By: Ed Bierschenk, TAB Facilitator
When working with a major retail company several years ago our corporate team was challenged with a significant task…. replicate the culture of a hundred-year-old company in a new geographic territory and open stores quickly. The target was over a hundred stores. The company was very customer, employee and community centric. Because of limited human capital all managers and employees had to be hired in the new territory-no transfers of experienced managers who already knew the culture. Time was ticking if we were to have the opportunity to take any market share before another national competitor entered the area.
Our very small core team from human resources, operations, marketing, and finance was tasked with launching this new format with new hires from the outside who were not familiar with our culture. It was very clear to us that a significant factor in whether or not we would be successful was finding managers and employees who shared our vision for growth and these stated core values:
Absolute Integrity ▪ Respect Everyone ▪ Quality First ▪ Teamwork Counts ▪ Relentless Dissatisfaction
We were successful because we integrated the core values into the hiring, training, rewards and operating practices- over a hundred stores in six years, market share and a strong corporate culture. A brief examination of current leadership literature will guide us all to the understanding that core values are a significant driver of personal and organizational success. Steven Covey encourages us to clearly articulate “personal values or principles” to guide our life and work decisions. The late Milton Rokeach, one of the leading researchers in the field of human values, tells us that values are principles that are intrinsically important to each of us and set an enduring belief about the way things should be done. Values guide our behavior as leaders. Authors of “The Leadership Challenge” and “Traction” encourage us to focus on creating shared values between the owners and employees of our organizations.
So how does a business owner strengthen culture and core values of a company? Clearly articulate the core values, identify example behaviors that demonstrate them best, then share success stories.
If you have not done so recently, you may want to complete this short exercise:
- Make a list of the top five “Core Values”-those that guide your life and work decisions
- Identify the employees in your company who most exemplify them
- Share success stories and celebrate those who are helping build your culture
- Hire, evaluate, coach and fire using the core values and other competencies as a guide
My Five Core Values Employees Who Exemplify This Value
1.___________________________ __________________ ____________________
2.___________________________ __________________ ____________________
3.___________________________ __________________ ____________________
4.__________________________ __________________ ____________________
5.__________________________ __________________ ____________________
Ed Bierschenk is a seasoned business coach with The Alternative Board and is an Executive Coach with the Rice University’s Executive MBA Program.