Every business deals with any number of challenges over the course of a day, week, month, or year. Some are external – dealing with customers, vendors, or even the community. Some are internal – dealing with employees, processes, etc. No business is free of dealing with the on slot of items that, for one reason or another, have caused an issue in someone’s eyes. If not dealt with, they tend to grow larger and then require even greater effort to reduce or settle into a productive and manageable situation. When dealing with these matters, it is critical that what you say and then take action on is well defined so that, to the best of an organization’s ability, the resolution is productive for all parties.
What can you do to prepare for the greatest number of these unknown situations that just might be coming your way?
The first step is to use the Core Purpose and Core Values of the business to govern all of the decisions, conversations, and actions taken to bring timely resolution to any such matter. To do this, these guiding elements MUST be at the forefront of all members of the team. They can’t be some nice document that is visited once a year at the annual employee meeting. They can’t be nice plaques hung on the walls of the business. They can’t be just nice words for marketing and sales materials. Although all of those items are useful, they won’t be ready for active and immediate use at the time of a difficult situation.
Core Purpose and Core Values are at the center of the business culture. They define what is and what will be the success model for the company. When everyone is aligned to these principles, and they are the compass and guidance system for each and every decision and action, then the ability to deal with various matters is not only cleaner but the number of situations will by its own nature be reduced. This allows for energy and actions to be focused on the positive growth of the business rather than dealing with issues that hold the business back.
As part of the culture, which is based on Core Purpose and Core Values, are the underlying vocabulary that reflects those principles. With a common vocabulary based on the principles, the organization represents itself consistently in all matters, whether internal or external to the business. It keeps the finger-pointing to a minimum and moves the situation to a set of resolution steps rather than a destructive argumentative matter.
If your organization has taken the time to craft your Purpose and Values, then congratulations! You have already started down the path to growth. If you have them already, what are you doing to ensure they are not just words on paper but are being woven into the daily life and operations of the business? If you were to ask team members today to articulate your core values, what would they say?
If you presently either don’t have a Purpose or Core Values or don’t fully embrace them, don’t be dismissive of crafting or beginning to use them. It is never too late to inject a positive effort into a foundational growth strategy.
If this information has sparked an interest in how Core Purpose and Core Values can be a key strategy for the growth of your business, then reach out to a Promise Guide at JKL Associates for an initial conversation. No harm, no foul for giving us a call to begin a conversation. We can be reached at FL (407) 984-7246 or MI (313) 527-7945.
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