How Are Best-In Class Business Cultures Built? One Value At A Time

Values are crucial to teams because they solidify a positive bond and draw us toward a common goal. True belief in our values drive us to not only care for our products, our reputation, and our companies, but to deeply care for one another.

Thinking about this in our current environment really helps frame the issue. Workplaces correctly encourage people to bring their authentic selves to work every day. Increasingly this means trying to be your authentic self to a virtual workplace every day. We are right to celebrate differences and are fortunate to be able to work from home, but these factors can work against us if we don’t find values that we can share.

Shinola’s values are as potent as they are simple: Quality. Determination. Hospitality. Humility. Joy. ?

We keep these values in front of us, including using a "Values Checklist" with our retail team members to operationalize the behaviors we say we care about. We select a specific value point as a prompt for our daily and weekly meetings. This really helps make the values relatable to our work here at Shinola.?

Why make such a point of living our values?

Values on paper or on the wall are dead words unless we digest them as leaders and then lead a team in living them out. Being intentional about deliberately living our values -- both behind closed doors and as a visible practice --?is infectious.

It's also critical to success. Teamwork is anchored by knowing everyone in the company -- from stores to regional ops, factories to HQ – is rowing in the same direction. It is only by first holding ourselves accountable that we can credibly encourage others to pursue the same standard. Quality and hospitality don’t just happen by accident. They are achieved by a collective effort to maintain consistency or experience across the board.??

There are some specific moments worth pointing to that serve as an example of how this plays out in the real world.

For instance, having the opportunity to use volunteer time to do more of "what we love" reinforces our values and allows us to connect back to our products in unique ways. This happens at Shinola when we choose to do something like work as an election official in honor of our iVoted Detrola watch campaign; or pick up trash on Detroit’s treasured Belle Isle in support of our Sea Creatures collection.

A company must reinforce the commitment to values at every level, from the way contract workers are treated to the way we advertise our products. Every action matters.

Take, for instance, Shinola's benefits policy. How can something as seemingly utilitarian as a benefits package be designed in a way that backs up a company's values?

Here’s how: If we talk about creating a positive environment for our team by championing joy, humility, and determination, we should keep careful track of what we are actually doing about it. Take personal inventory. Sometimes the most effective inventory is taken with the help of a trained professional. Thankfully, we have access to mental health care for $25 per visit.

Candidly, I believe I am a better leader because I have affordable access to a therapist. It helps me leave things at the door. Our company directly supports this behavior.

At the most practical level, managers need to place as much importance on values as they place on financial results, quotas, or other things that are more easily measured.

Here’ are some tips:

1) Start experience training with an ice breaker that asks:???????????

“What values mean the most to you and why?”

or

“Why are values important? How do they help you get through your day?”

2) Start a daily huddle or weekly managers calls with a values discussion. "How do we individually identify or live out values, and where do we fall short?" When we share like this, it builds report and helps strengthen our relationships.

3) Use values to recruit genuine and quality people. If they say they don’t know our brand then pitch them on your values. Look for employees who naturally speak to or exhibit those values. Effective scorecards test for values first and foremost, even before checking for skills.

4) Use values to highlight performance or behavioral efforts. For example, more than just needing to be at work on time for the sake of being on time, tie behavior to one of your values...such as quality. Quality starts with meeting expectations and demonstrating consistency. This is true whether we’re talking products or employees.

5) Finally, values help up identify ways to recognize employees in very personal ways. One example of this would leading the day with a discussion about hospitality and using your team member as a specific example for the team to learn from.