Company, Culture and Core Values
Core values are not about the product or service, it’s about the mentality within the organisation: the culture and the intrinsic values of the people within the company.
Every company should have clear core values and communicate them, so that the stakeholders, key partners, customers and the public know what the company stands for. Also, the employees can work better with the core values in mind. The leader (manager) inspires them and shows exemplary behaviour. Make sure that employees cannot ignore it (in a positive sense). Make them enthusiastic to propagate the core values in everything they do.
Core values are the most important values within an organisation; they are properties or drives that show what one stands for. A company preferably has three to five clear core values that make the corporate culture clear at once. For example: We stand for sustainability, quality and transparency.
With core values you indicate why and how your company does things. Core values make it much easier to make strategic decisions. If you have core values that everyone in your company supports, everyone knows what action to take.
Culture
"Culture eats strategy for breakfast"
Company Culture Deck
Culture influences the way people interact, the context within which knowledge is created, the resistance they will have towards certain changes, and ultimately the way they share (or the way they do not share) knowledge.
Defining company values, behaviours, beliefs and ideals is a useful thing to do: when you define what you want them to be, you’ve got a much better chance of making them a reality. Communicating your (intended) corporate culture is important for attracting new staff, getting employees to cooperate in the right way, and creating a healthy working environment – but also for attracting the right customers and convincing suitable investors.
Getting your company culture checklist into a short slide deck is a simple and effective way to help these things happen. A company culture deck is the summary of the company culture that serve as a guide to new and existing employees.
Find out more in this video about the development of Netflix’s famous Culture Deck:
Build a Culture Deck: keep it simple (less is more)
Share your Culture deck with the outside world.
If you collaborate with others, relate this to your interpretation of The Golden Circle.
Where is the overlap? Do you see differences?
Recommended Books:
Bretton Putter (2018). Culture Decks Decoded. Transform your culture into a visible, conscious and tangible asset.
Mike Ganino (2018). Company Culture for Dummies.