Revolutionize Your Business & Drive Leadership Mastery With Purpose & Values
By Ami Mariscal
Updated May 5, 2017
Written May 3, 2016
For thousands of years humans have been navigating the Earth using the stars. Though we are generally more in touch with our cell phones than compasses these days, most of us can still find the North Star. Thinking about your life’s purpose, or your current “why” as your North Star is a useful metaphor for so many good reasons I’m excited to share with you! And this metaphor serves as a fantastic framework for creating a business that can survive almost anything.
If your purpose is your North Star, then your values compass connects you with your purpose from wherever you are.
Life’s hustle and flow is like the sea, or the sand… It’s here on Earth. And there are monsters out to get you everywhere. They may look like a nice woman asking for something, and it may in fact just be that… But when more and more people line up to ask you for things, they can start to look like monsters. But your compass keeps you heading in the right direction, towards your purpose, your North star even when you can’t see it.
Ideally your purpose drives your beliefs and that does that heavy lifting for the whole system. So you need very a little push to get the strategies moving forward well and those strategies drive tactics… That is the most efficient and fulfilling way to create outcomes. But this is not how most people drive their lives.
How To Revolutionize Your Business
Most people act from the tactical level 99% of the time. If you act from the beliefs level – which includes values – then you will improve your happiness, success and your relationships exponentially. Take another look at the image above. The bigger the gears are the more power they represent. If you are driving from the tactical level you are driving from the place with the least amount of power.
It’s Easy To Say A Value
In July 2016 I started making videos called #ThoughtTopic videos that correspond with Profitlandia topics. When I got to the video about Core Values it opened a can of worms bigger than the size of California.
This World Is #HARD
I was raised a Christian and my parents helped me define a value system from the time I began to understand that stuff. My main understanding of God has been that God equals love. So I have strived to live out the value of loving others as I love myself my entire life. Life I said, this stuff is hard. I have messed up more than I would like to admit. But I have also succeeded more than I ever thought that I would.
It’s easy to say you have a value, but it’s hard to live it out in real life. Is that the understatement of the year or what?
Let me give you an example of one of the typical values most people say they agree with and most people do not live out in their daily life. This is one of our core values at Lift Your Business:
* I only commit to something when I am almost certain I can achieve it. If it looks like I might fail to meet a commitment, I will warn my team members as soon as I realize it.
I have a huge advantage in this department because my mother is one of the most responsible people I know. I’m also from the East coast; I grew up in Florida. Now I live in LA and I’m never leaving… And I hang out with many artists and entrepreneurs. So it seems to me that there’s a bit of a West coast disposition to over-commit. I’d love to hear from you if you disagree, but keep it respectful 😃
And now I feel like I’m seeing a meltdown in the leadership of my/our country in terms of failing to meet commitments.
To be honest, this stuff is driving me a bit crazy at the moment I’m writing this. But alas, I learned long ago that moving forward with grace is better for my soul and the souls of everyone around me. (Again easier said than done;)
Some of the most frustration comes when my clients, team or loved ones don’t do the projects they commit to. Or when they don’t live out the values they say they are committed to. The reason it’s the most frustrating is that this is when I care the most.
When my clients don’t do what they commit to they are kicking themselves in the butt. It’s going to take longer to accomplish their goals. I am incredibly invested in helping them accomplish their goals, so when they don’t succeed it causes me pain as well.
It’s that darn empathy. But alas, empathy is one of the most important skills for the new work-world that is taking shape. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. Right?
So one of the reasons this stuff is so hard is that the only person you can control is yourself. If you want to have any influence over others, you’ve got to first start with yourself. And throughout the day, week and year our values conflict all the time. I have a value to commit to others, but when they are not committed to whatever we are supposed to be doing together, it makes me want to quit. My values of efficiency and equality start to conflict with my value of commitment. And that’s when it’s time to realign with your purpose. Especially if you’re in a group. If everyone keeps the shared purpose in mind, then it’s easier for a group to solve problems creatively together and move forward to the best possible results.
How core values will revolutionize your business
All of us alive that grew up in the USA school system have been programmed to be followers, not leaders. Therefore, we need to reprogram our minds if we are to become the best parents, business owners or community leaders that we can possibly be.
