As an entrepreneur, and as someone who works with a lot of entrepreneurs, I'm all too familiar with how the rush to achieve a vision can simultaneously unravel us and undermine the viability and sustainability of our vision. Getting to market is inherently our #1 priority, but we have to be able to bring other people along with us to ensure we have the right amount of support, the right types of support, our intended audience(s) are reached, and they experience the value our business(es) deliver.
Entrepreneurs and business owners have to have a keen sense of what their core values or "core operating principles" are. These are the common threads for connecting with your audience and with your team. Core values work like a cultural code of conduct. Establishing a business is inherently establishing a community and its environment. We are the stewards of our spaces, our circles, and as leaders, we have to make the intrinsic beliefs we hold extrinsic for others so they can join our vision.
As owner and founder at Slow Living Solutions, what I find when working with clients is that we often lack the vocabulary that is necessary to describe the values we have both personally and professionally. We may have a gut feeling, a global concept, or a person that embodies the traits that we value and/or admire, but we have to dig deep to describe them. The work we do together begins by identifying examples of people/places/things that feel representative or that resonate with the client's deepest felt admirable qualities. We look for patterns and themes across what they have identified. Then we work to develop how these qualities are demonstrated in action. Finally, we evaluate and apply how those actions have and will be applied to the client's business.
Core values, articulated as operating principles for how a business treats its people, vendors, partnerships, and its customers is the playbook for approaching all business actions. This forms behavioral consistency, which is fundamental to establishing market differentiation and brand identity. Just like with personal relationships, company values demonstrate sincerity and authenticity that attracts and retains people of similar value systems. Being a user of your brand becomes an identity marker for them. Core values are also the precursor to establishing a noble cause. The tangible value delivered to the marketplace by your company should serve a  purpose of some noble impact that aligns to your core values. Some examples of this are companies like TOMS and Bombas.
More often than not, we overvalue our time spent on short-term revenue gains at the expense of foundational, less tangible work such as this, that ensures brand, reputation, and experiential consistency that lead to organizational sustainability and long-term growth. So if you're questioning whether defining your core values is necessary, remember that brands built on principles have staying power.
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