Are your personal values in sync with your work life?
Peter Comrie and Alan Lewis, founders of Vcadamy (the V is for values), posit that the organizing principles for human behavior have shifted over the past 80 years. In the beginning of the 20th century after World War I, it was survival. Post World War II it was family, then it shifted to money.
At this point in history, the organizing principle is relationships. Relationships are formed, strengthened, and maintained through the commonality of personal values. And, today, social media significantly impact the definition of relationships.
Witness the comments of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in his speech to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. He stated the strength of the alliance of our two countries is based on the fact that “we are family,” and we have the same family values. In other words, our values-based relationship demands that we have a responsibility to each other.
Twitter’s action of shutting down accounts of people who tweet pro-Islamic State propaganda is a heartening trend. It shows that there is a responsibility to base our business relationships on values that we share. We certainly don’t share the values of ISIL.
I had a conversation with a 26-year-old venture capitalist this weekend. He was demonstrating a set of virtual reality goggles produced by a company he had invested in and was extolling the virtues of this advancing technology. I must admit the technology is dazzling. I found myself instantly exploring the Piazza del Duomo in Florence from my perch on a stool in a favorite bistro in our San Francisco neighborhood. I was impressed at the detail as I looked up, down, sideways, and behind me to find the same views that I experienced while visiting Florence.
Then I was troubled by the potential destructive power of this technology if it were to fall into the hands of those with radically different values from our own. Could terrorists use virtual reality to plan attacks? I asked my young entrepreneur if the company considered the values and intent of people to whom they would market this technology. “No,” he said, “the technology should be available to anyone who wants it.” Right answer as an entrepreneur. Wrong answer from a social responsibility perspective.
So it is with our companies. Do the values that drive our organizations matter? Do we have the responsibility to build our business relationships, make our products, and provide our services based on a set of core values that represent who we are and the world we desire for our families and our friends? Yes we do!
Are your core values in sync with the values of your company? Do they align with the social organizing principles that drive your corporate culture? It might be a good time to reflect on these questions.
Ken