Why Core Values Are the Backbone of Every Successful Small Business
What are they and why do you need them?
Core Values are a set of principles that help shape the foundations of your business. They serve as a reminder to your customers, your team, and yourself of what the business stands for and are the ethos of your brand, not just some statement on the wall in your boardroom.
When done well, having values that your business stands by helps provide clarity with key decisions, provides a consistent approach and builds trust within the team and with customers.
I recently had a partner tell me that they walked away from a very large deal because they didn’t feel that the company that was looking to purchase from them was aligned with their core values and believed that this would have created a large number of issues for their team.
So why do so many businesses have these core values yet fail to honour them?
There are a number of reasons for this, but common reasons why they fail include:
- Those in leadership positions don’t honour them
- No team involvement in setting them
- No accountability towards them
Here are my top three tips for writing a strong set of core values
- Team Involvement: Involve your team in the process and ensure that everyone is held accountable for living the values at work, regardless of what role they do. This will build the foundations to a robust culture.
- Review and acknowledge: Review these regularly and recognise where your team is living these values (or not) and take the appropriate course of action. For example, each team member should feel comfortable to challenge another team member if they aren’t living up to these. You should also identify those that are not negotiable, i.e. one might be treating each other with respect at all times.
- Decision making and Goals: Use these as a guide in helping your team and yourself make everyday decisions. When looking to make decisions, ask yourself Does this align with our core values? Additionally, when setting goals with your team, explore ways that you can incorporate your values into your goal-setting process.
A book worth reading on this topic is called Change the Culture, Change the Game speaks about the importance of values.
If you would like some help in setting up your business with core values, please don’t hesitate to contact Joanne or Martin at hello@eyb.net.au to see how we may be able to help.
