I’m not sure my company makes it through to survive the many challenges that 2020 and the pandemic presented me and my organization without relying on our established Core Values! I don’t write my first book – A Leap Year of Firsts. We leaned on and depended on our Core Values that we had established years ago in making every tough decision required. These values were our North Star and guide out of the darkness. We found a way to say “YES” (one of our core values) in turning a trophy manufacturer into a call center virtually overnight to save the jobs of the company. This was two hours after having to lay the entire company off for the first time in my life on March 20, 2020 at 2 p.m.. We created a “WIN-WIN” (another core value) situation by providing a company “stimulus” to match and exceed the government’s stimulus to keep them working and off of unemployment. We had to “LEARN” quick and “HUSTLE” to make it happen. The staff showed great “CARE“, “RESPECT” and “DEPENDABILITY” in making these difficult calls into the boroughs of New York City at the height of the pandemic, with many people dying, to provide hope of a COVID-19 test appointment. They had to have “INTEGRITY” to be trusted with personal information needed to make these calls. They had to be very efficient and practicing the “LEAN” principles we had been taught to make the quantity of calls per day that was required. At the end of the many challenges we took time to have some “FUN” in celebrating our accomplishments and survival, while helping others. We used every one of our ten highlighted Core Values listed above!
Company values, also known as Core Values, are a set of guiding beliefs and principles upon which a business is based. Corporate values help people function together as one and shape the way employees (should) behave. The core values of an organization impact both the internal and external affairs. Don’t try to fool yourself or your people. Your Core Values need to be real and represent how your people actually behave. This requires hiring and firing based on these beliefs and traits. You may have personal values you run your life by, but do you have values that you run your company by? If I asked your staff what are your company’s values, could they tell me?
There is a famous Peter Drucker quote that says that “culture eats strategy for breakfast.” This implies that the culture of your company always determines success regardless of how effective your strategy may be. This brings to light the importance of the human factor in any organization. No matter how detailed and solid your strategy may be, if the people executing it don’t nurture the appropriate culture, your project will fail. Culture isn’t about games, comfy chairs and happy hours at the office. Rather, it is more about the ways your employees act in critical situations, how they manage pressure and respond to various challenges, and how they treat partners and customers, and each other. This was proven out to us in 2020 as we faced the challenge of staying in business through the pandemic and being closed down as a non-essential awards company. Only to be reincarnated for a year as an essential call center supporting the needs of others.