The values below are selected from a company with internet presence. The management of the company has put significant effort in setting the values up. This can be deducted by the amount of values that are selected.

Decreasing the amount of values would increase the credibility of each individual value and it would be easier to manage them. Once you introduce a corporate values system it should support your organization. Having too many values will make this more difficult.

As there are up to ten separate statements, the first ones will be the most important. You can understand this if you practice the piano and you are to study a certain passage. IT is always the beginning that will go fine, but at the end there comes the toughest part and there is where you will make most of the mistakes. You stop in the middle and start all over again. The first bars will be amongst the ones you will dominate perfectly.

Quality in everything we do
Quality is normally managed by support and this means that this company chooses to invest in indirect business processes. As any company should choose, increasing resources for quality will in the same time mean that fewer resources will be available for the primary process in which quantity dominates.

Exceeding customer expectations
This means investment in communication and sales.

Trust, respect and integrity in all of our relationships
Relationship also belong to the area of sales; remember the client database or client relationship management.

Continuous improvement, innovation and embracing change
This statement is ambiguous. You either choose for continuous innovation and change or you opt for continuous improvements. Instead, the Continuous improvement, should belong to the quality statement.

Teamwork and open, honest communication
This statement is also sales related. Honest communication, could be further specified. For example we value a rational and objective communication.

Each employee's responsibility for contributing to the company's success
This statement would fit better with the teamwork statement. You want teamwork, but each employee has its own contribution. This weakens the teamwork statement.

Creating a safe, productive and rewarding work environment
Safe is part of quality. Productive goes without saying and Rewarding is what receives the emphasis in this statement.

Building a high-performing, diverse workforce
High-performing. This is mentioned at the end. Meaning ... in the end, we want performance... This one is tricky.

Promoting the responsible consumption of our products
This one is mentioned because of the special character of the company. Good to mention.

Preserving and protecting the environment and supporting communities where we do business
The company accepts it societal function. Could be part of Teamwork and it means that the company cooperates not only with internal stakeholders but also with external stakeholders.

In the end a fine set of corporate values, but limiting the number of statements would increase the credibility.

2006 Hans Bool