Why is it important to have corporate values?
The corporate values are the very foundation of your business. Today, 80% of the fortune 100 companies tab their values publicly and companies with the highest sense of purpose outperform others by 400%. In the best seller book “Build to last” Jim Collins and Jerry Porras revealed that value and purpose driven organizations outperform the general market and comparison by 15:1 and 6:1, respectively.
Value driven companies outperform the competition in the way they do business.
- Core values are the guiding principles that dictate human behaviour and action.
- Core values can help people know what is right from wrong. It acts as a guide line and code of conduct for decision making in a company.
When companies have clear core values, it tells the world what they stand for. They give the employees a reason for what they do. And their customer a reason to believe or cheer for them. Human management becomes easier with core values and guiding philosophy. It’s easier to delegate task. The rule becomes “if you think you need to ask me permission for something just consult the core values of the company”. It is better to teach values than to teach rules, because core values at its very basic structure inherently defines the dos and don’ts. In a company, people are aligned by its values. They become the bond, the common purpose they pursue and the meaning they define everything they do. Moreover, the corporate values are the building blocks of the organisational culture. It sets the code of conduct and it guides the collective behavior of people in any organisation. Without a codified values system there will be confusion and disharmony among the employees and management, because values clarify the direction on why you do what you do.
So, if you want to build a business destined for greatness build your values today. When you have the right values in place, then you have a strong foundation and a company that is built to last.