What are your company’s values?

Does it have any?

Does it live up to them?

Do you?

It’s so easy to for a company to say what it stands for.

But, equally, it’s easy to have those values buried and forgotten when it counts: decision time.

A company which places its values at the forefront of its decisions builds a strong culture, a strong brand and a strong business.

Those that don’t, can’t be trusted.

Failing to live up to values erodes trust.

We’re not just talking about customers. Staff can see through hollow values statements because they experience the reality every day.

While defining your company’s values is important, values build as a natural result of a workplace based on trust, respect, and integrity.

When good people make decisions from a place of trust, respect and integrity, strong teams grow.

Build the culture first, then formalise your values.

When a tough business decision needs to be made, will your values inform that decision, or crumble under the pressure?

To use a favourite Resilience Builders term, the actions that form your values should be ‘non-negotiable’. Consistency is crucial.

Like a reputation, values can take years to build and seconds to destroy.

And remember, “a value isn’t a value unless it costs you something.”

So, will yours be etched in stone, or not worth the paper they’re written on?

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