Going back to my business school days and in countless books and articles since, I’ve often heard of a company needing to define their core values. I used to look at this as a bunch of theoretical academic mumbo jumbo and paid little heed. My disinterested approach may have even been OK when our company just consisted of my wife and myself, as we are going to naturally be aligned in our values. As the company grew though, we started to see the value of having a set of core values that define who we are or at least what we stand for, as a company. This has proven helpful in many areas such as:
Hiring – Making sure we hire people that share our values is essential.
Decision making – Sometimes if we’re “on the fence” a quick reference back to our core values provides the answer. It also helps provide others with the independence to make decisions, so long as those decisions abide by our core values.
Holding each other accountable – This is perhaps my favorite benefit. There is no arguing about the point if someone does or considers doing something outside our core values. I have been called out on this before and I loved it – it means our team is buying in to the core values, one of which involves accountability.
If you are curious by now, here is the list of what we have identified as the core values for Custom Dwellings:
DO IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME – To borrow a phrase I heard from my father countless times growing up, “if it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing right”. Look to avoid the quick fix that won’t last and demand quality design and construction.
FAMILY IS IMPORTANT – That means mine and Stephanie’s family, our client’s, and employee’s families, and our ‘Custom Dwellings family’. We provide the flexibility to maintain a work/life balance, while respecting work priorities and deadlines…. flexible if you are getting your “stuff” done.
COLLABORATIVE SPIRIT WITH ACCOUNTABILITY – Share problem solving with each other and our clients. “Keeping your own monkeys” – there’s a funny story with that saying, but it basically means take your problem (monkey) with you and own it, don’t leave it for someone else. No one can be productive in an office full of monkeys running around that others left behind. Maintain a fun place to work while sharing in the wins and losses, both emotionally and financially.
MAINTAIN INTEGERITY ALWAYS – Act in an ethical, honest, and trustworthy manner. Maintain our standards even if that is occasionally at our own expense. Be the problem solvers, i.e., “trusted advisors”.
PROFESSIONAL APPEARANCE AND INTERACTIONS – Maintain clean and orderly office space, vehicles, and job sites. Be dependable and maintain a respectful demeanor with all stakeholders, employees, clients, trades partners, and vendors.