What Are Your Core Values?

By Bruce Van Horn  

 

“It is more important to know who you are than where you are going, for where you are going will change as the world around you changes.” - James C. Collins

If you have not yet read Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies by James C. Collins, you need to stop what you are doing right now, order it, block off next weekend, and read it from cover to cover!

In this timeless business book, Collins, demonstrates how great companies became great because their leaders were more concerned with the "Why" than they were the "How" or the "What." The founders of great companies often decided what their core values, the non-negotiables, would be even before they decided what products or services to create.

You see, truly great companies are, at their core, a reflection of the truly great men and women who lead them. 

Share this: Truly great companies understand the difference between what should never change and what should be open for change, between what is genuinely sacred and what is not.” Collins explores this concept in great detail with real examples from real companies, but that is not my concern here.

I'm not concerned with your company right now—I’m concerned with you. I'm not here to ask about your corporate core values, I am asking about your personal core values. You see, truly great companies are, at their core, a reflection of the truly great men and women who lead them. 

So I would like to rewrite Mr. Collins' phrase to read: “Truly great leaders understand the difference between what should never change and what is open for change...” What are your core values? What are your non-negotiables? 

I had lunch a few weeks ago with the owner of small but rapidly growing company. He contacted me, based on a referral, to talk about Executive/Life coaching. As we talked, he said a single sentence which made it clear to me that I was not the right person to coach him, or rather, he was not the right client for me. In describing his desire for success, he said “I'll do whatever it takes; everything is for sale!” The sad thing is, he really meant it. He was also shocked when I said I would not work with him because our values were not in alignment.

If your desire for success is so strong you are willing to do whatever it takes, then you will be willing to go in any direction to get it. If your desire for money is so strong you can say “everything is for sale,” then you will quickly run out of anything of value to offer. You may achieve some level of success for a time, but there is a strong likelihood your pursuit of the next great thing will lead you right off a cliff! “If you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything.” A cliché, I know, but it is true!

I am not going to tell you what your personal core values should be, but I am saying you need to have them and you need to stand firmly enough for them that everyone around you knows what they are. 

Share this: Your life will be more fulfilling when you surround yourself with people who hold similar values. Your leadership teams will work with more unity if comprised of people of similar values. Collins teaches that you cannot train people to adopt your values—you need to hire people who already hold your values. The problem is you cannot hire people with your values if you do not know what your values are!

Take some time to really think this through. What are your core values? Write them down. Ask your closest friends and colleagues what they think your core values are, to see if they agree with you. Examine your life, words, and actions. Are you living, speaking, acting and leading in alignment with your values?

Where you go and what you do may need to change with time and circumstance, but who you are, at the core, should never be open for negotiation!