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There are volumes written about values. Unfortunately, much of what I've read tends to indicate a basic misunderstanding of the subject; At least from a leader's or planner's point of view. It's not uncommon to hear that a person or company "has no values," or "lacks a value base." I disagree with that analysis because I've never run into another human being who did not have some sort of value base. The problem is usually that person's or organization's values do not agree with ours, or with those generally accepted by society. I've also observed that for many people, values tend to be situational. For instance, most people will tell you they value honesty, but will think nothing of keeping the extra money a busy cashier mistakenly save them.
When creating a strategic plan it¡¯s essential that you define your values early in the process. That means the leader must know his or her own values. This is critical because they're the foundation for everything you do. Likewise, they provide a benchmark for the rest of the plan. You will measure the plans components against them to ensure the plan does not encourage a violation of those values.
As the leader in the planning process, it is vital that you define your own values. In planning sessions, I find that most people share a very similar value set and the hardest part is reducing the list to those that are most important to the organization's success. However, as the leader, you need to understand a couple of things about how your values affect your interaction with others. As an example, I personally value integrity above all else. That means I will always deal honestly with other people and I expect the same from them. If I detect that someone is being less than honest with me, I will probably not continue to do business with them. I use this example to illustrate another point about values. We tend to hold others to our own standards. There's nothing wrong with that, as long as we keep two things in mind. First, since we are holding others to our values; Which they may not feel are important, we create a potential conflict if the two value sets are diametrically opposed. Second, expecting others to adhere to our values means we can not stray ourselves. Credibility will instantly disappear when someone else feels there is a double standard.
This applies at the organizational level as well. The organization's credibility can be severely damaged if subordinates, or customers, feel it is not living up to the stated values. If they perceive the leadership only gives lip service to the values and does not actually live by them, and make decisions that conform to them, they will not feel a need to conform either. As I mentioned earlier, everyone has a set of values. For instance, that guy who's trying to sell drugs to your kids has a value set. It is not the same as most of us subscribe to but it guides his actions. As a leader, you need to have a value set that is known to your subordinates, but you must also understand that they may not share all of your values. I'm not suggesting your subordinates are drug dealers; That's an extreme example. There will be differences in individual values though that can lead to conflict. So, how do you deal with that? Employees must understand, while they may not always agree with the values expressed by the organization, they are expected to live by them while doing the organization's business. See why it is so important for the leadership to cling jealously to the organization's values?
My favorite example of organizational values is Johnson & Johnson, whose corporate values were sorely tested in a case now studied in business ethics classes. The maker of Tylenol was rocked when an unknown person or persons laced Extra Strength Tylenol tablets with cyanide causing multiple deaths. Although Johnson & Johnson was not responsible for the tainted tablets, they reacted immediately by recalling all Extra Strength Tylenol, a move that cost the company millions of dollars. They were not at fault, and did not have to take such a drastic step, but the company's leaders felt it was the only appropriate course of action in keeping with the company's values. Those values are stated in the Johnson & Johnson Credo, available at www.jnj.com/connect/about-jnj/jnj-credo/ for anyone to view. Their response to the crisis cost millions, but probably saved the product line and possibly the company. Values are critical to leadership and the planning process. The leader must understand their own values and, while everyone's individual values may not always agree, the organization must understand the values that they are expected to adhere to.
Everyone has a basic set of rules by which they make daily decisions: their values. As a leader, you must know what your values are. Organizations too must know what values guide their actions. The organization's value set is a critical foundation for a successful strategic plan as it gives everyone a set of ground rules to guide both short and long term actions.
If you have not given it some real thought, sit down with pen and paper and write out your own values. Then write down the values your organization lives by.
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