I know what you are thinking. The last thing I am thinking about is our company culture. If it doesn’t bring in revenue or cut our burn, should we be focusing on it? Our culture right now has to be to work our asses off. In an early stage venture, you lack defined parameters for company behavior—including your own behavior. It is like driving on a road without a speed limit, stoplights or lane lines. Left to its own devices, or lacking the appropriate attention, you are actually enabling a corporate culture with negative undertones and a tolerance for unacceptable behavior. If you fail to set down your core values, you not only bear that risk but you are not taking advantage of something that can create a competitive advantage.
“Living by stated corporate values is difficult.”
Sign Up for The Free Daily Perspective
If you are not already getting our free daily Perspective to your inbox, sign up below.
The best companies develop core values that impact their company culture, brand, and business strategies — making them quite unique. Most entrepreneurs adopt the perspective that culture is a luxury rather than a critical foundational element of a strong company. Regardless of your stage, you must set core values that are non-negotiable. When your organization lacks guardrails and guidelines, which most early stage ventures do, you need to construct boundaries to guide behavior.
Living by stated corporate values is difficult. After all, it’s much harder to be clear and unapologetic for what you stand for than to cave in to politically correct pressures. And for organizations trying to repair the damage caused by bad values programs, the work is even harder. But if you are willing to devote your time and energy to creating an authentic values statement, there’s a good chance that the resulting values will stand your company in far better stead than your competitors.
Follow Us on Social Media
Follow The Lonely Entrepreneur on social media