Why values matter when change is rampant

?Let me help you carrying this bag, it looks heavy!” This is what my dad, 96 years old, usually tells me after he has carefully walked down the long corridor to greet me at the entrance of the nursing home when I visit him. The bag is heavy alright, but not for me, and I don′t mind carrying heavy things anyhow. The bag would be impossible to carry for him, although he doesn′t realize this. But he would try if I let him. At his age, his desire to give me a hand is much stronger than his cognitive – and physical – strength. His strong will, and his core value of helpfulness, win the game. The name of the game is change. I couldn′t be more moved each time I experience this.

There are lots of other examples where I can observe how some of the core values win over the inevitable changes that come with high age: Holding a door for someone although this means letting go of a handle. Letting someone pass in the corridor who walks faster. Only asking for help if trying by oneself is really no option. Asking “are you feeling better?” when someone wasn′t in great shape the last time they spoke. Doing his best to still converse with staff in their local languages although these are foreign languages for him. Rejoicing when others tell him about their plans even though today his own life radius is minuscule. All this boils down to two character traits: respect and care for others.

At his high age my dad still has a handful of people who regularly call him, ask about him, send greetings, and like to do him little favors. Those people could rely on his values from the moment they first met. Such “returned values” today are a major source of strength.

Values are the strongest supporter of change.

Why am I sharing this on LinkedIn?

Because I believe that values matter. Values, if genuinely and honestly lived and breathed, are what inspires, values are what remains when the lights go darker, and values are what will be remembered when everything else changes. Neither written words, as beautifully crafted as can be, nor achievements in the usual meaning in my view do have the same positive effect on others than strong values, especially if demonstrated through the smallest, almost invisible gestures. Values attract values, and values return values – as a human being as well as companies. Companies today more than probably ever need to demonstrate through measurable, honest acts that they truly respect and care for their stakeholders, and there have never been as many stakeholders with strong voices, eyes and ears as there are today. Values can′t be faked over a very long period of time. Employees, investors, customers, suppliers, regulators, the communities: those who woo a company today will run tomorrow if they realize that their core values are compromised. Companies are changing, and change is a challenge for everyone involved. I am convinced that companies will master today′s major challenges much better if they are rooted in strong values to which stakeholder can continue to connect anytime.

At the age of 96 my dad doesn′t look like the 60-year-old dad anymore, our conversations revolve around other topics than a few years ago, and sometimes my patience is highly challenged. But his values are totally unchanged, and this comes to show day-in, day-out, at the tiniest moments or through the smallest gestures. Values are the roots. Values, and the way they are lived, are what′s worth admiring to me. Values are what keeps us hanging on if everything else changes. ?

Ursula Schmidt, PhD, CCEP-I, [email protected], November 2021