This is one of the reasons people are so bad at thinking strategically.
Another reason is that multi-national corporations are programming us into believing what’s good for us is material consumption rather than love, experiences and wisdom. We are trained to think on the ground level because that keeps us on the ground level. We are trained to execute tactics.
The author of Getting Things Done gives us another framework, a more spiritual framework from which to see the big picture and more easily approach life strategically. Mr. Allen describes his framework as the “Horizons of Focus”.
In his book trilogy the ground, or the runway represents your next actions. This is what I’m referring to when I say tactics, the next thing you need to do to get something done. At the 10,000 foot (or metre) level are projects. Projects require groups of actions to accomplish. At 20,000 feet your looking at your main responsibilitiies. At 30,000 feet your goals and objectives, at 40,000 your long term vision and at 50,000 feet your values and purpose.
Apply Your New Knowledge, Transforming It Into Wisdom
What three core values are the most important to you and your business? Think about it and write it down… Ideally in the comments below because this is such a fun subject it would be great to have a conversation here on our blog!
What values will you not violate no matter what?
What values are most important to you when hiring new people and adapting them to your culture?
What are the commitments they are buying into?
What won’t you tolerate?
What are the top values that you share with your audience, the values your brand could talk about all year and your audience would love you for it?
Our Core Values Help Us Grow Together; Wanna See Them? Examples From Amazing Companies
Lift Your Business’ Core Values
These are not rules, they are who we are! They are actionable… Be who you want to be.
- I am the change I want to see in the world.
- I embrace diversity and seek new perspectives.
- I refrain from complaining.
- I don’t judge people that I’m not responsible for.
- I’m a problem solver; I seek solutions.
- I do what I commit to and don’t make excuses.
- I am kind Jesus-style.
- I am honest and do what’s right even when others aren’t looking.
- I show up and I do the best I can at that moment.
- I am always growing.
- My work is constantly improving while I keep the end in mind.
- I am responsible for creating happiness (meaning, flow, pleasure and positive relationships) in my own life and the lives of those in my circle of influence.
- As part of LYB’s team, I do my part to build LYB’s prosperity system and help LYB be profitable.
- I leave places better-off than when I arrived – from the bathroom to the planet.
- I recognize that I tell myself stories and I’m not afraid to talk about them with the people involved.
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Here are some core values that I found on other company’s websites:
IDS Med’s Core Values
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Electric Yoga’s Core Values
MISSION STATEMENT Creating wellness and athletic elements for people to live Happier, Healthier, Energetic, Zen filled lives.
OWNERSHIP Take ownership of our health and our lives with positive choices that promote an Electrified lifestyle
BALANCE Keep balanced lives; Mind, Body, Spirit. Avoid excess and depletion of anything in and around us. Balance is the key to a state of well being.
POSITIVE Positive change in our world and our community to make it a better place for all our collective families.
LOVE EARTH Give the earth the love and respect it deserves leading green initiatives and environmentally responsible business practices.
SUPPORT Support our local communities through participation in charities, non-profit organizations, and efforts that promote health and wellness.
DELIVER Deliver style and quality to our customers that exceeds expectations.
CONNECT Seek out honest feedback from our customers and our Electrifiers to continue to improve our brand and our product.
DEVELOP Develop a clear and direct connection with our customers and make them a part of our Electric Yoga Family. We are always driven by their energy and passion to achieve our common goals.
LIVE ELECTRIC Live an invigorated lifestyle. We always have fun and refresh our energy with life’s colors, and provide a colorful and fun experience to everyone around us.
ATTITUDE A confident attitude is always fashion – even when we sweat!
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Marina Mode’s Core Values
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3D Solutions’ Core Values
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So where do you go from here?
Whether you’ve got a ton of ideas or you’re totally drawing a blank, we’ve got a great exercise to help you get the process going. Our Core Message Maker is a tool specifically designed to help you develop a message, define your brand, and revel in your company’s culture. When your company exudes confidence through a clearly defined and celebrated message, clients and prospects will be drawn into your light like beautiful moths.
