Company values are far from fluff!

Do as you wish to be done by

I've been accused more than a few times of "preaching the obvious", sometimes to the point of madness. Yet, in defense of my years of soapboxing (which I learned from some pretty great mentors), I cannot say that many partners, colleagues, or employees truly understood why our company values statement was the glue of the company? Or, why this even mattered more than beer pong? It does, and if you don't get it, then here's just one example of how it can all blow up in a bad way.

Ok, so we all obviously get the concept of shared values, yet nobody recognizes the relevance until a disruptive event forces us (post mortem) to reflect on what went wrong? Guess what? It always traces back to "the problem could have been avoided if everyone stood by the company values to guide critical behavior", but some individual or group always seems to go rogue.

This is usually when I typically repeat why we LIVE by our values, and some folks roll their eyes. Unfortunately those eye rollers give many of us "the tell", and often end up in the chipper as well. Sounds poetic, but I just like the movie Fargo...

This is not an argument for cool quotes on the wall, a montage of imagery that says we're awesome, or some fakery that divides us vs unites us. It's glue, and if you don't believe it then you should probably leave your company too, because people like me are probably now watching you...

Let's get back to the positive and I'll try to persuade you that living by these values is what makes great companies great, not because they are a divine roadmap, but because they are the ROYGBIV of our reality. They are the color palate for how we successfully co-exist, operate day in and out, and hopefully thrive without killing each other over time.

My example comes from one of my favorites values: "do as you wish to be done by" which is literally kindergarten simple, right? So simple til some rogue agent in a team starts playing games (it's always passive).

Real world example:

My code depends on your code to work yet I slowly decide that I don't like your code so I start to message that you or your work product is the sand in the vaseline. I do it subtly with peers, I drip to my PM, I shovel little piles of shit until you are buried, all without you knowing. When you blow up like a roman candle I say that "you are the one that is toxic", and I can do the work better, so you're the one that should be cycled out of the group. Talk about Kindergarten! First of all, this bad actor should likely be fired because bad behavior like that does not go away.

I know this sounds pedantic but it's not. If we don't consistently reinforce on a monthly basis (at something like an internal team party) the best standards of behavior that unite us in a simple and respectful way, then we let the worst parts of our nature come out and take us down. CEO's, CTO's, all the founders need to make this our behavioral source code or risk dying by a thousand cuts.

If you've ever worked in a bar or restaurant you'll get my final point...

I went to a pretty cool high school where every day at lunch one kid at the table of six had to serve the table of 5 other kids like a waiter. Get the food, get water, milk, silverware, napkins, clear and clean the table like it was new. This was a brilliant microcosm of community behavior that illustrates my point about how core values serve everyone equally, and especially why I still insist on "do as you wish to be done by".

OK, so I digress. The bad kids treated the waiter like dirt, while the smart kids did the opposite. The smart ones helped, said thanks, made funny jokes in a nice way. We were cool as a rule! The kids that treated anyone like s__t got hammered with abuse, never to be tolerated again. The cool as a rule kids got tighter and worked together as a rule. A bond/code that has never left me!

To this day I treat every single waiter or service person I run across with kindness and respect the same way I treat every single person on any team in every company. And just like school, I get that back with more effort, more gratitude, and better service in any situation where I'm being helped. We both feel good, have the right motivation to work together, and LIVE BY that simple value that binds us.

"Do as you wish to be done by" is from kindergarten, and it's as relevant as any team value that you'll ever apply as a CEO, as an individual, or as a good friend. Company Values are not fluff, they need to echo through the halls every week. Sometimes we need to be gently reminded of the basics so that we can avoid childish behavior that can ultimately take the company down.

Hint: Instead of being a culture lecture - highlight one of your 4-5 values every other week at a team party. Have one of the C team or product team share an example of great internal behavior around these values. Raise a glass, praise the person, offer a cool reward besides $$. Let them and everyone know that you respect that commitment as much as their work product! You are essentially reminding the team why you all need to do as you wish to be done by. It also demonstrates your core values, it's what leaders do, it's why values are the glue of a great company. At the very least, somewhere in the universe a waiter will appreciate your kindness.