Situation: A tenet of the Company is that all decisions are made consistent with Company Values. However, some of my managers are asking for guidance on how to do this. How have other CEOs encouraged managers to make decisions consistent with company values?

Advice from the CEOs:

• Create cross-functional teams to address initiatives, solve problems and develop new processes consistent with company values.
  • This builds understanding other departments’ perspectives, and awareness of the impact of decisions on the company as a whole.
  • It builds awareness of company values and fights unhealthy competition between functions.
• One company created an employee task force to encourage living company values. Their solution includes:
  • Review the company’s values and consider revising how they are stated for easy learning.
  • Involve employees in discussions of company values and how they are applied in their departments.
  • Create a cross-functional employee task force to address inter-departmental conflicts and to suggest solutions in line with company values.
  • Expect everyone to know the company’s values, and occasionally test them.
• Build a vision of what the company looks like as an expression of its values.
  • Make living this vision part of your role.
  • Include living company values as a formal responsibility of managers.
  • Reward initiatives that build company values into company efforts.
  • Regularly review with your mangers their execution of company values.
• Create “SMART” objectives around implementation of company values, and hold individuals accountable for achieving their objectives.

Key Words: Company Values, Decisions, Employee Involvement, Initiative, Vision, Role, Objectives, Accountability  [like]