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| The emptiness of corporate values | | Date Created: Oct 11, 2005, 10:45 PM |
We had a management session to create a new set of corporate values today. It was one of the most mind-numbing and energy-sapping sessions that I have sat through, which for a career civil servant is saying a lot.
There was no discussion about why we needed a new set of corporate values at this point in time, nor what was wrong with the present values. This is not to say that the current set is flawless --- many people don't know what they are, let alone what they mean because we have never practised them. But the key question that I felt was left unasked was what is the problem with the old set of values that requires all this effort to draft a new set?
We split into several groups to brainstorm on a set of new values. When we regrouped, what struck me most was the chilling similarities in each group's proposed set of values. The common values were respect/caring for one another; teamwork or partnerships; and professionalism.
To me, there was nothing inherently exciting or energising about the final collection of values that we drew up. What was worse, there was no sense of getting work done faster, or improving what we have been doing; or doing things differently. There was way too much of the touchy-feely. Knowing that I was preaching to a difficult audience, the one value that I chose to keep hammering on was "agility", which I feel is precisely what this 1000-strong organisation requires to be in order to adapt to the fast-changing environment. At least agility received some support from the audience, which is more than what I can say about my other suggestion, "become results-oriented".
Only half tongue-in-cheek, I shared with my group my set of alternative values :
"Cut the Crap"
"Just Move"
"Win Sustainably"
"Deliver results"
"Be Different"
"Be Honest"
"Kick Ass"
I was accused of being too male...... |
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