How To Establish Your Company’s Core Values

The following is an edited excerpt from the book, Hired to Quit, Inspired to Stay: How Focusing on Employee Dreams Built an Exceptional Culture and an Unbreakable Company, by Craig Handley.

Core values are like a compass. They can guide your business in the direction you want it to go.

By declaring your values early in the business, everyone in the company can move as one as you grow. If you have a set of core values that guides decisions — whether strategic or financial — chances are you’ll have everyone on the same page.

When my business partner and I wanted to expand ListenTrust and grow as entrepreneurs, we looked at our company culture and determined that we needed to be more specific about our values. Seeking input and inspiration, we attended the Engage conference in Calgary.

I thought the conference was speaking to me. Culture! Engagement! I was aghast that they knew exactly what we needed. Of course, I later realized the whole conference was on culture and engagement (did I mention I’m a music major masquerading as a CEO?), but I digress.

The overriding theme every speaker spoke to was, “If I could do anything over again, I would establish core values sooner, because they make a huge impact.”

When we left the conference, we were on a mission to create our own core values.

Core values are not who you want to be. Core values are who you are. When we started this process at ListenTrust, we set out wanting to discover who we were and what we wanted to carry forward that made us different.

The Defining Moment

Our company culture has evolved over time, but there is one defining moment I remember distinctly. In 2006, the very beginning of ListenTrust, we lost our first big campaign due to lack of inventory. Losing this campaign meant that 90 percent of our agents would not take calls, meaning they would earn minimum wage without commissions until the campaign returned or we found a new client that was just as big.

At that time, we had twenty agents. I talked with them all and explained the situation. It was a difficult conversation, as I had to tell them I needed them to continue working in the company practically without pay for at least three weeks. I offered them more days of rest, up to a week, so they would stay, since I knew that the volume of calls would come back.

When I finished explaining the situation and offering what I could for a minimum wage, they left the office to assimilate the news and think about what the company had offered for their new salary, which clearly wasn’t much.

I stayed in the office, worrying we were going to lose all the staff. I was trying to figure out what to do next, when one of the sales agents knocked on the door and entered. Behind him, all the other agents followed. One of them started talking about how grateful they had been for the company and about how ListenTrust treated them. They felt we were an honest and honorable company, and they let us know they were equally committed. They felt like family at ListenTrust. They made the counteroffer to stay to work their schedules as they usually did without importing the minimum wage. Together, they said, we would all make those calls come back.

In the end, the calls came back in two weeks, and each of those twenty agents eventually grew along with the company to better positions. That was a defining moment for everyone.

“I believe that at that precise moment the ListenTrust family and our culture were formed.”

— Abraham Rodriguez, first employee of ListenTrust

The Passion Test

At the conference, I met authors Janet and Chris Attwood. They have a book called The Passion Test. While their book was originally intended for people to use in their personal lives, they had been wanting to try it on a business. We agreed to work together, and they helped me apply their passion test to ListenTrust.

The purpose of this process was to figure out the answers to the following questions:

• What unique value does the company provide?
• How do we state it with elegant simplicity?
• How do we excite passion through expression?
• Can we make decisions based on these core values?
• Can these values be the basis of alignment (congruence)?

The process consisted of three phases. In phase one, we determined our core values. In phase two, we created a culture action plan and conducted passion test training. In phase three, we implemented our core values.

Phase One: Determine Core Values

To start the process, we interviewed everyone within our company to determine what they believed ListenTrust’s core values were at that point in time. They all had varying answers, but many of the answers were similar or overlapped. In the end, we came up with eighteen starting-point values. One was “Reach for the stars, never be satisfied. We can always do more.” The second was “Seeing the need before it arises.” A third was “True to others and true to ourselves, operating with integrity and honesty.” These eighteen values were many of the things that had brought the business through some of the more challenging times.

