When working with our clients we spend time  helping them to be clear about what their core business values are. We do this because the values are the essence of the culture of the business and they really do matter.

For business values to work they have to be lived by each individual in the organisation. They are not something that simply sits on the wall in a frame. If you are clear about your business values and you find a connection between them and your customers and suppliers’ values, then you will find those relationships much longer lasting.

Interestingly I see a close connection between our view of values and a recent TED Talk by Simon Sinek, kindly sent to me by Jacky Sherman. The link to the video is:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=qp0HIF3SfI4

In the video he talks about the WHAT, HOW AND WHY of a business.

The WHAT is something that everyone knows both inside and outside the organisation – it is what they do. The HOW is a little more difficult, it is the differentiation, the unique selling point. Some organisations are very clear in this and do communicate it well.

The WHY however is much more elusive. Very few organisations know why they do it. What’s the purpose of the business, what’s your cause, what are the organisation’s beliefs and values?

Only those organisations that can answer these questions truly create an emotional connection with their customers who become their advocates. In essence customers buy the WHY not just the WHAT and HOW. It creates a huge emotional bond and creates a level of loyalty few businesses truly achieve with their customers.

Watch the video and let me know what you think.