Core values are important for a company’s overall success in business. Core values shapes the vision for your company, educates people about what your company stands for as well as clarifies the company culture. They are the essence of a company’s philosophy and approach to business. Many companies focus on the competencies that effect technology or operations and fail to place enough emphasis on the underlying competencies that dictate the environment that helps companies run smoothly.
Everything revolves around values. How you do business is based on your values. Why people buy from you is based on their values.
- Who are you?
- Why are you here?
- How can you help me?
- What makes your company better?
- Why should I buy from you?
Are all questions that people have in their minds when they first learn about your business. The answer to these questions has a lot to do with your company’s core values.
Here are the advantages of having strong company values.
1. Curate Company Culture – Every company has a company culture and environment that usually starts from the beliefs of its leadership team. It’s important to build a solid foundation for the essence of your company’s mission and vision that outlines with why you exist and the sets the tone for how you operate.
2. Solidarity About Your Beliefs – Values indicate the belief system for your company employees. It’s important to make sure that all employees have the same beliefs as the company outlines so they can accurately represent the company on all levels.
3. Attracting Great Talent – Core values is becoming a key factor in recruiting the top talent in the job market. More and more, professionals want to work for companies that align with their personal beliefs. Many people want to work for companies where they can see themselves growing in their careers long term.
4. Gaining Positive Press – When companies have strong core values and promote them in their marketing materials, they often attract attention of the press. When positive press is earned, because of something that is notable, it is priceless.
5. Reinforces to How You Are Different – Every company should have a positioning statement that identifies how they are distinguishable from their competition. This statement is called the unique selling proposition (USP). Having core values helps to reinforce the unique factors that outline your company beliefs and culture which may be totally different than your competition. This is another way to set your company apart from others who do the same type of work that you do.
If you don’t currently have core values identified for your company, now is a great time to do so.
Here are 6 steps to help you begin defining your core values.
Gather a team of core staff.
Your core staff should be a diverse group of all different types of people including different gender groups, ethnicities and backgrounds. Begin a brief exercise. Ask everyone what their personal values are. Then ask everyone what they believe the company should be known for in the marketplace. The answers to these questions should give you a launching pad for the core values of the group and possibly the business.
Brainstorm
When you begin to create company core values, it may require several rounds of brainstorming about what is most important and priority. Don’t feel as though you need to decide after one brainstorming session, you may feel the need to keep brainstorming until things feel right.
Narrow it down
After you brainstorm, you’re going to have a lot of ideas. Not every idea is going to make the cut. Your goal must be to have a priority list for what stays and what goes. Whatever remains means that you you are totally committed to that list and willing to make hiring and firing decisions based upon it.
Encourage Innovation
Values don’t have to be typical or derived from the any buzz words that happen to be current in the business climate at that time. Creating core values should be unique to your company, which means you can assign something as a value that is unique to you that you have labeled as “your way.”
Notify the entire company
Once you have identified your company values, it’s important to roll them out to all employees so that everyone is on the same page.
Promote It
After you have rolled out your company values internally, it’s important to promote your values externally so that everyone understands why your company exists, your core beliefs, your goals, and the type of company you represent.
To give you an idea about our core values, here are the company values for Quality Media Consultant Group:
Quality – We believe that providing a high-level products and services should be the norm not the exception. That’s why we pursue excellence in all that we do.
Trust – We value trust because we believe that it makes doing business easier and more enjoyable. We believe that every client is a partner and therefore we will endeavor to respect you and we expect the same in return.
Integrity – We believe that nothing is more important than your word and a great reputation. Behaving with the highest levels of integrity and conducting business with honor and respect is the essence of who we are.
We Are Open And Honest In Our Communication– We share information, insight and business tips frequently that add value and provide resources that small business owners need.
Daring To Be Unique – We challenge and question the status quo and welcome innovation. We are not afraid to be different or try something new or suggest something new to our clients.
Deliver Delight Through Service – We believe that our clients are our top priority. To delight you must be different and willing to go the extra mile. And whatever you do, you must be willing to spark an emotional reaction in the receive. It our goal to make our clients not only like us but love us and enjoy doing business with us.
Courage – You questions behavior, beliefs and actions when it is inconsistent with your core values. You are unapologetic in your authenticity. We will speak up for the best interest of our company, our community and society at large. And whenever someone is being marginalized, we will not sit quietly, we will speak up.
Wealth – We value the accumulation of wealth because we are not just in business to make money but build a generational wealth and leave something behind.
Based on the above list, you have a pretty good idea of the guiding principles for our company. Our values tell you what we believe in, what we hold as sacred and even helps to reinforce why you should choose our company. You can find our values on our ABOUT US page of our website.
In summary, company values should be foundational for all businesses. Without core values, you are basically navigating the journey of entrepreneurship and business without a compass.
As you can see core values are essential element of a company’s success. If you’re still not convinced, take a look at this story about a CEO who failed to include core values when he started his business. His name is Tony Hsieh, the CEO of Zappos. In an interview with Inc., he was very transparent about the fact that when he started Zappos, they did not have any core values. After running the company for five years, he stated: “If I could go back and do Zappos all over again, I would actually come up with our values from day one.” He went on to say the reason why they didn’t have values to begin with was because it felt like a “big corporate thing.”
It doesn’t matter how big or how small your company is, you should have core values that everyone associates with your brand.
Now it’s your turn to share your perspective. Tell us why you do or do not think core values are essential in business.
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This article was written by Lori A. Manns.
Author, Lori A. Manns is a multi award-winning marketing mentor, sales coach and trailblazing business strategist who works with small business owners and entrepreneurs to help them grow and scale their businesses. She specializes in sales and marketing strategies that result in her clients attracting their target market, gaining brand visibility and growing revenue. Lori is President of Quality Media Consultant Group, a consultancy firm specializing in media, advertising, marketing and sales. She is the founder of the Trailblazer Business Academy. where advancing entrepreneurs go to learn growth strategies and how to run a profitable business the soulful way. Lori is also the creator of the Sponsorship Sales Secrets System;™ which shows business owners how to get more corporate sponsors and sales for their business, guaranteed. To learn more about the work Lori does to help business owners and entrepreneurs all across the U.S. to accelerate their revenue and succeed in business, visit www.qualitymediaconsultants.com