Where fiscal value is a moving target, changing with the ebb and flow of the fickle global economy. Fiscal value changes like the weather. Where businesses focus effort and energy on economic and market value, the values of the organization are brought out by the behavior demonstrated by internal stakeholders, the staff. These are set and change very little over time, like the climate.

Curt Richardson in a recent article in Inc.com (Core Values Will Create Your Success | Inc.com) states that the values of an organization come from the founder. They are there from the very beginning, influencing the building blocks of vision, people and systems. The core values must not only be accepted but truly believed by all other top-level executives so it becomes ingrained in each and every employee. Values are relatively static. Who you are as a person doesn’t change radically, for most, and who your company is shouldn’t either. As a company evolves so will its core values. These changes should be a fine tuning rather than a complete overhaul.

It is imperative that your values essentially align with those of your organization, your suppliers and definitely your clients. I believe your personal intrinsic values are the departure point. Personal values of incorruptible integrity, true authenticity and unwavering purpose, for example, are values that bring out the natural instincts, attitude and tenacity that provide the power behind the accountability entrusted in you by your organization.

Clients today are too well-informed to be sold a story alone though. It has to be genuine and it has to come from the innermost depths of the organization. It comes from company culture, according to Curt Richardson in a Inc.com article that speaks to this topic (How to Cultivate a Culture of Caring | Inc.com) A company’s core values are what define its culture. Your culture is the outward facing perception given by your values – your personal. Your culture should be so strong that it comes out in everything you do. People don’t want to buy just a product, they want to buy you.

So, what are your personal values? Do they align with all your stakeholders? How do you take care of the differences?

via How to Cultivate a Culture of Caring | Inc.com and Core Values Will Create Your Success | Inc.com