In a sea of business theories, core values just might be the most misused and misunderstood.
So many companies are living one of these sad realities:
1. They don’t have any core values at all.
2. They have AMAZING, INCREDIBLY INSPIRATIONAL core values, but those values have nothing to do with how the company actually operates.
3. Or, in what is probably the best-case scenario, they have an unspoken company “culture” that is thriving, but can’t be articulated or used to help the company become even better.
Whatever the case for your company, defining and utilizing your core values as a business tool is a powerful way to grow better, and help more.
Businesses in the behavioral health industry, in particular, can rise above the competition by focusing on internal values and ethics. You can’t reject unethical practices if you don’t have a definition of what you do stand for.
So, out of all the values in the world, how do you pick the most powerful core values for your company?
One fun way to tackle this project is to get your leadership team in a room and have them all think about their “best” employees and clients. What qualities do those people exhibit?
This exercise will help you find core values that already exist and are valued within your organization. Try to avoid “aspirational” values that aren’t really existent in your company yet. On the other hand, don’t settle for values that are basically a job requirement.
Get all those words out there, and see if common themes emerge.
As a group, choose three to five of those qualities to represent your core values.
Don’t worry about making it sound inspirational or hip just yet.
Once you’ve agreed upon your core themes, assign someone to “wordsmith” them into the final, outward-facing version you will share with clients and employees.
And you should definitely share them. Once staff are familiar with them, you can use your core values to hire, fire, and promote. You can put them on your website to let potential clients know what to expect if they engage with you.
And when you’re faced with difficult business decisions, you can look back to those core values as a guiding example of how to Grow Better, Help More.
If you need some inspiration to get started, BuzzFactory’s core values are:
1. Bee Healthy.
2. Bee Helpful.
3. Bee Great.
And speaking of #2, we’ve got a free ebook for you that breaks down all the latest on Google Adwords (now Google Ads!) and Legitscript. Just fill out the form and we’ll send it your way so you can #BeeGreat!