The Business Growth Guide

CHAPTER 1: DEFINING YOUR VALUES

DEFINING YOUR VALUES

The primary goal of any business is to do whatever it does well and to make its customers happy. But each business has something underneath which drives everyone’s decisions and actions. These are a business's core values.  

Over the course of building your business, it might not have occurred to you yet to define your values. However, whether you've defined them or not, they're there guiding you. It's important to discover what these are and state them clearly.  

There are several reasons why it's so important to define your values:  

  • Core values guide what you do as a business. They lay the groundwork for what to do and what not to do. For example, if a core value is innovation, you'll reject project proposals that any business could do and instead put your energy towards creating something different and new. These values keep you focused. 
  • Core values explain your business's unique strengths. Defining them helps you to understand how your business is different from other similar businesses.  
  • Without core values, you risk lacking integrity. You risk becoming a company that only cares about earning a profit. Values give your business a sense of purpose. 
  • Core values can be communicated to others. They're important for employment and retention, and you can communicate them to potential customers, clients, or business partners to explain who you are and what you do.  


First, let's define what we mean by core values:  

Values are the things you believe are the most important to how you live and work. They're the guidelines you use to make decisions that keep you on track. These are the principles that underlie your business.  

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Discovering Your Core Values  

It's important to identify your core values so that you can better understand the foundation of what you're doing, and also communicate them to others who come into contact with your business.  

Examples of core values include things like:  

  • Going above and beyond customer expectations 
  • Accountability, trust, or reliability 
  • Cutting-edge and adapting to new technology or trends 
  • Anti-establishment or anti-corporate 
  • Deep experience or knowledge (such as technical expertise) 
  • Sense of adventure and risk-taking 
  • Family-oriented 
  • Youth-oriented 
  • Simplicity 
  • Efficiency 
  • Unique approach 
  • Environmental consciousness 
  • Focus on the future 
  • Sense of humor and fun 
  • Innovation 
  • Individuality 
  • People-oriented 
  • International or emphasis on diversity 
  • Building deep relationships 
  • Respect for tradition 
  • Safety  

These are just a few starter ideas, and you can use them or think of your own. To determine your core values, make a big list of values that apply to your company, and then narrow this list down to just a handful. It's important to pick the most important values, those that most closely define your business.  

How do you narrow down your list? There are several different ways. One is to prioritize. Put your list in order from the value that's dearest to your heart, and order the rest in terms of importance. Then, pick the top few that you feel most closely apply to your business.  

You can test each value. Try to find examples of it in action in your business’s day-to-day workings. This is a good way to determine whether this value really applies to your business. For example, if you have a commitment to innovation, you should see regular examples where you choose to innovate.  

Look at results. Which values have gotten you results over the years? If your main core value is that you're people-oriented, how has your business taken action to make customers or clients fully satisfied?  

Look at your best work. Find times when you really hit the ball out of the park. Or, what is it that makes you feel like your work isn't "work"? Where is the passion behind your business? What are you most proud of?  

It's good to look at your past achievements to discover which values are most important, but you should also consider aspirational values. In other words, what value do you want to guide your company? Which values will be most important in the future? You can also identify important values by considering the traits in others you'd like to emulate. Choose a company or individual you like and ask yourself what it is you like about them. This is a value you can aspire to in your business. As you go about narrowing down your list, remove those that are redundant. Look for ones you can combine to make it simpler. For example, if safety and reliability are important, you might say "trust." Once you know which value or values are most important, state this in one concise sentence. You should clarify them for yourself, but once clarified, you should also document them so that you can communicate your business to others. You'll want to communicate your values to your customers, but also document them for employees and others who work with you.  

ACTION STEPS

1. Brainstorm and create a list of every core value you think applies to your business. 

2. Narrow down your list to identify just a few that truly define your business. 

3. Create whatever documentation you need in order to communicate these values to those who need to understand them. 

4. Post a list of your values where you can see them every day, reminding yourself of what’s at the heart of your business.  

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Business Growth Guide Contents