Articles and ResourcesThere are four critical issues preoccupying the boardrooms of both large and small companies around the world in the 21st century:
* How to attract and keep talented people?
* How to increase profits and shareholder value?
* How to increase creativity and productivity?
* How to ensure ethics permeate the corporate culture?
Building a successful corporate culture has become the most significant source of competitive advantage and brand differentiation in business today. Our experience in mapping the values of more than 600 companies supports the statement that:
Values-driven companies are the most successful companies.
Why?* Values drive culture
* Culture drives employee fulfillment
* Employee fulfillment drives customer satisfaction
* Customer satisfaction drives shareholder value
What Are Values and Why Are They Important?
Values are deeply held principles that people hold or adhere to when making decisions. Individuals express their values though their behaviors. Organizations express their values through their working culture. Research shows that there is a strong link between financial performance and the alignment of an organization’s operating values to the employees’ personal values. Who you are and what you stand for is becoming just as important as the quality of products and services you provide. In Corporate Culture and Performance, John P. Kotter and James L. Heskett show that companies with strong adaptive cultures based on shared values outperformed other companies by a significant margin. Over an eleven-year period, the companies that emphasized all stakeholders grew four times faster than companies that did not. They also found that these companies had job creation rates seven times higher, stock prices that grew 12 times faster, and profit performance that was 750 times higher than companies that did not have shared values and adaptive cultures.
In Built to Last, Jim Collins and Jerry Porras show that companies that consistently focused on building strong corporate cultures over a period of several decades outperformed companies that did not by a factor of six and outperformed the general stock market by a factor of 15.
John P. Kotter and James L. Heskett, Corporate Culture and Performance, (New York: The Free Press) 1992
James C. Collins and Jerry I. Porras, Built to Last, Successful Habits of Visionary Companies (New York: Harper Collins) 1994
Who are you? What do you stand for?
A keen awareness of who you are and what you stand for provides an advantage that separates you from the business down the street. It's long been known that people do business with people like themselves. The clearer you are in communicating your values the more successful you will be in attracting perfect customers, stakeholders and team members for your business. What are your values? What is important to you? For a continuation of these thoughts, click here. PDF
From Fear to Possibility
Oh my gosh! I am a sitting at my computer wondering if the Anthrax is going to kill me? Is the plane that I get on going to be the next target? Should I wear gloves when I open my mail? Should I fly home for the holidays or go on that planned vacation?
I am paralyzed in fear and suffering with the "WHAT IF'S". My bright future just got very dark and dismal.
Our world has changed! We have witnessed events that have devastated us and hurt our hearts. We have been scared. We are concerned about having food on the table, money in the bank and that our children, families and friends are safe. We want peace. Our lives have been forever changed because what we once thought was certain is no longer part of our world. The uncertainty automatically leads us to feelings of fear. It appears like we are trapped in our fear. What can you do?
I recommend these ten baby-steps that can take us AWAY FROM our daily fears and move us into POSSIBILITY!!!!
1. Change your body position. Look up instead of down.
2. Do a good deed.
3. Create a positive mantra or a theme song for your self.
4. Pick up a book that will uplift your spirits.
5. Make a list of all things you are grateful for and keep it handy.
6. Acknowledge people in your life and show hearty appreciation.
7. Take five minutes every day to visualize your dreams.
8. Call a friend who is known to be positive.
9. Create a collage of all your new possibilities.
10. Go to a park, swing on a swing, fly a kite and play like a child.
Yes, the world has changed and some of it for the better. We have seen the United States come full circle by coming together in unity, compassion and courage. Yet notice how we spend countless hours worrying about what has not happened. Our worries and our fears stop us from being in action about what is important to us. We stop spending money, we stop traveling… all be cause of the fear of "WHAT IF'S".
Take your power back. You deserve to live a life filled with new possibilities.
Ellen A. Miller wrote this article. She is a coach, trainer, speaker and author of "Make it a Big Day" 31 Days to a Positive Attitude. Miller believes we all have the opportunity on a daily basis to choose our attitude powerfully in every moment. The book of positive thoughts and daily inspirations helps you step away from fear into new possibilities everyday. The back of her books says, "This is your life and you say how it goes."
Other Articles
In the minds of many, synonyms for success are words such as "happiness", "fulfillment" and achievement." My dictionary suggests that success means the favorable termination of an effort. So, every time I chew and swallow a mouthful of food I achieve success, but I don't feel inclined to offer that fact as proof that I am successful.
"Employer Running Workers through the Ropes in Training" - January 16-22, 1998. Amil International, ITT Sheraton take innovative approaches by using Ellen's ropes training course.
