By Robert J. Connor, JD, CIC
Senior Vice President, Chief Marketing Officer, Berkley Alliance Managers, a Berkley Company
April 7, 2022
As we get ready to celebrate Earth Day on April 22 and think about making our world a happier, healthier place to live, it makes me think about our corporate environments. What makes them a happier, healthier place to work?
Discovering, communicating and living your organizations authentic core values sure does. Core values light the way for your employees, lead other people to join your organization and encourage others to do business with it.
Core values are not created out of thin air. A company needs to discover them. They are the essence of who the company is and what they will become.
The definition of “core” is “the central or most important part of something.” The definition of “values” is “a person’s principles or standards of behavior; one’s judgment of what is important in life”. A key word in each definition is “important”. Thinking about that definition, what is important to companies with whom you conduct business?
This is a key question to ask companies with whom you are considering doing business with. Do they believe what you believe and value what you value? If your values are not in alignment with those you transact business with, then there are likely to be issues as the relationship grows and evolves.
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