In my company, success comes down to our values. The first and most important value is to “do what you say you’re going to do.” Specifically, to honour your word, be a person who is counted on, do work as it was meant to be done and don’t cut corners. As an entrepreneur, I must embody this value, regardless of the situation.
Of course, there are times in business when I’m tempted to do otherwise. What if a big client asks me to break my terms and conditions? What do I do? Is there a gray zone? For me, there isn’t one. I recently experienced a situation like this, and I explained to the client how they put me in a difficult position. This was my response to the client’s unorthodox request:
"I hear your request. However, it is a breach of our terms and conditions. We are a company of values, and our first value is to ‘do what we say we will do.’ It would put me in a difficult position if I was to request of my team to disregard this value, just because a big and important client has asked us to do so."
Now, this may sound too risky, and I could very well lose the client altogether. However, as a leader, if I don’t live the values of my company, then who is going to believe in them?
This experience got me thinking about the importance of defining and living company values. As a result, I have come up with five integrity questions that I’ve shared with my EO peers. The goal is to determine whether there’s flexibility in their values.
- As a famous athlete, you are offered a US$500,000 endorsement to promote a product that you dislike and would never use. Do you endorse it?
- You are working on a project along with several other companies, and you notice that one of the companies is doing shoddy work. If you report the company, the entire project may be shut down and you will lose 20 percent of your revenues for the year. Do you report the problem?
- The taxi driver gives you a blank receipt as he drops you off. You are on an expense account. Do you write in the correct amount?
- You’re golfing with an important client who thinks that golf skills are as important as business skills. Your ball has a bad lie, but you can move it to a better position without being seen. Do you?
- A good friend has been unemployed for several months. They ask you to write a reference for a job that you don’t think they’re well qualified for. Do you acquiesce?
There are no guaranteed right or wrong answers. These questions are simply engineered to provide insights into how an entrepreneur conducts business on a personal and professional level. It also pinpoints where one’s values lie.
In my experience, business is so much easier if you know what you stand for. It is not what you do, but who you are that will make the difference. Competitors can copy what you do, but not your relationships or ingenuity. In my company, we live our values moment by moment. After all, if we don’t have our word, what do we have?