Values are a relatively new addition to the pantheon of corporate philosophy, supplementing the traditional vision and mission.
More than the vision and mission, values are expected to be the experiential aspect of philosophy and so become the link to the brand. However, in truth, this often fails.
There are multiple reasons for this failure, chief among them being that they remain in the abstract realm of statements on posters, communicated but not experienced. Consider this… if the values need to be communicated, they are almost certainly not being experienced. LinkedIn wit Dave Harland took it a step further, saying that the only time values will be mentioned is when there is a major corporate scandal or crisis.
Value formulation has a tendency to produce huge and auspicious concepts like ‘accountability’ and ‘transparency’, which have noble intent but are often avoided due to their inconvenience in real life.
The solution must then be to work with values that are operationally manageable and can easily be experienced. These values must also serve as an underpinning of delegation, something that every member of the team can use as a basis for decisions and activities.
There are two types of values.
The first is a set of internal values that govern internal behavior. Let’s use teamwork, as an example. Teamwork has multiple uses. It can be the basis for coordination of activities and cooperation. It can also be an instruction to provide support, for instance, step in and help if a member of the unit is not able to handle the workload or is having a personal crisis. That’s useful.
The second type is more important, the outward looking value, the value that the customer experiences. A positive experience is the absolute prerequisite for the brand and the basis for pull marketing. As an example, use Virgin’s outward looking value of ‘delightfully surprising’.
What is important to understand is that both the inward and outward looking values have a bottom-line impact, immediately and in the long-term. They are investments and need to be planned as such.
The method of planning is known as a values audit. It’s time consuming but will produce results.
*Pierre Mare has contributed to development of several of Namibia’s most successful brands. He believes that analytic management techniques beat unreasoned inspiration any day. He is a fearless adventurer who once made Christmas dinner for a Moslem, a Catholic and a Jew. Reach him at pierre.june21@gmail.com if you need help.
