Company values are what keep a group of people together as they work towards a common goal. These guiding principles and beliefs help them function effectively to achieve success for themselves, their customers and all stakeholders.
Company values are an excellent way for companies to communicate the core beliefs and principles that guide their day-to-day operations. A company’s identity can be built on its own unique values, or it may choose from several already established ones, such as respectfulness towards others or generosity with both time and money when needed most; these will depend largely upon what your organisation wants specifically out of its employees so they understand where you stand in regards not only how things should go at work but also why this is important.
Using your Vision Statement to Inform your Core Values
An organisation’s core values keep it oriented in the right direction. Once you have a vision statement, you’re ready to consider the guiding principles and beliefs you’ll follow to ensure your team gets to your vision’s destination.
Team
Examples of Business Values
Values are the building blocks of your brand. They give it its identity and can be used to create an image for yourself in society as well! Do you have a favourite retail chain? Why do they stand out from others on this scale – maybe because they always smile or perhaps because they serve you quickly. These behaviours are all likely a result of their set values.
Your brand’s values are the building blocks that give it its identity. They can be used to create an image for yourself in society and even help shape how others perceive you! Which retail chain do you enjoy going out to? Maybe because they always smile or just fast service – either way, this behaviour likely comes from their set value system.
So what are some examples of business values? Here are a few:
Kindness.
Humility.
We do it with a smile.
Fun.
Creativity.
Persistence.
Innovative.
Do More
How your Values Should Evolve Over Time
The values that have guided your company from the beginning are never more important than now. As you evolve, so should these guiding principles – they will sustain and guide all aspects of what it is to be a part of your organisation’s future success! Change is consistent in business, and so should your values. You can lead on tools such as employee surveys to identify precisely what core values need a refresh when it becomes apparent that a need to refresh is there. Constantly reviewing how up-to-date your values are will ensure employee engagement remains high.
What is your organisation’s fundamental purpose? A mission statement tells consumers, both internal and external, what you hope to accomplish in the simplest way.
Mission
What is a Mission Statement?
If you ever visit a website and find yourself wondering what an organisation is doing and why a mission statement would undoubtedly help them to clarify. It should be simple enough for anyone to understand what they exist to do clearly.
Every brand has a purpose, and the mission statement articulates that intention. It’s an integral part of any successful branding plan. The mission statement is an essential part of your business. It gives you the why and how to make things different from everyone else! An effective mission statement focuses on the value you deliver, is realistic, and inspires all stakeholders.
How to develop a mission statement
The perfect mission statement is a delicate balance between what you want your company to stand for and how much time, effort and money it will take. There are many methods on how best to approach this balancing act, but here we list some clear do’s/ don’ts that should be considered:
Keep things concise. Short and to the point is best.
Think of the future. Ensure it reflects your long-term goals for the Company.
Don’t be limiting. Ensure to keep in mind expansion into new locations or products in the future
Expansion
Things to avoid
The problem with most mission statements is that they’re just words; anyone can say they ethically source, are progressive and blah blah blah. They might be accurate, but it’s hard to tell what your company really does and why when you have such a general statement for an organisation–especially one whose goals can seem so broad in scope! Let’s be real: most mission statements are awful.
Here are the most common problems with mission statements; a list of things to avoid:
Avoid jargon. No one should need to Google what a word means to understand your mission statement.
Don’t add fluff. Be plain and concise in your language. Your mission statement should be to the point and as short as possible without losing the meaning behind it.
Don’t be boring. You want people to read your mission statement and be inspired by it.
Part of finding your purpose is by knowing what role you can play in changing the world.
Some of it may be the fundamentals of your belief system, some of your journey in life. What you believe and what you want to manifest in the world.
It is essential to be realistic and set priorities, and ask yourself what you want people to say about you as they look back on your life.
One exercise is to write your eulogy and highlight your virtues.
Then determine which values are important and what is not negotiable.
