Inside the Box (ePub)

How to turn company values into competitive advantage

We are inclined, for whatever reason, to treat values like works
of art. We view them as nice to hang on the wall, and beautiful to
look at, but we don't act as though they truly mean much to
us in the real world. In fact, the opposite is true. The best
organizations understand their values, articulate them clearly, and
hold them higher than any short-term concerns or short-cut methods.
This does not put these companies at a competitive disadvantage. It
is the source of their competitive advantage.

If there's no clarity at the top about what values really mean,
then there's no consistency at the management level or further down
the organization. This means that there's no way to measure, coach,
assess, promote or fire people in line with those values. Any
organization that does not articulate its values concretely
functions like a modern Tower of Babel. No one can be quite sure
that they are speaking the same language at different levels or
different locations within the organization. Decisions don't always
make sense or feel right. Confusion reigns. No matter how
compelling and inspirational the organization's vision may be, its
aspirations fall far short in reality.

Values are about achieving results in a way that is consistent
with what an organization stands for. They provide a direct
connection between the CEO, the factory worker and everyone in
between; and form the basis of the organization's "brand" as
understood by employees, customers, suppliers and even
shareholders. When the work is done right, values provide an
organizing principle, a directional compass that helps
organizations succeed; they become a source of energy for an
organization's vision, strategy and day-to-day efforts. Vision,
strategy, market share, reputation and profits are all very
important - but having a clear and consistent set of values
is far more critical in predicting whether an organization will
continue to succeed and grow as its people, markets, competitive
landscape and technology change. People must make their
contributions to an organization willingly and independently to
bring passion, commitment, creativity and energy to a job. But they
will do so only so long as they believe that what they are doing is
authentic and meaningful, and is part of a code of commitment
shared by the organization as a whole.

Inside the Box focuses on values in a clear and practical
way to understand what they are, where they come from and how they
are transmitted from employee generation to generation. Inside
the Box provides a roadmap for any leader or manager on how to
identify the values that make an organization, department, team, or
individual unique. It also shows how to measure whether an
organization or individual is operating according to those values,
and how managers can use values as the basis for all of their
people decisions and drive superior performance as a result.