“If you think of vision and mission as an organization’s head and heart, the values it holds are its soul.” V.R. Buzzotta
Part One in a Series
I started out writing an article on the importance of uncovering our true core values when developing a strategic plan. As I began explaining why values are important I got stuck. Are values really important? Where is the evidence?
I can think of many companies that have committed crimes ranging from environmental damage to price fixing to misleading advertising. Where were their values?
Here are a few respected corporations that have admitted guilt and/or were convicted of corporate crimes: Wal-Mart, Sears, Borden, Pfizer, Warner-Lambert, Conagra, Princess Cruises, Teledyne, and too many more to mention. They got caught, got their hands slapped and continued on.
“President Bush was on Wall Street giving a speech on corporate responsibility. He called for the doubling of punishment for corporate crime. That means they will slap you on both wrists apparently.” —Jay Leno
We allow tobacco companies to sell cigarettes that are known to kill people every day from cancer. We cry out in anger but sit on our hands while health insurance companies deny payments for legitimate claims. We allow corporations and special interest groups to spend hundred of millions of dollars every year to lobby and pressure politicians so that laws are bent in their favor. What values do these actions serve?
“Earlier this week the Senate voted 97-to-0 for tougher regulations. For example, when corporations buy a senator, they must now get a receipt.” — Jay Leno
On the surface it looks like the only value that is important is making money even if that means bending or breaking the rules.
So why should we care about values? Here’s what I’ve come up with:
Companies large or small are really just groups of people who work together to conduct business. Whether a company is a handful of employees all in the same room or hundred of thousands of employees scattered worldwide, each individual employee is capable of doing right and doing wrong no matter what values are practiced by the organization as a whole. What guides that employee’s moral compass?
Corporate culture is a manifestation of the shared values of owners, managers and employees. How we act, how we treat each other (and by extension how we treat customers and vendors), how we conduct business are all manifestations of values. While even the best companies inevitably will have bad apples in their midst, and while some companies will be run by bad apples, statements of values help the vast majority of employees play by the rules.
Values and the culture they create have a huge influence on success and profitability. Having the right culture for the industry is critical. A Four Seasons style of service is not advisable for a low price business like Wal-Mart and an employee who thrives at one will not likely thrive at the other. McDonalds’ requirement of strict adherence to its methodology is not likely to work very well at Google or Apple but it is the primary driver of McDonalds’ success.
(Of course, there are always exceptions to the rule. If you know of any successful companies that have cultures contrary to the norm for their industry please let me know. That could be another post altogether!)
In the end, despite the hypocrisy witnessed every day, values are important. They are indeed the soul of the organization.
Part two will be published later this week.
