WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT ARE YOU?: BUSINESS VALUES ARE PART OF YOUR BRAND | MARKETING MYTHBUSTERS

The values of your business define how it honours its mission. Values represent what an organisation will and will not do, what it rewards, what it punishes, and how it defines success and failure. Values also determine the relationships with other stakeholders. For example, in some firms, an employee leaving to set up on their own would still be considered part of the family. They may even become suppliers or customers to their former employers. But other companies may view an employee leaving to do their own thing as an act of treason. When you value competition above all else, everyone is a potential enemy. But when you forsake what you see as absolute loyalty, you can leverage the assets of a larger ecosystem. They may not appear on a balance sheet, but they're just as important as any other asset. Power no longer lies at the top of hierarchies, but radiates out from the center of networks. What determines whether we get there or not are our values.