Values Will Make or Break Your Startup
Know Your Values
In life… Humans are creatures of meaning. How people see themselves and how they see those around them defines who they are. This is why values are key in all areas of life: in communicating effectively, in finding the right people to work with, in building effective organizations based on trust, in mobilizing people’s energies, and in exercising leadership.
In business… Values are the foundation of every successful enterprise, helping you to attract investors, to form partnerships with other organizations, and to win and keep customers. To succeed in the marketplace, you must be able to understand how to perceive and anticipate other people’s values. Only then can you be clear about who your target audience is and what they want.
In branding… A successful brand must be built on reality — on the real values of the startup and its people and on the real value that its products and services deliver to customers. In today’s world of multidirectional, instant communication, branding can no longer be an exercise in manipulating perceptions with phony images and clever slogans. You build an effective brand by tapping into the value systems of your customers, by being real with them, and by delivering real value.
Creating a “Value-Based” Culture
No matter how your potential customers come into contact with you — whether through your website, via influencers, by personal reference or word of mouth, social media, blogs, write-ups in trade journals or media coverage, or through direct experience with your products or services — they will naturally be forming judgments about the value of your brand, your company, and your products and services. Branding involves a set of techniques and strategies for creating an identity that is memorable and meaningful in people’s minds: one that marks your products and services as better than the rest.
Jeff Weiner, CEO at LinkedIn, has this to say about values:
Example: LinkedIn
The LinkedIn Values:
• Members first
• Relationships matter
• Be open, honest and constructive
• Demand excellence
• Take intelligent risks
• Act like an owner
Every employee of LinkedIn is able to point to these values and say: “That’s who we are. That’s LinkedIn.”
In other words, your values define your culture.
With clear values that you make public (sharing on your website and social media accounts etc.), you will attract employees who share your values and customers who connect with them. Values should be used during the hiring process to find candidates who are the best fit for your organization. They also let employees know what’s expected of them and what “success” looks like in your organization.
If your employees feel that the most important thing is to perform well, to win, to beat the competition, to hit sales targets, or to make money at all costs, this raises an issue of integrity within your organization that could cause you some serious problems. An article published in the Harvard Business Review reveals why this is more important than ever in today’s society: it highlights a 2018 survey by PwC that identified a significant rise in white-collar crime over recent years (50% of participating organizations, up from 30% in 2009), arguing that a lack of solid values and a culture of integrity are a root cause. When people feel they are under pressure to perform and hit certain targets without a grounding in clear and robust organizational values to guide their decisions, crimes such as fraud and embezzlement tend to be more common, and this can be hugely damaging to both your bottom line and your reputation: “It destroys shareholder value, drains management resources, and tarnishes brands, sometimes irredeemably.” (The Thing About Integrity, HBR, July-August 2019).
The findings of the survey also demonstrate that this value-based culture of integrity needs to come from the top down. It is shaped, modeled, promoted, and protected by leaders: “The leaders who prioritize integrity themselves tend to run organizations that discourage winning at any cost and, in the process, cultivate higher employee engagement and more profitable growth.” (HBR). This shifts the responsibility onto business leaders to create the right culture and identify any gaps in integrity, rather than developing into a witch hunt for the one or two ‘bad eggs’ within the organization.
The importance of values applies to any organization, large or small, in every industry. You need a coherent identity that is grounded in clear values in order to articulate to clients, customers, stakeholders and partners what you do and why it matters.
Shaping Your Vision
A company’s vision is rooted in and driven by its values. It, too, needs to form an emotional connection with people and point to a ‘higher purpose’. This is especially important to today’s millennial generation, and considering they will soon make up 50% of the workforce, employers need to move fast to understand how to engage and motivate them.
Your company’s vision shouldn’t be vague or ambiguous but should be articulated from the top down as a meaningful, inspirational statement that emotionally connects employees to a cause and a purpose beyond making money.
Let’s take the LinkedIn vision statement as an example:
“To create economic opportunity for every member of the global workforce.”
This is clearly shaped by the values that we looked at earlier and is powerful because:
• It envisages a better future.
• It’s innovative.
• It’s inspirational.
• It forms an emotional connection.
Establishing both vision and values is the first step towards defining your brand, which will be the foundation for everything else that you do.
Example: Bloomberg
Bloomberg has been going strong for 35 years and currently employs almost 20,000 people. Its products and services may have evolved with the times, but part of Bloomberg’s success and longevity is down to a long-established culture that is shaped by Michael Bloomberg’s personal values.
Bloomberg Values:
• Innovate
• Collaborate
• Know the Customer
• Work Hard and Smart
• Do the Right Thing
Bloomberg Vision:
To leverage leading-edge technology and trusted content to deliver essential, innovative solutions to professionals.
Bloomberg Culture:
- Transparency
- Providing the Customer with Data
- Philanthropy Rather than Quarterly Returns
Part of what makes Bloomberg a great place to work is its vision and values, which have defined a strong culture that shapes who they are and informs everything they do. Their work is placed within a larger purpose, and every employee plays a role in this.
You can see how this helps Bloomberg to continue to attract the best talent, to grow and to innovate, as employees are aligned with the vision and values of the company and engaged with the meaning and purpose of their work.
Choosing Your Core Values
Try to choose your top 3 values, and certainly no more than 5. This helps to keep your values clear, focused, and memorable.
Here’s a simple checklist for making sure that you have chosen the right values and that they are successfully shaping the culture of your organization:
- Everyone from the CEO to new hires can articulate the values (without the walls being plastered with posters as a reminder).
- Employees affirm that this is “who we are.”
- They are used for guiding tough decisions.
Closing the Gaps
Identifying your values is the first step towards shaping a value-based culture, but this is also something that needs to be constantly monitored and reinforced. It’s not enough to say that you’re a certain type of organization with certain foundational values; you need to find out whether the everyday experience of your employees, at every level, actually matches up.
The HBR refers to data gathered by Gartner, which surveys employees about their organizational culture and promotes the practice of regular staff surveys. Anonymity is important so that people feel they can be completely honest, but it is helpful to include things like department and seniority so that you can easily identify the areas where your values need to be reinforced. Again, the ball is in the court of the leadership to address any weak spots or gaps in the culture that you want to nurture.
Embracing the Journey
This is a process, but it’s worth the effort. If you need a guiding hand, there are certain exercises and strategies that you can follow in order to discern the values that are unique to you and articulate them in a way that is true to who you are as an organization. Brand Real: The Startup Entrepreneurs’ Guide to Effective Branding and Building Value-Based Organizations is a helpful step-by-step guide that takes you through the process, with advice from experts and fellow entrepreneurs, and is a great reminder that you’re not alone on this journey!
It’s not enough for your startup to be innovative; it also needs a soul. If you start with your values, taking the time to lay solid foundations, you will build and grow an organization that has meaning and value for the world.
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Vazken Kalayjian, an entrepreneur, futurist, artist, and meditation teacher, explores the intersection of innovation, creativity, and spirituality. As a multifaceted innovator and creative thinker, Vazken Kalayjian merges an entrepreneur’s visionary mindset with a futurist’s foresight. His work as a meditation teacher and spiritual artist is imbued with profound insights, shaping designs and branding strategies with depth and purpose. With a passion for spirituality, AI, and the Metaverse, he is committed to pushing the boundaries of innovation while constantly seeking new knowledge and experiences. Through art, design, and strategic branding, Vazken Kalayjian aims to hack consciousness, craft impactful experiences, and contribute to the advancement of humanity. Join him as we unveil the future together.
