In the chaotic world of entrepreneurship, it is rare that entrepreneurs assess how they work, and how they organize and execute their days. We are often running from fire to fire and don’t think about the ways we can be more efficient, more balanced, more rested and more effective.
Your Company Values Must Be Real
Take a look at this list of corporate values: Communication. Respect. Integrity. Excellence. They sound pretty good, don’t they? Strong, concise, meaningful. Maybe they even resemble your own company’s values, the ones you spent so much time writing, debating, and revising. If so, you should be nervous. These are the corporate values of Enron, as stated in the company’s 2000 annual report, and as events have shown, they’re not meaningful; they’re meaningless.
“Empty values create cynical and dispirited employees, alienate customers, and undermine managerial credibility.”
Most values statements are bland, toothless, or just plain dishonest. And far from being harmless, they’re often highly destructive. Empty values create cynical and dispirited employees, alienate customers, and undermine managerial credibility. Values can set a company apart from the competition by clarifying its identity and serving as a rallying point for employees. But coming up with strong values—and sticking to them—requires real guts. If you’re not willing to accept the pain real values incur, don’t bother going to the trouble of formulating a values statement.
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