Character is what happens when values become verbs

November 24, 2018 3:09 PM

Each of us aspires make ourselves proud.

And one of the central ways we accomplish that is by manifesting our values. By creating and living in a universe where our beliefs are successfully achieved.

The hard part is scaling this concept organizationally. Because when you have hundreds or even thousands of employees, possibly scattered across multiple offices, cities and even countries, your values can’t simply be words on a wall. The mission has to be more than a statement.

Character is what happens when values become verbs, and so, it has to evolve into a living framework. A structure within which people situate themselves and their actions, that allows them to classify things and good and bad and behave accordingly.

Without putting that kind of system in place, you’re just winking in the dark.

Buffer is a tech company that knows exactly who they are, what they do and why they do it. Their abbreviated encapsulation of their ten guiding principles is an inspiring manifesto in and of itself, but it’s only the beginning.

One of their lead developers had an innovative idea. What if all of their team members could be reminded those values daily? Even hourly?

That’s what inspired him to this slick web browser extension that replaces the standard new tab page with a rotating wallpaper of their company values. The images are inspirational, aspirational, and the words are mantras to live by. Each time you open a new tab, you are reminded who you are and what you believe. And you can’t help but smile and reflect and think about ways to improve yourself.

The question is, do you know which values make your team feel fully alive when you honor them?

Excellent. Now go do something with them. Find a way to keep them in front of people’s faces.

Because the quality of feeling alive comes when we act on our values.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…