The Importance of Being a Values-Driven Business
The importance of defining company values.
The vast majority of companies that I have worked for, and with, have defined their “core values” - a carefully crafted set of principles and beliefs that reflect what’s most important to them. Or simply put - what they value most.
They should reflect what’s important to the People in your company, your Customers, but also your Community.
They should be uniquely ‘you’. It’s a tall order but it’s work worth doing - especially for any growing business. Why? As you grow, you want to attract not only the right customers, but also the right talent. Being able to succinctly define what you’re all about is a quick (but emotive) way to filter out people who aren’t quite in-sync with your view on the world. And that’s a good thing.
We’ve spent a good amount of time drafting, refining and agreeing on four core values that we feel reflect Great2 and will be the persistent guideposts we need as we make hundreds of decisions on how we grow our business.
Here they are - we hope you enjoy reading them and that they reveal a little be more about why we are here and what we hope to achieve - for our People, our Customers and our Community.
We believe in doing the right thing.
Whenever we talk about our values, we inevitably talk about “doing the right thing”. It’s our short-hand for how we behave and encapsulates all our values. For us, doing the right thing means acting ethically, with integrity and being charitable and considerate about the impact we make. It’s guides everything we do. As do our four core values:
Collectively Concious.
At our core, is a deep desire to make conscious choices to improve the lives of the people and communities around us. This guides every decision we make and, over time, positively impacts the wider world at large.
We take a long-term view; building businesses that will endure. Balancing profits with people and the planet. We believe the best kind of growth is inclusive and sustainable.
Giving Back.
We believe that profit is important but how you use it is more important.
We seek to be a “force for great” meaning we wish to use our time, energy and outcomes (revenue, profit and growth) wisely. For the benefit of many. We encourage and align with other likeminded, entrepreneurial businesses.
Thriving Together.
We believe in the importance of the community and are driven by a deep sense of social responsibility. We achieve more together.
Traditional wisdom tells us “great minds think alike” yet we know growth and innovation often come from embracing healthy debate and different perspectives. Inclusivity benefits everybody.
Creating Balance.
Finding a sense of work-life balance is a personal journey and mastering this can be an entrepreneur’s ‘superpower’. Individual health and wellbeing is essential to company health and wellbeing.
Building a business takes passion and energy. Finding balance along the way makes the journey more rewarding. Balance is about slowing down, being more aware and, ultimately, making better decisions.
We hope you find our values interesting and inspiring. If you’re struggling to write your own, or haven’t even thought about doing them, then drop us a line. We’d be happy to help.
