The Values

What I have been focussing on this week is to look at company values, company visions.

I like this quote from Gandhi:

Let your thoughts be positive for they will become your words. 

Let your actions be positive for they will become your values. 

Let your values be positive for they will become your destiny.

Let your words be positive for they will become your actions. 

― Gandhi

I have lookout at a few, having worked in the late 1990’s for Hewlett-Packard, I was familiar with the HP way. They started with a few ‘rules’ and let those rules guide them out of the garage where they started up to be one of the biggest computer companies in the world – I found this link quite interesting for not just those original values but how life has changed and those values forgotten. 

https://www.inflexion-point.com/Blog/bid/74097/5-Timeless-Principles-Revisiting-the-HP-Way

I also looked at Apple and the Steve Jobs presentation when he returned to Apple in 1997 when it was on the verge on bankruptcy. 

What I found interesting  about the Steve Jobs video, was that there was a need to collaborate and the need for a new board of directors – all existing Apple lovers – who could help rebuild not the brand but the business. And that meant getting close to traditional rivals such as Microsoft. Apple and Microsoft had a long running and very costly patent battle. Steve Jobs solved that and got $150M investment (non-voting shares) in Apple and worked with Apple to create MS Office on Mac.

This again shows how teamwork, a set of shared goals and collaboration with those with expertise outside the company is great. 

Then I looked at a video from the very successful Stanford University – How to Start a Startup set of YouTube videos – Lecture 10

What I liked about this was it looked at two real world examples which talk about building company cultures.

Alfred Lin of Zappos opened the lecture and then lead a Q&A session with Brian Chesky of AirBnB. What I got out of this was how did these companies come up with their values. And Brian in particular struck a cord with me in that he said you needed to have people with the same values and beliefs as yourself. Also that they had to be so talented that you knew you had to raise your own game, I love that don’t you? And it seemed to Brian that actually being OK spending 18 hours a day together was a solid function of being on the same page (my words not his). And thinking about some of my closest friends, we might not communicate for years, but actually they still have the same values, the same commitments and the same concerns as I do. We can pick up where we left off. We know that they are people who will understand us at a fundamental level. And I want this blog to help me find a similar tribe of people who also share the ideas and values that the blog and eventually the company will hold in high regard.

I have spent a lot of time over the last few years understanding what my personal values and beliefs are. But should those be for the company as well? What is negotiable and what is not? The business model is certainly at this point negotiable but the values, mission and beliefs are not – at least not at this point. I feel (and please argue with me) at this point that if I can get these correct – those fundaments which should stand us in good stead for at least the near future – I am sure many will evolve as the company evolves and I certainly would expect them to be reviewed annually. If I can decide what those are – they will hopefully attract the right tribe around me at this point which will enable me to then start sparking ideas off and getting feedback from you all. Everyone has something to contribute – not just with a purchase but an idea – even if that idea is not for now – it may be for the future. It is the bold ideas – the strong ethics which enable us to stand first and push this idea forward.

What have I learnt – there are a number of the words that seem to matter to me personally and I think these six words are key:

VEGETATION – without which we would have no products, or indeed be alive.

ENVIRONMENT– without nature we would not survive, nature needs to be appreciated to be helped and to be valued.

GRATITUDE – for the products, the producers and our whole community from the concept design to the delivered product.

DESIGN – great design – that make a difference in peoples lives and help the planet be rid of plastics and other destructive activities.

INTEGRITY – not just about honesty but about ethics and fairness and includes gratitude or the business, the producers, customers and most of all for nature and her gifts.

FRIENDSHIP – which for me embodies a number of emotions – happy, love, warmth, caring – creating a community of like-minded people.

And I have incorporated them into a logo which I think illustrates the above.

What do you think?