vision Building Part 2: Core Values
This is part 2 of a 3-part series on developing vision for your organization. This series is written by Jeff Gardner using the Collins-Porras Vision Framework. You can read Part 1 here.
Core values are the fundamental set of beliefs that your organization holds as absolute. This is how you behave as an organization. Your core values should not be aspirational. You must believe in your core values and you must live them—personally and organizationally. They are non-negotiable and are used to create the behavioral expectations of your team. You will utilize your core values to select your people, develop your people and remove people from your team when necessary.
Core values are essential to an organization because they provide guideposts by which to navigate. Martin Luther King’s stated core values included Equality, Faith, Love and Nonviolence. If someone in his organization was to become a violent protester, they would have contradicted the stated core value of nonviolence and would therefore not have been supported by Dr. King. By communicating his core values, everyone was crystal clear on what values must be held true by everyone in the organization.
In one of my businesses, Honor was one of our core values. In our early years, we found out that our lead salesperson, who was generating more than half of our new revenue, was coming in early and taking new sales leads before the sales manager had a chance to equitably distribute the leads.
My head of sales asked, “What should we do?”
I responded, “What do you think we should do?”
He reminded me, “I think the right thing to do is to let him go. However, we are in the middle of raising capital and if we let our best salesperson go, we will likely fall behind our sales goal and risk raising capital.”
I shared, “And if we keep him, we violate a core value and our people will forever think we are full of it.”
As bad as this situation was, it created an opportunity to demonstrate our commitment to our belief system. Not only did we walk this person out the door 10 minutes later, but when we told the team, they expressed gratitude and a commitment to deliver. In the end, they beat our sales numbers by 25%.
Never sacrifice your core values.
Keep it simple
Every one of your people should be able to talk about your core values at any time. I used to meet with people and ask them what their favorite core value was, and why. I would also ask who they thought most exemplified that core value (besides themselves, of course). These fun and robust conversations helped keep our core values front and center.
For everyone to know the core values, you need to keep them simple. Aim for 3–5 core values. Any more than that and people will not remember them, and you will lose impact.
EXAMPLES OF SIMPLE AND IMPACTFUL CORE VALUES:
- Be a host
- Champion the mission
- Be a cereal entrepreneur
- Embrace the adventure
- Ownership mentality
- Don’t optimize for the short term
- We are all builders
- Go the extra mile
- Do what’s right
- Be transparent
- Be extraordinary
- Own outcomes
- Join forces
- Work fearlessly
- Live passionately
- Genuine
- Exceptional
- Innovative
- Involved
- Service
- Loyalty
- Honesty
- Integrity
If you are looking for a way to make your core values easy to remember, consider using alliteration or an acronym. (A word of caution: forcing your core values into an acronym for the sake of it, is a huge mistake. Find your core values first, then see if you can work them into a memory-jogging tool.)
EXAMPLES OF CORE VALUES WRITTEN AS ACRONYMS:
At PaySimple, there are many PATHS:
- Passion. Bring vibrant energy to everything you do.
- Authenticity. Be honest and genuine.
- Teamwork. Be supportive to one another.
- Happiness. Exude happiness.
- Service. Improve the lives of everyone you touch.
At ThrivePass, we CARE. We care about our team, we care about our customers, and we care about all of our interactions.
- Be Courageous – Have the confidence to think differently, innovate, and act.
- Be Authentic – Embrace vulnerability be open, honest, and true with yourself and others.
- Be Resourceful – Go above and beyond to create opportunities and solutions.
- Be Excellent – Hold yourself accountable and always deliver your best.
Spread the word
In Part 1 of this series on vision-setting, we discussed the importance of sharing your organization’s purpose with everyone, to make it stick. Similarly, you will need to share your core values across the company and with everyone who interacts with your business. By reiterating and reinforcing your core values, you will demonstrate your commitment to them and increase the chances of them sticking and making a meaningful difference.
Next up in this series: Part 3, Mission
The information herein is based on the author’s opinions and views and there can be no assurance other third-party analyses would reach the same conclusions as those provided herein. The information herein is not and may not be relied on in any manner as, legal, tax, business or investment advice.
Third-party images, logos, and references included herein are provided for illustrative purposes only. Inclusion of such images, logos, and references does not imply affiliation with or endorsement by such firms or businesses.
Certain information contained in this content piece has been obtained from published and non‐published sources prepared by other parties, which in certain cases have not been updated through the date hereof. While such information is believed to be reliable for the purposes of this content piece, neither Mainsail nor the author assume any responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of such information and such information has not been independently verified by either of them. The content piece will not be updated or otherwise revised to reflect information that subsequently becomes available, or circumstances existing or changes occurring after the date hereof, or for any other reason.
Certain information contained herein constitutes “forward-looking statements,” which can be identified by the use of terms such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “could,” “would,” “predicts,” “potential,” “continue,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “projects,” “future,” “targets,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “estimates” (or the negatives thereof) or other variations thereon or comparable terminology. Forward looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, which are beyond the control of Mainsail. Actual results, performance, prospects or opportunities could differ materially from those expressed in or implied by the forward-looking statements. Additional risks of which Mainsail is not currently aware also could cause actual results to differ. In light of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, you should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. The forward-looking events discussed in this content piece may not occur. Mainsail undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
No representation, warranty or undertaking, express or implied, is given as to the accuracy or completeness of the information or opinions contained in the enclosed materials by Mainsail and no liability is accepted by such persons for the accuracy or completeness of any such information or opinions. For additional important disclosures, please click here.