Stop Faking Your Values

Had an interesting lunch last weekend that got me thinking. I was at Yabbey Road in Redcliffe (oh man, the best fish and chips in Brissy) with a university professor who runs their drama studies department. Not your average academic – this bloke’s directed massive productions in Sydney, done TV shows, and went to NIDA with Ms. Blanchett, yeah that Ms. Blanchett.

Over our perfectly battered barramundi, he shared something that was bothering him. A student - not from his department - had reached out for some advice. His boss shut it down faster than a laptop with a dead battery. The reason? "She's not from our school."

Now, picture this - one of the university's big, shiny values plastered everywhere is 'Inclusivity'. Yet here they were, being about as inclusive as a bouncer at an exclusive club in The Valley.

"It would have taken just a few minutes of my time," he said, pushing around the last chip on his plate. "How can we talk about inclusivity when we won't even give a student the time of day?"

And there it was - the gap between saying and doing. That space between the posters on our walls and the decisions we make when nobody's looking. It reminded me of a completely different approach I'd seen in action.

At one of my previous telcos (the yellow one, if you're curious), we had this brand value - 'Different'. Not exactly groundbreaking stuff on paper, right? But here's where it gets interesting.

In that market, vendors typically waited 90 days to get paid. Anyone who's run a small business knows that's basically a death sentence for cash flow. The CFO looked at this terrible industry practice and said, "If we're truly different, we need to act different." He changed the rule - all vendors got paid within 30 days. No exceptions. The result? The best vendors fought to work with us. Small businesses could actually grow instead of just surviving.

Then there's my favourite example. The CHRO (though he hated that hoity-toity title and insisted his business card read 'The People's Guy') made sure EVERY SINGLE person who applied for a job with us got a response. Got the job or not - everyone heard back. His team probably thought he was nuts at first, but he insisted, "If we're different, we treat people differently - even the ones who don't end up working here." I adore this guy until today. And yeah, he might be reading this and will probably DM me for royalty payment LOL.

The result? Best Workplace awards several years running. A 98% brand consistency score and the preferred brand in the telco category by a Nielsen audit. Not because we had better people or bigger budgets, but because everyone saw values as instructions for action, not just nice wall decorations.

Here's why values matter:

1. They're Your Business Backbone - When faced with tough decisions, values aren't just guidelines - they're your foundation. Like changing payment terms departing from normal industry practice. The result? Stronger partnerships and a reputation money couldn't buy.
2. They're Your Culture's Secret Sauce - When your CFO is helping small businesses thrive and your HR chief is treating every applicant with respect, that's when you know your values aren't just words - they're your operating system. As a brand guardian, half your battle is won when your C-Suites are on autopilot with your brand value.
3. They're Your Trust Button - Actions speak louder than any mission statement. When your values show up in your products or how you treat people - whether they're customers, vendors, staff, or job applicants - that's when real trust happens. No amount of advertising can fake that.
4. They're Your Decision Compass - Values guide the small, daily decisions. Like whether to take five minutes to talk to a student from another department.
5. They're Your Brand's Heartbeat - Anyone can claim to be the best. But when a CFO rips up rubbish payment terms to help small businesses, or when HR responds to every single job applicant - that's when your brand actually means something. That's what people remember.

It's like what my professor mate showed over those fish and chips - values aren't really your values until they cost you something. Whether it's taking time to help someone outside your department, changing payment terms against industry norms, or choosing the harder but right path - these moments reveal whether our values are just wall art or actual guides for decision-making. My foolproof approach has always been this - if it doesn't tick my brand value boxes, drop it even if I like it. Easy.

Think about it. While you do, I'll be here, probably arguing with my crazy Mackay bogan neighbour (nah, he's a good fella really) about the US Election happening right now. Harris or Trump? Everyone's got an opinion about whose values are real and whose are just for show. But maybe that's the whole point - values aren't what you say, they're what you do when it matters. Some values are worth fighting for, right?

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Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here are solely mine and do not reflect the sanity or coherence of any companies unfortunate enough to associate with me.