Core Values

Core Values: The essential and enduring tenets of an organization - the very small set of guiding principles that have a profound impact on how everyone in the organization thinks and acts.

I was having a conversation with a friend who works at an organization where they try and motivate the workers via quarterly meetings. She calls these the "Pump you up!" meetings. At last night's meeting, employees were told that they should be ready to answer questions about the company's Core Values. Those who were randomly picked were to be asked about a core value, and if they answered correctly, they would be awarded a prize. Prizes included iPods, gift cards, tshirts, and the like.

"Did you memorize your Core Values?" I asked her.

"Of course," she answered. "I'm ready!"

Have you ever worked at a place where management spends a ridiculous amount of overhead on mission statements and core values? I think these are the kinds of activities that keep managers busy while the employees tend to the daily activities of the organization. Nevertheless, a smart employee would recognize that the quick path to a promotion and salary bump would be to embrace the core values.

I asked her, "You should recommend that the company puts the core values on a wallet card, and hands them out at the next meeting. That way, employees would always have the the core values with them, and could refer to them if they need to."

She laughed, "Good one. That's pretty funny."

But I was serious. Management types really take this seriously. I've been at meetings where they've asked me or members of my team "Which of the core values does this project support?" Normally, team members just kind of look at each other in astonishment, having no clue whatsoever. Somebody might sheepishly mutter, "Uh, integrity?" But that's about as bold as anyone gets before a manager would go on a tirade about how outraged they are that the team doesn't know the organization's core values.

I just did a google search on core values, and this is what came up.

The US Navy has three core values: Honor, Courage, and Commitment.

Siebal Systems core values: Customer Value, Commitment to Employees, Professional Excellence, Teamwork, Bias for Informed Action, Open and Honest Communication.

The Nazarene Church has 3 values: We are a Christian People, We are a Holiness People, and We are a Missional People.

(Maybe at the next staff meeting, my friend should throw out that Missional People one. That'd raise some eyebrows.)

The College of Charleston has their core values: Integrity, Academic Excellence, Liberal Arts Education, Respect for the Individual Student, Diversity, Community, and Public Mission.

You get the idea. Lots of hours have been spent going over the thesaurus for synonyms on the word "integrity." Here's the list from dictionary.com, for those of you looking to turn a 3-month process of coming up with company core values to a 5-minute job: candor, forthrightness, goodness, honestness, honesty, honorableness, incorruptibility, incorruption, principle, probity, purity, rectitude, righteousness, sincerity, straightforwardness, uprightness, virtue.

(See how easy this process can be?)

Make the recommendation to put those on a wallet card, and you're on your way to upper management!

On a sad note, my friend did not win a prize as she was not randomly picked and asked a question. She went home sad and empty handed. Now, just what company core value does that support?