When the list came together, my business partner and I sat down with our key decision-makers and went through the points, one by one. We said, “Would you rather be a company that reaches for the stars, where you’re never satisfied with the current results, and you’re always pushing to be better? Or, would you rather be a company that sees the need before it arises, where you see ahead of the curve?” We realized that if you’re that company that sees the need before it arises, you’re never going to reach for the stars. If you’re reaching for the stars, then you’ll be a company that will always be behind your clients. We debated each core value in a similar manner until we made our way through every single one of them and came up with the strongest answers.

Once we decided that seeing the need before it arises was more important than reaching for the stars, we went on to ask, “Would you rather see the need before it arises, or would you rather be true to others and yourself?” If you’re a company that sees the need before it arises, you’re not operating with integrity and honesty. If you’re a company that operates with integrity and honesty, then you’ll never be a company that stays ahead of the curve.

Would you rather be a company true to yourself and true to others, operating with integrity and honesty, or would you rather be a company that provides extraordinary value? If you’re a company with integrity and honesty, you’ll never be a company providing extraordinary value.

We literally debated each one of these eighteen core values until we had our number one passion for the company. Then we went through the entire list a second time, and we found our number two passion. As we went through it, some things blended into others, and others were eliminated. It took us about two weeks to get through the entire process.

From there, we determined our basic values, and we came up with our unique value, which was “Delivering awesomeness.” This was our overall core value that everything then subsequently stemmed from.

Phase Two: Create A Culture Action Plan

Once we determined our seven values, we set up markers to guide them. We made a list of action items that would not only show we had core values, but that we were living them. In other words, we created guidelines that established how someone would know if they were living the values.

We promoted the values one at a time and wrote a two-sentence description of the value. Then we wrote a manifesto, giving each value two paragraphs. From that moment on, every time we did something, whether it was attending a charity event or a sales meeting, we tried to use that activity as an example of one of our values. We use our values as our compass. Once we knew what they were, it was hard to stray from them. They keep us on track. If we stay true to them, then we can do no wrong.

Creating your core values is never a perfect process, but it’s best to involve everyone at the company. You don’t want leaders dictating what they are; instead, you want it to be a collaborative effort. Keep them simple and succinct so they’re not left up for interpretation.

Fast forward eight years, and we refined our values even further. When we first created our values, one of our values was “Going beyond ourselves.” We asked everyone what they thought this meant. When it was meant to be about charity and giving back, our COO thought we meant that sometimes we work harder than others to get things done. While his interpretation wasn’t off the mark, it wasn’t our intention. When we did a rebrand, we realized that some of our values could be interpreted to mean different things.

After that, we retooled every one of our values to have the definition within the sentence.

For every core value, we determined the unique value we provided, how to state it with simplicity, and how to excite passion through expression. For example, one of our values was “Living life like an extreme sport.” For us that meant going all out and giving 110 percent; however, it could be interpreted otherwise. So, we rephrased it to say, “100 percent effort, 100 percent heart.” The reason for this is that we wanted to have the definition of the value within the stated value.

Phase Three: Implementation

From there, we created a culture implementation plan. This plan designated one person in charge of each department. We created a mechanism to make sure all staff responded to an online feedback survey on the core passions, and we set quarterly manager meetings to review our progress toward aligning with our passions. We implemented a monthly call-in and created videos illustrating each passion. Each department then had a culture communications strategy, and we hired someone to be a Director of Awesomeness, who was responsible for our culture initiatives. This director created competitions, a hall of fame wall, dream boards, and a library to propagate the culture. One year we decided to do raffles, and every other month we raffled off prizes. For a full year, every other month, we gave away a car. We gave away six cars that year and had some great events around the giveaways.

“I still remember when we started out with the Core Values. Craig and his partner wanted to create a department that would be in charge of promoting those values and also making sure that people would live the Passion Test. Luckily, I was the person chosen to run the initiative. Back then, I asked myself, ‘Passion Test? What is that? Sounds interesting.’ I had never heard about anything similar, nor had I heard of a company that would want to carry it out and make sure employees lived their passions, which was fascinating to me. Craig and his partner got totally involved in the initiative (he himself was the project manager), and we regularly had calls to check up on the progress, always truly excited to know how it was developing. That’s what this company is all about for me, developing dreamers and believers.”

