Q. How do you create values
to stand by?
I used to be very cynical about
mission statements and all that
stuff. We never really had any of
that, but it was probably seven
or eight years ago that we sat
down with a much larger group
of people — probably 30 people
— and we did this together.
Don’t come up with them and
say, ‘This is what our values are
going to be.’ Ask your team,
‘What are the code of ethics that
we’ll live by?’
It’s never too late to start to
make it inclusive of the group.
And make sure that once you
commit, that those are repeated
often, and that people could
recite them at any point.
Q. How do you make sure
people know the values?
The easiest thing is simply in
the repeated communication
and the examples of adherence
to those values. For example, if
I want to recognize someone in
another department, my job is
to write down what they did to
support one or more of the core
values [passion for customer
service, always doing the right
thing, never sacrificing quality
and spirit of camaraderie].
Then we have four parking
spaces, and each one is one of
the core values. If someone did
something in a particular
month to exemplify that core
value, they get to park in that
space that month. These aren’t
on a plaque — they’re painted
on the wall for everyone to see.
Lastly, incorporate them into
your meetings. We don’t start
any meeting — small or large
— without talking about the
values. When I have a town
hall, the first thing I do is test
the employees. I say, ‘Let’s
recite the four core values’ so
they know how much it means
to me.
People will follow if they
know how important it is. It’s
just repeated exposure.
HOW TO REACH: The Beryl Cos., (817) 355-5040 or www.beryl.net
