Core Values to Live By

Most larger organizations, public and private, have value statements as part of their organizational culture. I've found that most organizations will go through the drill of establishing these values or revisiting them during any strategic planning process. Then – life and work goes on, without much of a to-do about the values until the next strategic planning process.

Keeping the values of an organization front and center is an important part of valuing what they say and how the organization actually lives out the values. One place I worked for in the past did the values drill. Back then and still today I call them "aspirational values" since they were not being lived out by the leadership.

In reading the Puget Sound Business Journal this morning I came across Patti Payne's column about one company, www.rover.com. What caught my attention, besides the dogs in the boardroom, was their list of values. I won't repeat all of them, but their wording caught my eye:

• Prioritizing business goals above short-term personal career interests
• Focus on impact
• Action, not intimidated by failure
• Results that blow people away
• Discipline in the way we debate 
• Respect for transparency and reverence for vulnerability
• Resolve to be effective above the need to be comfortable
• Devotion to each other as people
• Celebration of humor, fun and occasional irreverence

I think you will agree that these are not your typical one-word values. "Integrity" is missing from the list, but isn't that supposed to be a given?