Foundation, Team, Vision – How to find your company values

Every company can and should ask itself what distinguishes its brand from others. An essential idea for this is the values that are defined in an organization. Today, we’ll show you why this is an ongoing process and what role the various stages of your own hero’s journey play in this.

A look into the past – The origin of values

Both employees and managers are essential for finding values. Everyone brings their own experiences and stories to the table. Not every story has to be a success story. Challenges and difficulties are also part of the process of making people or companies what they are. Once you have collected enough stories, you can quickly recognize which principles are in the foreground and how you can pass them on to your team in a motivating and reflective way.

A look into the future – The zeitgeist of values

Another important point is that a company moves with the times. Never before have so many people been sent to the home office, albeit involuntarily. Of course, this can create major challenges if the company was not yet ready for them. But if flexibility and independence have been built in from the start, teams and bosses can adapt more easily to such unpredictable factors as a global pandemic. What’s more, there may even be the potential to prioritize new values and learn more about oneself and one’s own organization.

From idea to action: value categories

But how do companies manage to find and define their values? On the basis of these three points, the company’s own value DNA can be crystallized:

1. In the beginning was a value

Which values were already associated with the company’s vision of the future from the very beginning? Discipline, open-mindedness, passion? What hurdles did the company encounter in its history and what helped to overcome them? Perseverance, commitment, reliability? And what values particularly distinguish the institution? Authenticity, humor, transparency?

2. Change through growth

A conversation with colleagues quickly reveals what is important to them, both professionally and privately. Is it independence, fairness and loyalty? What principles are important in teamwork? Recognition, reliability and helpfulness? And what qualities are not important for the team? Control and precision?

3. To the horizon and much further

The well-known question of where you see yourself in five years is one that companies should also ask themselves again and again.  In doing so, they can also adapt to the needs and circumstances of their employees and listen to them. What does the desired workplace look like for the team? Are flexibility, freedom and trust important for this? And how can a managing director put this into practice? A look at colleagues in other companies can also be inspiring for one’s own vision of the future.

An eternally changing organism – The further development of values

The development of a company is therefore not set in stone. With new employees come different perspectives and focuses. With changed external circumstances and modern technological achievements, previously unknown possibilities open up, which can shape the DNA of the company. As is often the case in life, a company always learns as it goes along. In this way, the experiences can be carried out into the world, so that a culture is created in which people with the same attitude unite. Every company has its own many little stories that shape it, and from these its uniqueness emerges, to which it should remain true.