Values are important: here are ours.
Operating a government affairs + business development firm with strong core values.
Admit it, when you think of anything in government in this day and time, ethical is not the first word that comes to mind. As a government affairs and business development firm, comprised of what we believe to be, good people, this definitely makes our skin crawl a bit.
We sat back, thought about the work that we were doing, what our intentions were, and what causes and communities we wanted to impact.
What values are most important to us, and how can we make sure that every move forward, is a move forward in excellence, and with strong ethics and morals?
Not just a selfish, feel-good act.
When looking at developing values, we were quick to jump at those that promoted a positive culture.
Furthermore, research has shown that companies that had developed core values had employees that were more motivated, and stakeholders felt more at ease during the decision-making process. But they couldn’t just be feel-good words on the wall, they had to be an action statement with a commitment to moving forward to progress in those areas.
We remind ourselves of our values by writing them on the wall…as nouns. Integrity. Honesty. Innovation. Communication, for example. But nouns are not actionable. They are things. You can’t build systems or develop incentives around those things. It’s nearly impossible to hold people accountable to nouns…For values or guiding principles to be truly effective, they have to be verbs. It’s not innovation, it’s look at the problem from a different angle.
-Simon Sinek, Start With Why
We only work with companies, causes, and people who we respect. Period.
(Yes! We have a type.)
We are always on the lookout for companies who promote equity and transparency, sustainability, advocacy and who are just overall nice humans.
We aim to collaborate with those who uphold the following values:
Equity: Conduct business bias-free and with fairness. This must go beyond equal opportunity. It has to include fair and livable pay all the way down the chain of command. Equity of access, resources, and accessibility is important to develop stronger communities.
Transparency: Be open and honest with not only the people you partner with, but those who you employ and do business with. Customers want to know why they should choose you over a competitor. Be transparent with the business actions you take and communicate to your customers regularly.
Sustainability: Be efficient and sustainable in your business model — from the buildings you build to the supply chain to your partnerships, follow the best practices of sustainability. Internal carbon-neutrality and zero-waste policies are quickly becoming key factors in gaining business and investors.
Advocacy: Advocate for other ethical companies and causes that are in-line with your own mission. Let customers know that these causes exist and be an active voice in the respective communities. If you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything. But we also hope that your opinions will change over time as you learn more.
Voice to Change: As we grow as a more connected society, it us up to companies like ours to provide a voice to people, causes, and communities that we care about, and to advocate for change in areas that don’t fit our moral compass. Whether this be through collaboration, government affairs, or grassroots organization, demonstrate a willingness to do better.
Be Nice: Don’t be a jerk. Do we need to say more?
(please note: we all have room to grow, so most companies won’t get perfect scores on all of these categories, but our sincere hope is that they will continue to move in the right direction).
Developing your own company values
This isn’t something we took lightly, and neither should you.
Take the time to develop your own company values and follow the steps that we did below. We referenced the aforementioned Simon Sinek’s Ted Talk as well as this article from Inc.
Some quick takeaways on what helped us most
- Brainstorm as a team: it takes all voices, what is important to one person, may be integral to the value of the company as a whole. Including all voices is important to developing diversity.
- Put everything on the table: No wrong answers, seriously. You don’t want you system of values to be excluding of anyone. Look at the values being discussed and look at those you work with and those who are most important to you.
- Those who tolerate everything, stand for nothing: By not taking a stand on values, or drawing a hard line somewhere, you stand for nothing. How do you make sure that you’re standing for things that are most ethical?
With these in mind, we’re confident that you can develop a core set of values that mean a lot to you and your company. Keep in mind, not everyone is perfect, nor do we claim to be perfect. It’s all about striving towards the best practices and being willing to progress in a way that allows for success.
Have you developed core values? What did you find was most impactful towards developing your core values? What values did you end up with?
Clift & Co. is a government affairs + business development firm based in Reno, NV, and services clients across the country. The organization believes in elevating causes, technologies and people that build a strong community.
Visit them on the web: cliftand.co or sign up for their newsletter.