— Sally Chavez, first Culture Manager

We Approach Business Differently (Than Anyone Else In Mexico)

At ListenTrust, we believe people are the heart of your business. That is so cliché, right? But it’s true. They are the lifeblood. Employees are not expendable; they are valuable. We treat our employees well because we believe in them. In Mexico, there is an industrial mindset where you simply tell people what to do and they do it. In an industrial mindset, businesses don’t look for talent, they look for people who can conform.

During the industrial revolution, people’s jobs were to manage machines and output. We are now in a people revolution where investments need to be made in people. When you focus on the people, the business and the work become more fun and fulfilling. At the end of the day, what we enjoy most about the work we do is doing right by others and doing well for ourselves.

Life was certainly simpler when all that existed was a small consulting company that didn’t have to oversee others, but it was far less fulfilling. We now see that doing good for others is a great opportunity. We believe we have so many people because it is our job to impact these people’s lives positively. If we do that, then everything else will fall into place.

The Power Of Many

A business’s power is derived from its team and the people it associates with.

Often, entrepreneurs put themselves into a closet. They become so focused on their initial vision that they forget the power of their network. Business is not the power of one, but the power of many.

I believe that branching out from my “closet” brings power back to the business. Too often, entrepreneurs get so caught up in the rat race of constant work that they forget it’s okay to have fun. Getting away from the business and listening, engaging, laughing, and sharing experiences with other business owners in environments where you’re not necessarily looking for new business is healthy.

When you get so focused on one channel or your initial vision, you shut out opportunities to grow. Seeking camaraderie away from the business is imperative. I joined the Maverick1000, a global network of entrepreneurs, because I was so involved in the day-to-day of the business that I needed an outlet away from the company. I wanted to be around more like-minded entrepreneurs, and I wanted to have fun while doing it.

The Mavericks fit my personality well, because it placed me around people who wanted to give back, grow, and be adventurous. When I attended retreats with the Mavericks, I had more fun in our business. I could think more clearly and was less reactive.

Whether you find your niche through a local or national association or through hobbies, you have to get away from your business. Being able to get out there and connect with other groups helps reinforce your culture and values as well. Finding a group or association that allows you to get out of your day-to-day routine is healthy, and I encourage you to find that. Whether it’s the Maverick1000, Stagen, Genius Network, Gazelles, Young Entrepreneurs, or something else entirely, if you can find something that speaks to you outside of your business, you will be a better owner. Relating with people who are facing similar challenges, and people you can be vulnerable with who understand what you’re going through, will make you stronger.

As an entrepreneur, you need to be able to think outside the box, and the best way to help you do that is to go into listener mode and learn from others. I’ve been fortunate enough to be able to associate with different groups and meet entrepreneurs from all over the world who’ve been tremendously helpful. As your business grows, you will find that fewer and fewer people can help you. You have to find different circles of people who are experts in growing a business. Everyone has something to add. As ListenTrust has grown, I’ve had to find people who are bigger than we are. I needed to find and learn from companies who have 1,000 employees and generate $150 million in sales, or $15 million plus in billings. (As a service company, we bill about 10 percent of the revenue we drive.)

My motto at ListenTrust is: operate from a place where you’re constantly trying to learn. That’s why I seek advice and mentoring from people whose businesses are ahead of ListenTrust’s. I understand that I don’t have all the answers, and I know we can only grow if we ask for help or seek guidance and feedback. At ListenTrust we are never complacent, and you shouldn’t be either.

For more on building an exceptional work culture, check out Hired to Quit, Inspired to Stay: How Focusing on Employee Dreams Built an Exceptional Culture and an Unbreakable Company, by Craig Handley.