A clear and simple way to leverage your brand and business is to take a deep look from the inside out.
In this post, we are going to look at core values, how to find them from a place deep within and how they play a pivotal role in growing your business.
Core values are fundamental beliefs that help define the identity of a business; they influence employee behaviour and can determine the direction of a company to achieve long term goals. Usually, they are outlined in a company’s mission statement.
Core values will:
Support your business’ vision and help shape its culture
Keep employees focused on what they’re doing and where your business is heading
Help when making important decisions
Reduce uncertainty amongst your employees
Educate your clients and prospective clients – streamline your identity
Support your recruitment process – encourage hiring employees with the right personality fit.
Encouraging your employees to live by your core values on a daily basis in everything they do will help the business carve out its’ own identity, differentiating you from the competition. Core values go much deeper than how your business is perceived on the outside and can have a significant impact on your customer’s experience with you. They are not set in stone, but discovered over the course of time as your business evolves. They should be timeless, sustainable over the long term and will only stand the test of time if your business is using by them on a consistent basis. One of the most effective ways of doing this is to embed them into every employee’s daily life from the moment you hire them, to ensure everyone is on the same page.
So, how do you discover your core values?
First clearly define what is important in your business and why is it unique?
Write all your ideas down on paper, then organise them into groups, keeping all your ideas visible. Try grouping similar and repeated ideas together and those that don’t fit in any group, set aside to come back to at the end.
Once you have your lists organised, you are now in a position to choose your core values. Choose one word or concept that summarises each list. Each word or concept is one of your core values.
The next step is to define your key values using the terminology and groups of ideas you prepared from point 2. It’ll be much easier to communicate your core values both internally and externally if you have them clearly defined.
Try to generate words or phrases that are your own rather than a list of generic values that can be easily copied. Base them around who you are, your beliefs and unique qualities, what is important to your business and how you are different from others in your industry.
Keep them realistic and not so aspirational that they will never come to fruition. Think about how you run your business day-to-day, how you look after clients and employees, what goals you want to achieve, recent challenges and how you solved them. Use terminology that is familiar to you and your employees; this will help to get complete understanding from every one involved in your business.
Core values are only true values if they have an effective influence and if your business and employees live them on a daily basis. There will be times when living by them will be difficult, after all, it’s sometimes harder to be clear and direct in what you believe in rather than bow down to the pressures of political correctness. But after spending time to develop, write and revise what you really stand for, make them mean something by communicating them constantly. Doing this will give your business and brand longevity for the future presenting it as transparent, honest and credible.
So, when considering the direction your business is heading, take a deeper dive into what makes your business unique and what you really stand for. Are your core values based on a consistent framework that will withstand the challenges we all face in business?
Here at Wider, we feel passionate about helping our clients discover their core values to reinforce their position within the market, to support shaping their brand over the long term.
We have over 30 years combined experience of working with businesses, helping them elevate their brand presence through strategic, creative and digital design.
Call us on 0121 709 3772 and let’s start a conversation!
