I think most lists of company values are crap.
Yes, I said "crap." Why? Because, in my opinion--the lists are contrived from a random list of values that the leaders think "sound good" or would be good for the organization.
If you want to dig deep on this, spend 3 minutes at Jim Collins' site to listen and learn about the absolute #1 best way in the world to select your company values: Examine your best employees and what makes them special--and take their list of collective values and attach them to your company.
I've used Collins' technique and can tell you it works…very well.
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3 comments:
Excellent perspective. I just did Maxwell's 5 Levels Values Cards exercise with clients today. Very revealing. Thanks for sharing, Jeff.
If you cannot provide direct evidence that what you value are other people then you are missing the mark. Talk is cheap. What evidence can you produce?
As a matter of fact, I CAN provide direct evidence in the names of Greg, Chris, Mark, Troy, and Rhys--the five employees that we picked that best typified what we really respected and valued in people working with our company.
These were superb people that made our company special and they demonstrated some of the most incredible values: Team Player, Dependable, Devoted, Ethical, Moral, Great Attitude, Helpful, Knowledgeable, Responsible, Trustworthy, Committed, Friendly, Professional, Happy/Optimistic, Enthusiastic, Pace Setter, Charismatic, Confident, and Loyal.
These five people were held in high regard by our team--and in fact, played a key role in shaping the company, the values we emphasized, the values we looked for in people we hired, and the values that we acknowledged and rewarded. Putting these five people at the top of our list against which we measured ourselves and the company--was one of the most helpful things we did to form our culture.
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