If you go to any company and ask employees to name the values they see lived out in the organization, they’ll have answers – be decisive; have fun; customer first; this isn’t a safe place to make mistakes. The question companies should be asking is what their lived values are, if those are the values they want to be defining their company, and how they can be intentional about not only articulating values but ensuring they are reflected in the business. Whether you declare your values or not, they’re there; so be intentional about what’s steering your ship.
Values drive hard decisions
In 1982, Johnson & Johnson CEO James Burke made the difficult decision to recall every Tylenol product worldwide from store shelves. Seven people had died after taking cyanide-laced Tylenol capsules, and Burke had to decide how to respond to the crisis. The company had long been guided by the credo of being responsible to their patients first, followed by employees, the community, and stakeholders. Burke let that value guide him. Although the recalled Tylenol was worth $100 million, Burke’s decision to put patient safety first was not only the right thing to do, it restored the public’s trust in Johnson & Johnson. If you’re starting out from a solid understanding of what and why your values are, decision making becomes much easier.
Getting started
Large organizations are well versed in values mapping exercises, and go through them periodically. But what if you’re a startup, or a new small business? You need to get your leaders aligned, but you may not know where to start. First, commit to:
- A collaborative process that includes the team.
- Putting in the time and effort needed.
- Staying open minded.
- Leaving plenty of room for discussion and iteration.
One requirement – you need to be (or have) a decisive leader who’s willing to make a call when the team can’t reach consensus. Remember that the first values you come up with are not set in stone. Get together after a year to reflect on what worked and what needs to change.
You have to prioritize
Values Sort: Every member of the leadership team is given a list or deck of cards known as a values deck, representing the top 50 or so human values, with at least one wild card to add their own. Cards are fun, but The Good Project also offers a free, easy way to do this online.
Using a values deck, the idea is to quickly reduce the values by half, then half again, then ask each person to identify his/her top 5. Go fast, and don’t overthink it. Go with your gut. It is not easy to “discard” values like Integrity, Health, and Adventure. But like everything else you do, choosing your values is an exercise in prioritization.
Top Performer: Another way to get started is to focus on attributes of your favorite high performers. Each person writes down the name of the very best person they’ve hired or worked with. Don’t generalize – you actually need to write the name and think about that person, then list as many positive characteristics as you can. Be specific. What made this person great? Think about his or her character; things like integrity, humility, sense of humor, etc.
Reaching Consensus
No matter how you start, the remaining steps are the same. Each participant creates individual sticky notes – one for each of their top 5 values. Write in marker, big enough to read easily from a distance. Everyone randomly sticks their post-its on a wall. The fun begins as the team silently approaches the wall and groups similar post-its together in clusters. You should have several clusters for example, you may put honesty, ethical, and integrity all in the same bucket. The grouping continues in silence as people move the post-its, combine clusters, and create new ones. You’re done when the movement has dwindled and the team steps back to take in the big picture.
Choosing the right values for you
As you reflect on what you’ve come up with ask yourselves:
- Are they unique?
- Do they sound like us?
- Will they give customers and future employees a good idea what it’s like to work with you?
- Is anything missing?
Choose a couple people to do the word-smithing, then share a final draft with the group. Once you come up with the list of five to seven values you believe in, sit with them for a while to see how they feel.
Most important is how you integrate the values into hiring, promoting, rewards, and making decisions about the company’s direction and priorities. When values become part of your everyday language, you know they’re going to stick.
If you need help defining your core values, contact us for a free 30-minute consultation.
