If you see a company that has “integrity” as one of their cover values, chances are they struggle with focus.
Business consultant Patrick Lencioni lists integrity as a “permission-to-play” value.
Values like integrity, honesty, and respect are “the minimum standards for working at a company. Without them, you don’t have permission to work at a company.”
Integrity is table stakes.
Your company’s core values are just that: core, or fundamental to your company.
Our values are:
- Fun
- Family
- Location Independence
If we’re not having fun working with a client, we’ve picked the wrong project or the wrong client.
Family comes first. Period. That means if one of our team members needs time off for a personal issue, they get it. No questions asked.
This can be hard when we’re working on a deadline, but the decision to grant it is easy… because “family” is a core value.
Our staff can work anywhere in the world (and this was true long before COVID-19). Our team is comprised of extremely talented information workers, and we’re not naive — or arrogant — enough to believe that world-class talent must live and work in a narrow geographical area.
If it’s time to write or rewrite your core values, grab your team and write a list of two or three words that describe how your company actually operates.
Chances are, it’ll be pretty obvious.
And your new list won’t be a collection of nice-sounding but generic words.
