thoughtleaders thoughtleaders thoughtleaders thoughtleaders The Role Values Play in Corporate Success By Robert Perkins
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Vice President, Inclusion & Talent Management Burger King Corporation
For Inclusion their way, with disastrous consequences. and Diversity efforts So, where can we find the leaders? Countless acato succeed, they must demics, publications, researchers and organizations have align with a company’s compiled lists of “great,” “admired,” “visionary” and “bestbroader “Values.” The managed” companies. To make these lists, a company question then becomes, needs to demonstrate strong financial performance along what role do values play with an adherence to solid values. In fact, many researchin a company’s success? How seriously do business leaders ers have concluded that a deep set of core values, which take their values? Do executives believe and get passionate may also be called principles, culture or beliefs, is essential about them? to sustained corporate leadership. Most companies, leaders and employees still struggle Although values can’t guarantee good behavior, codifywith whether a company needs to simultaneously em- ing bad behavior is a recipe for disaster. When values go phasize values and financial performance, or whether out the window, how can you trust anything, including they can choose to focus on just one dimension. the published financials? If you strip away core values, To truly succeed, leaders need to focus on both meeting how can you trust anything the executives are doing or economic performance commitments and sharing the saying? The answer is you can’t. values. Companies that truly live their values, coupled with a A “Leadership Champion” is a company known for strong emphasis on accountability and economic perforimpressive financial returns and solid values. A “Failure mance, tend to do very well over time. Companies that on Both Fronts” is an unprofitable company that stands emphasize only financial performance and either relax the for nothing. However, the values or give them perfuncThe Role of Values other two quadrants raise tory treatment, have a much interesting questions: Can harder time sustaining percompanies with “Valuesformance long-term. It’s Values-Free Leadership Strong Free Cultures” generate and hard to hover in the upperCulture? Champions sustain strong financial perleft quadrant; companies Emphasis on formance while providing tend to fall down. Moving Performance no guidance on what behavupper-left to upper-right Failure on Profits by Good iors are valued versus unacis a rare act of redempWeak Both Fronts Intentions Alone? ceptable? In the “Profits by tion, which is possible, but Good Intentions Alone” tough. Companies that do Weak Strong quadrant, can companies not balance their values Emphasis on that emphasize values much with business success have Values more heavily than financial a hard time climbing out of performance survive? the bottom-right quadrant The Values underperformers in today’s marketplace and becoming great leaders. Therefore, the recipe for a make headlines for their contributions to financial cri- company’s success is emphasizing a dual approach – a ses; market collapses; decimation of consumer wealth focus on strong financial performance with a strong adand overall decline in economic activity. Some of these herence to solid values. PDJ companies were often riddled with unprincipled behavior at the most senior levels and others appeared to be good companies, with principled leaders, but either failed to ensure 100% adherence to the values or temporarily lost 58
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