How to find purpose in business?
Finding the purpose in business is very similar.
People want to engage with brands and people that are aligned to their purpose.
Defining a robust and shared purpose for your organisation is vital for business success, and it needs to be more than just building profit.
Business leaders need to have a clear vision for the future and inspire others.
Create a reason for being and to exist, a clear purpose.
Having a strong sense of purpose can define the culture you want in your organisation and guide your decisions.
Purpose sets your compass, a guiding light that gives employees a clear sense of how they should do things every day.
The purpose will make the work more meaningful and fulfil the human need to contribute to something bigger than self.
Some of the questions to ask while determining your business purpose are:
Why did you create your organisation?
What inspired your business idea?
What problem is your organisation trying to solve?
Simon Sinek, in his 2009 TEDx Talk, talks about the three layers to your business story, ‘The Golden Circle:
The What
The How, and
In the centre – The Why
Golden Circle
All organisations know what they do in the products they sell or the services they offer. This is also articulated as the organisation’s Mission statement.
Only some organisations have a clear way of how they do it. The values set them apart from their competition, but few organisations know why they do what they do.
This is because setting a purpose is not about making money. It’s about a belief and the reason why the organisation exists.
He talks about human behaviour and suggests that we talk to the part of the brain that controls feelings and behaviours by communicating from the inside out.
This creates loyalty and sells to people that believe what you believe. The same goes for your employees. They will excel if they believe what you believe.
Having the best minds and most technical people who communicate from the outside in, you will have all the statistics and facts but not the emotion.
People do not buy what you do; they buy why you do it…. Simon Sinek
Organisations must have a clear picture of where they want to head and a future position when they succeed. This can be articulated as the organisation’s Vision.
If everyone in the organisation is aligned to the purpose, it acts as a guiding light and the filter for setting business strategy.
You define your purpose by determining what is important to you and the organisation, and you must make it about the people you want to serve. This cannot be about money.
Then determine the values on how you want to do it.
What are some of the factors to finding your purpose in business?
Involve your team
It is vital that if you are working on your purpose after the business has already been established to involve your team and organise a planning meeting to ask the key questions about your business:
Why do we exist?
What do we do?
What are we great at?
Why do we stand out?
What do people say about us?
Make sure that you are not closed-minded, listen to all the perspectives, and be realistic about your organisation. Sometimes the most valuable insight comes from the people in the front line serving your customers.
Get some external perspectives – this will bring a fresh outlook and objective feedback. Organisations find it helpful to use a consultant to help facilitate the day
Make sure the message is in line and resonates with your customers. Make it customer-centric.
Be inspirational and aspirational. These words will become your compass and will guide your decisions in the organisation
Bring people on the journey. Roll out the message to the entire organisation and public to bring it to life. Align it to everything you do by:
Once you find it make it stick
An organisation’s true purpose is much more than a statement on a wall or website
Your internal behaviour and actions need to be aligned
Your brand and image must be aligned
People need to feel it, touch it and be part of it
What happens once you have found your purpose in business?
Once you have articulated your purpose, it’s time to make it a reality. Build trust and make sure all your team is truly committed and aligned.
Culture eats strategy for breakfast…Peter Drucker
Peter Drucker says that culture is the secret sauce that keeps employees motivated and clients happy. A clear purpose should help create clarity, and executing realistic strategies will boost productivity, performance, and bottom-line success will follow.
So, in my opinion, get your purpose right, determine your value system and set the future aspiration for success, but you must develop some realistic strategies and execute them; otherwise, it’s all a waste of time.
It all matters, Purpose, Vision, Mission, Values, strategy and execution. It’s just a matter of ensuring you set the culture first, then the priorities and then act.
So, the key is to take action and never standstill. Business success is about being able to service the customer of today. This keeps evolving, so it’s crucial that you also set a date to review and assess regularly.
Purpose, Vision, Mission, Values and Strategy Pyramid
