7 Reasons Your Organization Needs To Embrace Values

Is your organization on track to achieve expected results and fulfill its mission? Or does it feel like everyone is wandering around in circles, getting the organization nowhere?

You can’t achieve something if you chase after everything.

Values drive clarity and bring focus. They align people around what matters most.

For example, a startup might embrace the values of: Agility, Efficiency, and Determination. But a large established company might embrace the values of: Leadership, Growth, and Stewardship.

Of course, there are those who see no value in values. Such individuals might view values as empty platitudes, useless promises, or worse, a scheme to manipulate others for the gain of a select few. Sadly, in some cases this is true.

But there’s a reason values are touted as being so important. They work.

When Jim Collins wrote his books Built to Last and Good to Great, he outlined with great clarity the results of his research: values matter.

“Core Values are essential for enduring greatness, but it doesn’t seem to matter what those core values are. The point is not what core values you have, but that you have core values at all, that you know what they are, that you build them explicitly into the organization, and that you preserve them over time.” – Jim Collins

Now, if that’s not enough to convince you to do the work of identifying the few values that matter for your organization, here are a few more reasons.

7 Reasons To Embrace Values

• Values are Simple. If you begin with the intention that the problem to be solved or goal to be achieved is simple, it will be. It’s about selecting a few specific values that will guide decisions and behavior every day.
• Values are Memorable. Having just three values will help everyone remember them, and thereby create consistency across decisions made and actions taken.
• Values are Internal. What’s inside shows up on the outside. It is reflected in how everyone interacts with customers, suppliers, and even the community.
• Values are Powerful. Values establish a focus that creates an environment for repetition. And repetition generates power.
• Values are Guides. Just as a great story has both a hero and a villain, values help everyone know what to move toward and what to move away from.
• Values are Progressive. Values pave the way to challenge conventional thinking and overcome resistance. They enable an organization to avoid the inertia trap and truly make a difference.
• Values are Enduring. In the short term, there may be a cost associated with following stated values. But over time values open doors for an organization to realize its vision.

It’s amazing what can be accomplished when everyone in an organization has consistent clarity about what matters most. People know where to apply their energy and resources. They know who exactly will benefit; and they can see the potential outcomes from their efforts.

Today’s focus determines an organization’s future.

In other words, values help an organization create a better future – for everyone.