A Values Umbrella Helps Handle The Rain

In the warp speed of today’s business environment, many leadership teams have not built an umbrella of values that guide the decision making process. In fact, many leadership teams make such decisions without much thought, due to the pressure of the moment, or they avoid decision making, hoping problems will correct on their own. Neither course is a very solid place to stand when difficult decisions rain down on the leadership team. Learn More

We would like to introduce you to David R. Meyer, who recently joined ABA as our Director of Management Development. Dave is responsible for management development and personal productivity for ABA clients. Learn More

ABA worked as a strategic partner with this computer manufacturing company to prepare and implement practices to support growth. We clarified the mission statement and strategic plan, redesigned the organizational structure, helped hire two vice presidents, performed CFO services, and completed a management development program. ABA worked alongside the management team in an ongoing manner to assess and advise in financial and operational decisions. The president of the company had this to say about ABA’s services… Learn More

A Values Umbrella Helps Handle The Rain

In the warp speed of today’s business environment, many leadership teams have not built an umbrella of values that guide the decision making process. In fact, many leadership teams make such decisions without much thought, due to the pressure of the moment, or they avoid decision making, hoping problems will correct on their own. Neither course is a very solid place to stand when difficult decisions rain down on the leadership team.

Many of our clients have found a discussion of values a tremendous asset in making decisions; not only the tough ones, but the day-to-day ones that ultimately determine the performance of the company. Yet, discussing values is not done in the normal course of business. It is often ignored, or thought of as hallowed ground, and thus never discussed. How can your leadership team create a values umbrella?

Identify your personal business values.
Start with a list of values and personally decide what your top five are at work. Think about how you currently make decisions. What values drive your decision making thought process?

Meet together and share your personal business values.
Share with your leadership team the top five personal values, starting with each person’s number one, number two, etc., until each participant’s top five have been identified. In a recent session, from a list of 20 values, 13 made someone’s top five list, illustrating how hard it may be to reach consensus.

Reduce the list to five values.
Discuss which values can be dropped from the list and why. Which ones must remain? The discussion should not be rushed. It is very important to hear the heart and mind of each person as you discuss what people will and will not give on. Can you combine values or keep more than five? No, that is an easy way to avoid the difficult task of narrowing the list.

Prioritize the top five values.
After five remain, discuss which one is number one, number two, and so on. Leadership teams have battled intensely over the position of each value knowing the impending significance of the final list. Again, listening to each participant’s rationale is part of the reason the exercise has so much value.

Share your values umbrella with others.
Once the list is finalized, share it with others in the business. It is important for everyone to understand the values that drive decision making in the organization, according to the leadership team.

Below are three examples of different organizations and their top five values for making decisions.

From the three examples, can you tell which organization is an engineering firm, a chemical business, or a government agency?

How would each organization handle a recall issue? Organization A would weigh the impact on profit above all other considerations. Organization B would possibly act the quickest because integrity & ethics and reputation are first and third. Organization C may work hard to figure out what went wrong and try to address product quality with service. Each organization would take a different approach based on its values umbrella.

Most leadership teams understand the benefit is realized from the discussion of team members’ values and the decision making process, not just the final prioritized list. Before problems rain, not during the storm, is the time to create your values umbrella.

(Company A is the engineering firm, Company B is the chemical business, and Company C is the government agency.)

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We would like to introduce you to David R. Meyer, who recently joined ABA as our Director of Management Development. Dave is responsible for management development and personal productivity for ABA clients. He is very effective in developing the management skills of individuals and teams, and has specialized in training and mentoring young and new managers throughout his 20+ years of management experience with both small and large companies. Dave’s business background includes executive positions with XO Communications, Nextel Communications, and 12 years with MCI.

We are excited to have Dave on our team and invite you to get acquainted with him! You may reach Dave at dmeyer@abadvisors.com or 303-793-3600.

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ABA worked as a strategic partner with this computer manufacturing company to prepare and implement practices to support growth. We clarified the mission statement and strategic plan, redesigned the organizational structure, helped hire two vice presidents, performed CFO services, and completed a management development program. ABA worked alongside the management team in an ongoing manner to assess and advise in financial and operational decisions. The president of the company had this to say about ABA’s services…

“ABA demonstrated that businesses can benefit from having them become a strategic partner. My staff is happy that I brought in ABA. We have benefited corporately and personally from their services.” President

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