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Great companies aren’t just about making money, they also have a strong brand identity created by values. Core values – beliefs your company follows in all aspects of operations – are a crucial part of any business. Clear core values will serve as your company’s guiding light and influence decision-making by providing a roadmap for all future decisions. They will help you to recruit the right employees, attract customers, remain accountable, create strong business partnerships, and serve your customers better. Setting well-defined values will not only help you lead but also give the rest of your team structure.
Building a value-driven company does not have to be difficult. Follow these 4 steps to build a great and lasting company steered by core values.
Define Your Own Personal Values
Before even launching your company, it helps to define your own personal values. What do you believe in? What do you stand for? it’s difficult to create core values for your company if your own personal values are unclear. Your company’s values should be an extension of your own core values. If these sets of values match, your company will be much stronger.
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So, what are some examples of core values? Things like integrity, self-discipline, innovation, fun, and creativity are all examples of core values. Much like company core values, your personal values are there to guide behavior and choice. As a company leader, your values will seep into everything you do. Get them right and you’ll be efficient, disciplined and focused in your decision-making. Leave them undefined or vague, and you’ll constantly find yourself lamenting how you got into this mess. Your personal core values help you select friendships and relationships and wisely manage your personal resources such as time and money. They are what keep you true to yourself and out of trouble.
Many claim to understand their own values, but you may not really know them until they are articulated clearly in writing. So, take some time to define your personal core values and then put them down on paper.
Define Your Company’s Core Values
What is the purpose of your company beyond making a profit? What behaviors will the company value over making money? Any company will always have competition, but when your business has enduring core values, customers will see that, appreciate it, refer it, and ultimately spend their dollars on something that speaks to their own values.
Your company values arise from your mission. Create your mission first, and the values spring naturally from that. Know what each of your core values means to your business before you begin, so that as your business starts to take shape, you can return to those core values when tough decisions come around. Founders aren’t the only ones who should mold the business belief system. Your employees are stewards of the company’s culture, and therefore should be part of the value creation process.
Stay True to Your Core Values when Making any Business Decision
Discipline yourself to keep to your core values, no matter what. It will almost always be cheaper to run your business a different way, but decisions that comprise core values will hurt your company in many ways. Never underestimate the fact that customers deeply respect that you practice what you preach. Consider that not every decision should be based on how it affects the bottom line. For example, choosing to source materials from local, high quality and recycled resources and using sustainable packaging is more expensive versus conventional sources yet if the environment is part of your company values, then this decision is the right one.
For example, we at Green Kid Crafts believe that as a green company with the core values of environmental sustainability and integrity, it makes sense that we are committed to ensuring that all of our activities have as little an impact on the environment as possible. Our products are sourced to ensure that they use minimal packaging and are made from recyclable and recycled materials and we offset 100% of the carbon dioxide generated by our business to help fund the development of renewable energy projects across the United States. Further, our core values of promoting STEAM education, fun, and creativity guide our work to foster the next generation of creative leaders, scientists, and artists with our STEAM science and art kit subscription program. Regular customer surveys indicate that these core values put into action are very important to our customers and a driving factor in their purchasing behavior.
Embody Your Company’s Values
Remind your partners and customers why they should buy from you over competitors by consistently messaging your core values through company storytelling, marketing, advertising, and through affiliate and partner channels. Customers will understand that you strive to provide them with a values-driven product or service and be left feeling good about their decision to spend their time and money with you. Promote and talk openly about how each of your values influence key company decisions, which will help reinforce the meaning and relevance behind each tenet you celebrate.
For example, at Green Kid Crafts, we weave stories about our company values in our social media channels, email marketing activities, product packaging, blog posts, and affiliate marketing creative. In this way our core values have become associated with our brand.
Core values are the soul of your organization. However, if you want your values to stick, they have to be put into action. You must live and breathe them; and you must make them yours. At Green Kid Crafts, our commitment to being a socially responsible, green company is at the heart of our company and a part of every aspect of our work. We’ve learned that when everyone on your team makes that conscious effort to communicate and embody your core values, there’s no limit to what your company will achieve.
