October 29th, 2007
By Mark
Mission, Vision, Values, Goals. Those are the answers. The question is “What should one do to be a successful CEO?”
I am asked this question all the time, by my Vistage members. The more I learn, the more I talk to successful CEOs, the more Vistage speakers I hear, the more I believe that Mission, Vision, Values, Goals are the path to success. They don’t guarantee success, but they put you on the path. This blog entry just talks about Values.
I think that Values or Core Values are the most important concept for a CEO or any leader of a group. I like behavior based Core Values.. They should provide you and your employees a foundation for knowing how to act in difficult situations. When I was CEO of Stellcom, we had three Core Values. They were:
Be Honest -We are honest. We do not lie, cheat or steal and we do not tolerate anyone who does.
Have Balance - We expect great commitment to our company. We expect great commitment to interests outside the company. We balance the needs of the company and the needs an individual has outside the company.
Continually Improve - We continually and relentlessly seek to improve our company and ourselves.
Each of these values was important in the management of company and individuals. We used these as a filter for hiring and firing. These values never changed. We did not always live by these values, but we strived to. We helped each other when we sensed that someone was failing to live by them.
I will never forget when an employee of mine came into my office after a hallway meeting. We had just been strategizing on how to deal with two clients who both wanted one of our very talented engineers. The solution that I proposed was not an open and honest solution. My suggestion, as this employee told me, was a lie through omission. I listened to her points, agreed with them, took a deep sigh, and reconvened the hallway meeting. I apologized for my lack of honesty and we came up with a solution that followed our Core Values. That experience reinforced the need for Core Values and the power of living Core Values. When your employees can guide the CEO, you know you have taught well.
At TKF we have three Core Values. I love these Core Values. I love the power of them. I love the detailed description of them. I love the way they help us run the business.
INTEGRITY
We behave with integrity.
Integrity is defined as “soundness, incorruptibility and a firm adherence to a code of ethics.” Our integrity demonstrates the strengths and weaknesses in our character. People of integrity are honest and genuine in their dealings with others. People of integrity hold fast to their commitments, rather than their desires. We make many commitments to TKF, to ourselves and to our community. At TKF, we understand that at times these commitments are in conflict. At these times of conflict, we must work to remain steadfast to our true and deep commitments. We must bring these conflicts to the light and work with each other to resolve them. We strive to live a life of integrity.
COMPASSIONATE CONFRONTATION
We believe in compassionate confrontation in a context of peace and respect.
Confrontation is defined as “to bring face to face, to cause to meet, a clashing of ideas.” In the context of TKF, we believe in confrontation that occurs with compassion in order to achieve a higher understanding with mutually beneficial results. Compassionate confrontation requires compassionate listening. We understand that compassionate confrontation is a healthy ingredient to human interactions. Confrontation is honest. Confrontation creates opportunities for change. We embrace compassionate confrontation. We confront each other with a loving and compassionate intent.
FORGIVENESS
We forgive others and seek forgiveness.
Forgiveness is defined as “the act of giving up of resentment.” At TKF, we see forgiveness as a process, starting with the acknowledgement that we have been harmed. Through this pain, we tap into the power of forgiveness, the release of resentment. Ultimately, we reach out with love and compassion to the offender. We forgive others when they have wronged us. We forgive others who have wronged someone else. We ask for our own forgiveness when we have wronged others. We will not harbor feelings of resentment after forgiveness. We acknowledge that we are all human and at times will fail in forgiveness. We help each other to forgive, to accept forgiveness and to accept each other through the process. We strive to forgive.
For me, once defined, Core Values should never change. You will note that that as I write about Mission, Vision and Goals, that I believe they should change.