CREATING THE RIGHT CORE VALUES FOR YOUR BUSINESS BY CLINT SMITH CAREERPLUG
Your core values signify what you, as a company, prize more than anything. They should guide everything that you do. If you are not sure about what direction to head in a tough situation, you should be able to look at your values to determine the right course of action. You should be hiring, developing, promoting and firing people based on your values. If you’re not, then you’re not truly living them. A company’s values are a reflection of its leader. You cannot lead others if you do not know who you are. And you cannot expect others to follow you unless this is crystal clear. This bears repeating: your values should represent what you actually value. They define your culture. We have all been somewhere where they have a generic set of values printed and framed on the wall. You know that they are totally bogus and that no one follows them—or even knows what they are! It’s better to be real, even if you don’t think it sounds socially acceptable. If earning money is the #1 thing for you and your company, then you should be honest about that. There are people out there who value the same things, and those are the people you want to hire. Part of being real is having values with character. They need to be genuine and come from the heart. We value teamwork at CareerPlug, but that term didn’t capture Continued on next page... USSWIMSCHOOLS.ORG | 9
