Make Better Decisions — Define Your Core Values
Core values drive decisions
Running a business requires a LOT of decisions!
Solopreneurs, entrepreneurs, microbusinesses, small businesses… wherever you find yourself, you’re always making decisions about:
Clients - who you work with, how you help them, how you treat them, who you WON’T work with…
Employees - who do you hire, how you’ll work together, what your (and their) expectations are…
Partners & vendors - how will you share information; how will you support each other…
YOU - how you treat yourself and motivate yourself and if you’ll respect a work-life balance…
Misaligned values = conflict
I can trace every conflict back to values. (Have you ever done this exercise?)
Each time I shifted jobs, ended a partnership, or dealt with a problem client, it boiled down to communication, integrity, and respect.
Communication - I didn’t feel like I was getting the truth, and I saw people lying (like cheap rugs!)
Integrity - promises weren’t kept, someone at the top was doing the “full-body waffle!”
Respect - customers and employees were abused, and/or blamed
Save time and frustration by defining your core values
Do a little upfront work on defining your values. Then, those use values in your business.
Services (and products) - use your values as a checklist to define and deliver your services and create your products.
Business processes - proposals, contracts, discovery calls, operations, hiring, partnerships, tools. Infuse everything you do with your values.
Marketing and sales - attract and work with clients that agree with your values.
What are core values?
A quick Google search on core values, and you’ll see words like beliefs, principles, the foundation of conduct, cultural cornerstones, ideals, practices, traits, qualities, highest priorities.
Simply put: how you treat others and how you want to be treated.
Examples of core values
Indeed has a long list to pick from in their article on core values.
BuiltIn’s article has an excellent list: “70 Examples of Impactful Company Core Values.”
What are my core values?
I’ve taken a few runs at this; reflected on key moments in my career and life (good and bad). The core values that are consistent are:
Show stopper values
These are my must-have values, without them, projects and relationships break down.
Transparent communication
Integrity
Respect and free will
Authenticity
Bully and drama free
Values that boost happiness
I’ve realized that once the core values were in place, the following values truly take me to my happy place!
Empathy
Encouragement
Being helpful
Learning and organization
Giving back
Values live in a hierarchy
You can’t have empathy without transparent communication and respect.
You can’t help someone who has no integrity.
There’s no transparent communication with a bully.
I see values like Lego blocks. They support each other to create something bigger and better than each block on its own.
Are core values only for big companies?
Here’s the deal: whether you’ve written them down or not, you’re living your values every day, no matter what you’re doing.
Take a few minutes to reflect and write down your values.
Then, make sure they’re baked into everything you do in your business (and life!). You’ll save yourself a ton of frustration, confusion, and conflict.
Have you defined your values? What’s your number one core value?