Values in Their Finest Hour

Over the last 12 months, we’ve seen example after example of failed values at work in our economy – from companies that over-promised and under-delivered to both employees and customers alike – to fund managers entrusted with investors’ money whose personal greed generated billion dollar losses of other people’s money. It seems like failed values have pulled up a chair and taken a seat at the decision-making table of the nation’s corporations

This is all happening despite the fact that companies devote incredible amounts of time and energy to developing corporate values. They print them on posters and hang them in lobbies. They become screen-savers on company computers. They’re laminated on cards distributed to every employee. Yet, too many organizations are still struggling to live the values they espouse. Why? Are we failing as a nation to stay anchored to the foundation on which our country’s economy was built? Have we lost touch with time-honored concepts like integrity, respect, honor, and an honest day’s work for a day’s pay? Have individuals become so self-absorbed and in need of immediate gratification that they’ve forgotten that living their values says more about their net worth in the world than any coveted collection of designer clothes or luxury cars ever could?

Perhaps the answer to all of these questions is yes, but I believe a more fundamental aspect to developing and living corporate values is at play. The last time I checked, a corporation was nothing more than a legal entity. The leaders and employees determine and shape the culture; they define the values by which the organization will operate. Our personal values influence the values of the organizations of which we are a part, largely because our values are such an intrinsic part of who we are. They are intimately intertwined with our skills and our passions; the three collectively determine how we show up in the world and at work. Individuals will deliver (or won’t) on the behaviors associated with the organization’s values, based on how those values resonate with their own deeply held beliefs. Because of this, no set of corporate values will ever have the same meaning to every employee – at least not without working at it.

But what about the organizations and the leaders who grasp the importance of values and turn them into a powerful tool for orchestrating success? What are they doing differently? A great deal. For starters, the leaders of these organizations are uncompromising when it comes to the values that define their culture. They are able to clearly articulate what those values look like in action and demonstrate them through their own behaviors. They not only invite employees to participate in defining and shaping the organization’s core values, they consistently offer employees the freedom to act on and interpret those values. These leaders operate from the nexus of their passions, skills, and values, inspiring others to follow their good example.

While conducting research for my new book, The Purpose Linked Organization, I was fortunate to interview a number of inspirational leaders. One such leader was Marilyn Carlson Nelson, chair of Carlson, a privately held group of companies that operates in 150 countries. Carlson owns hotels and restaurants, and provides travel and marketing services, all of which generate close to $40 billion in annual revenue. With 160,000 employees around the globe, defining and living the company’s core values is not only a challenge, it’s an imperative, if consistent high quality service is the goal.

During my discussion with Marilyn, she recalled a time when she realized that leaders and employees had deeply embraced Carlson values. It was in the difficult days following the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center. Marilyn conducted conference calls and left voice messages with Carlson leaders, reminding each one of them of the company’s credo and operating values. She gave them the freedom to act on those values by letting leaders know that if they couldn’t get in contact with her, as long as they made decisions based on company values, she wouldn’t criticize their choices.

Carlson leaders took Marilyn’s words and the company’s values to heart. They transformed a ballroom of one of their New York hotels into a relief station for first responders, and the employees of one of their restaurants cooked and delivered food around the clock to stranded travelers. Leaders and employees acted with integrity and served with caring – delivering on the core tenets of Carlson’s creed. Here they were, embroiled in one of this country’s greatest tragedies, and Carlson employees stood in their finest hour – because they unrelentingly lived and worked their values.

As business leaders grapple with the challenges of this difficult economy in the months ahead, I hope we’ll witness more examples like this one, where employees’ shining hours are born of values put into action. These are, after all, the individuals who truly deserve a seat at the corporate table.

By Alaina Love