What Are Your Values?
Let’s face it, we’re all in business to make money. But there can be a lot more to it than that, and businesses often flourish when there is an emphasis on more than just the bottom line. It may be that your business places extra emphasis on customer satisfaction, innovation, or corporate social responsibility - once you know what your values are, the whole team benefits by working towards a common goal.
The September 2015 issue of Fortune magazine featured an article on John Mackey, co-CEO and co‑founder of the US’s Whole Food Market. Mackey is passionate about healthy eating and promoting “food consciousness”, and his personal values have driven not only the company’s products and corporate values, but also its business decisions. Once a quarter, 5% of a Whole Food store’s net sales for the day is donated to a local non-profit organisation. When asked whether it made business sense to do this, Mackey’s answered “Absolutely… It creates goodwill, motivates team members and takes care of the community.”
It is not necessary to go as far as giving away profits to entrench values in your business - although, in the case of Whole Food Market, it just goes to show that making a profit and making a difference are not mutually exclusive!
5 Questions To Ask Yourself About Your Business Values
- What importance do you want your clients/customers to take away from working with you?
- How will you determine your business success in non-monetary terms?
- What do you want to get out of your career? Will this benefit your business? If so, how?
- How are your values different from competitors? Is this a selling point?
- Can you think of businesses which embody values you relate to? How do their values translate to the products/service they provide?
Ask yourself what is really important, and then have the wisdom and courage to build your business around your answer.
For one-on-one coaching to reveal your core values and find out how to marry them with your business, get in touch today:
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