Do you live your values in life and at work?

We all have personal values. Things that we hold fundamental to the core of who we are and how we interact with and view the people and world around us.

Organizations also have values. Some written and spoken. Some not. Some organizations pay those values lip service. Some organizations place a focus on living those values each and every day.

I personally value authenticity, transparency, accountability, agility, and respect. To name a few. When doing business with an organization I look for signs that the organization and their workforce share these values.

Take the company Atlassian for example, it doesn’t get more blunt, direct, and transparent than their organizational values.

Open company, no bullshit
Build with heart and balance
Don’t #@!% the customer
Play, as a team
Be the change you seek

So, when was the last time you gave some focused thought to your personal values and how those align, or don’t, to the organizations you work for and do business with?

For some people doing business with an organization is as simple as considering what they offer, and if a for-profit business, at what price compared to the competition. However, for other people, doing business with an organization comes down to values. Not just price, offerings, or features. For these types of consumers, it’s important to them that the organization they do business with espouses values similar to their own.

We’re seeing more and more of this these days. Especially with Millennial and Gen Z consumers. Corporate citizenship and sustainability are important factors in doing business with a brand.

Take Chick-fil-A for example. Hands down the best chicken sandwich ever. Sorry, Popeyes. However, they state they have a culture of “dignity and respect” yet they got major flack for donating lots of money to anti-LGBTQ organizations. And people noticed. From my personal interactions with Chick-fil-A employees, at various locations, I have always been treated with “dignity and respect.” But knowing their leadership and the organization were actually practicing the opposite, by contributing and condoning donations to causes I feel practice discrimination and lack of acceptance, showed a major disconnect. So, like many other people, I ceased doing business with the brand.

Consumers do take values into consideration. For example…

Does the business value and respect diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)?
Do they have environmentally friendly policies?
Do their employees seem happy and engaged?
Do they give back to society at large?

These are all values considerations when choosing to do business with an organization. Or when deciding to work for an organization.

Values matter. And not just on paper or a website. So ask yourself…

Have you defined some of your personal values?
Do you take those into account when doing business with a brand?
What do you do when there is a misalignment?
Do those values align with your own?
Has your workplace defined their values?
Are they practicing those values or paying them lip service?

About Scott Span, MSOD, CSM: is CEO at Tolero Solutions. As a people strategist, leadership coach, and change and transformation specialist, his work is focused on people. Through his consulting and training work he supports clients to survive and thrive through change and transition and create people-focused cultures and a great employee experience. Through his coaching work, he supports people willing to dig deeper to identify and overcome what’s holding them back, change behaviors, accelerate performance and achieve their goals.