Comments on: Core Values or Cash? Vegetarian or Bacon Sandwiches?

By: John

John — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 05:29:48 +0000

This guy seems to be confusing core values with a company’s philosophy of giving. Core Values are usually clear, concise and easily defined. they typically cover honesty, integrity, excellence, concepts that can always be enforced without any negative effects. The philosophy of a company concerning the way they address the environment, or charitable giving can easily be addressed, all it takes is a scalable plan that increases their contribution as their business becomes more established and profitable.

By: Nicholas DiBiase

Nicholas DiBiase — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 18:21:16 +0000

Re : pragmatism of core values : that’s not to say that understanding of the enterprise’s core values should change opportunistically, but that the core values can be born from the wisdom of experience (e.g., we’ve come to recognize that free sharing of information improves our internal operations and the confidence our clients have in us, therefore we articulate a core value of ‘transparency’), rather than pulled from the theoretical or self-help ether (“We strive to make each client we serve not just a customer, but a partner,” etc).

Which is not to say, of course, that lofty-sounding core values drawn from theory are invalid. My point was more to the effect that businesses shouldn’t shy away from articulation of core values because they feel like such articulation is insufficiently concrete.

By: Terri

Terri — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 15:19:41 +0000

Core values for your brand-new start-up business are (or should be) based on the same ethical values you apply in your personal life and should reflect your principles. You are, after all, the one running the show. Your customers and your employees will look to you to set the example. How your ethics and values apply to your business will develop and become increasingly clear over time as you encounter situations and make your decisions for how you are going to respond.

As the business grows, you must be able to put your core values into a clear statement (s) for your employees. If this is done earlier, all the better.

Core Values, Mission Statements, Codes of Conduct, Company Philosophy, and all the related items which are intended to be statements of the guiding principles for your business are important tools for growth. How else can you make decisions about your customers, your alliances, and your employees?

By: Andrew

Andrew — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 13:31:54 +0000

When you say Core values can be pragmatic – does that mean that a company’s stated core values should change and evolve over time? Why are they not the core principles at the bedrock of the business?

By: Nicholas DiBiase

Nicholas DiBiase — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 04:15:53 +0000

Core values positively vital for any business, especially a startup. Clear understanding and articulation of core values gives the business a concrete sense of direction and investors confidence that the team is unified in outlook and purpose.

Core values don’t have to be lofty; they can be purely pragmatic. They do, however, have to be communicated with absolute clarity and demonstrated by the actions of the company.