Values in Business

Perhaps when you see the word ‘values’ your mind instantly envisions moral values or principles like honesty, integrity, compassion, or gratitude. While these moral values are valuable ideas, business values are a little different.

To me, business values are about a company placing a stake in the ground and declaring what the company stands for: Customer Service, Fun, Superior Quality, People First, etc. They are the rules by which business is transacted 100% of the time. They are the measuring stick by which employees are measured. And they are the guiding principles that employees can look to when they are faced with a situation that is new to them.

And I believe that when these ‘business values’ are disseminated across an organization they begin to raise awareness. They make people question how they are currently doing business. They help leadership develop appropriate strategy. And they become a daily part of how business is done.

Some believe that raising awareness is a way to effect change on a large scale. I can only hope that the awareness raised by many organizations adopting ‘business values’ will effect similar change in the business and economic environment!