Put A Value on Values

“Ultimately, what distinguishes a company’s practice of corporate citizenship is expressed by the way in which it delivers its core values. The competitive companies of the future will find how to fundamentally align and embed their core values — including the values that society expects them to hold. Values are becoming a new strategic asset and tool that establishes the basis of trust and cooperation.”
--Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship

Values are as important as brands. Corporations should seek to reflect, and be associated with, good values. Developing, defining and articulating those values are among the CEO’s most difficult, but important, challenges.

In a recent survey of leading CEOs, “the internal communication of values and policies” received more votes than any other option as a key way to measure the integration of corporate citizenship into the performance of corporate leaders.

As fundamental as this may be, many leaders fail to state their values explicitly, even though doing so provides their customers, clients and partners with a great sense of comfort. In essence, they undervalue their values!

When the leadership of a company lays out its values, it is telling customers, investors, and the market what it believes, and what it aspires to become. This allows the corporation’s employees, business partners, and stakeholders to know what values a corporation are guided by, and to what values it can be held accountable.

For many, it is comforting to know the values that are prioritized and important in a corporation.

(c) 2008 Adonis E. Hoffman