Why many companies fail at defining their core values

 

Imagine those core value posters, with keywords like Integrity, Respect, and Customer First. Not that they are wrong, but when core values are defined as such, they are not helpful. No company aspires to NOT have integrity. When defining core values, we must test them against dilemmas our employees will face on a day to day basis. It is when they are guided to resolve everyday dilemmas that we build our organisation culture. 

Imagine you work at a creative company. You have started work on a piece of art. Do you show it to your supervisors and colleagues now, so that you can get their feedback and course-correct early if necessary? Or is this going to take up everyone's time unnecessarily since your work is still early-stage? At Pixar, they have one clear principle - show your unfinished work. If you work for Pixar, you know clearly what to do. 

Frame your core values through dilemmas, and you will build your organisation culture more effectively. 

The employee's dilemma - why work so hard to make money for other people?

 

One important thing we need to realise as employees is we are NOT working for other people. We are working for ourselves. We work not only for the salary. If we think the salary is the only thing we work for, then of course we would feel any extra effort we put in is only further enriching the shareholders and we don't get anything more. We work for ourselves, because what we learn, and who we become, belong to us. No one can take that away from us. By doing our job well, we increase our value, and that's something we own, not our bosses. 

If you are a boss, this above seems like the perfect motivational speech to give your employees to get them to work harder for you. By all means share this with your staff. Just remember to appreciate the value of your people, and reward them fairly. When employees can grow professionally and are appreciated, they will work harder WITH you. 

Your last words

 

Five years ago, I wrote my last words. It was a long letter, meant to be found and read after I am gone. In it I wrote things I'd like to tell people I care about in that moment when I have just left this world. That letter is meant for my family and friends, but it is also meant for me. When I think through what I want to say, and what is still important at that point in time, it helps me put many things into perspective. 

When you know how you will die, you know how you will live. 

Every year, I take out this letter. I read it and I revise it. Then I put it away for next year. It is my little executive retreat. A reset. A meditation.  

Sorry this is a sombre topic on a New Year's Eve. So I attach a silly photo of me, which somewhat represents my take on life. Don't take it too seriously. 

Happy New Year! 

On business leadership: Who do you choose to work with and not to work with?

 

I learned this from a guru: "In business there are no enemies, there are only people you want to work with, and people you don't want to work with." Ironically, I later learned about some questionable business practices of this guru, and decided she was someone I didn't want to work with. 

How do you decide who not to work with? 

• If you don't like the person, you won't work with them?
• If you are not comfortable with some of their ways of working, you won't? 
• Only if their actions go against some of your core principles? Or, 
• It's business. If the transaction is profitable, you'll do it. 

Sometimes how desperate we are for the business affects our choices. If you don't need this particular transaction, naturally you can better afford to say no. For me, I find that I'm between (a) and (b). Sometimes there are people I decide not to work with simply because we don't click. I would rather not put myself through an uncomfortable working relationship. I choose to spend time with the many other collaborators who are better aligned. 

Where do you draw the line? 

MASAGA Conference 2024

 

Great fun to showcase my business simulation activity at the MASAGA Conference 2024.

https://youtu.be/sYKYFVTxqrc?si=TTmmIDJbsytLVVEh

Do you feel uncomfortable doing business networking?

 

I used to feel uncomfortable with the idea of business networking, because I felt I was meeting people with a selfish motive. I was greeting people with the intention of doing business, of selling something. I felt I wasn't being genuine. I had an agenda. That was how I perceived others who did business networking too. "What is this guy trying to sell me?" 

I now take a different perspective. When I do business networking, I am doing it for 114 other friends too, not just myself. I go out there to understand and learn from what people do. I try to find out whether they have problems they need solved. If there is a problem to be solved, I try to see whether I can help, or whether any of my business collaborators can. Business networking is about learning what other people do, what problems they solve, and why they are unique. Business networking is about helping to connect people with problems to people with solutions. And that's a meaningful thing to do. 

The power of taking negative feedback well

 

This is something I learned from designing games, and not just from training feedback forms. Positive and negative feedback are both important. Positive feedback is important because it tells you what are important to your audience, and moving forward you want to retain and enhance those aspects of your product or service. Negative feedback is important because that's when you realise your weaknesses and shortfalls. That's when you improve. 

In the past when I received negative feedback on my game designs, one impulse I often had was to explain why the game worked that way. I later learned that the best way to take negative feedback is to simply accept them. Don't be defensive. Encourage the person to share their feelings, experience and suggestions. It is important to understand them and why your product doesn't meet their expectations. It is not just about your product. It is also about your audience. Accepting feedback does not mean you will follow every suggestion. Your product cannot make everyone happy, but you do want to delight your most important customers. 

Negative feedback is often more valuable than the transaction itself. Treasure it.