Is Your Company On Track? Part 2
By Cory Halbardier of Peak Performance Group, Inc.
As the second part in this series, today we will focus on discovering your values.
The reason we want to discover our values is so we can get clear on what is most important to us. Before doing this exercise, you may think we are all, for the most part, the same. We all want the same things. However, that is dead wrong.
Understanding your values will help you understand where you want your business to go. It will help you define what success is to you. After all, success is different to different people. My meaning for success is different from my wife’s. Neither of us is wrong, we simply have different definitions.
What is most important for your business? Where do you want to be? Do you want to be the #1 person in the country in your field but still barely making the bills? What about being handsomely paid for your time, but no one knows you because you are behind the scenes? Or do you want to be a household name in your county? Each of these may be success to one person but not another.
Exercise 1
First, get clear on what is most important to you, as a person. Look at the following list and pick 10. If you could only take 10 values with you on a trip, which ones would they be? You can add to the list if you have another value that resonates with you even more.
(It is important, as you go through this list, to remember not to pick the superficial “shoulds.” The “shoulds” are the values that others believe to be important but may not resonate with you. For example, I think most of us would say that “integrity” is an important value. At least we believe it “should” be an important value. If it is not, do not put it down.)
Achievement
Advancement and promotion
Adventure
Affection (love and caring)
Arts
Challenging problems
Change and Variety
Close relationships
Community
Competence
Competition
Cooperation
Country
Creativity
Decisiveness
Democracy
Ecological awareness
Economic security
Effectiveness
Efficiency
Ethical practice
Excellence
Excitement
Fame
Fast living
Financial gain
Friendships
Growth
Having a family
Helping other people
Helping society
Honesty
Independence
Influencing others
Inner harmony
Integrity
Intellectual status
Involvement
Job tranquility
Knowledge
Leadership
Location
Loyalty
Market position
Meaningful work
Merit
Money
Nature
Being around people who are open and honest
Order (tranquility, stability, conformity)
Personal development
Freedom
Physical challenge
Pleasure
Power and authority
Privacy
Public service
Purity
Quality of what I cake part in
Quality relationships
Recognition (respect from others, status)
Religion
Reputation
Responsibility and accountability
Security
Self-respect
Serenity
Sophistication
Stability
Status
Supervision others
Time freedom
Truth
Wealth
Wisdom
Work under pressure
Work with others
Working alone
Take a moment and describe in some detail what each of those 10 means to you. Use your own words to define those 10 words.
Example: If I picked the word “wisdom,” to me that means “always knowing the right thing to do in every situation. When someone comes to me for advise, I can laser through the crap to get to the hidden issue.” Another person might define that same word differently.
It is important that you define what it means to you.
Exercise 2
Another way to isolate values is to go to the opposite extreme; looking at times you were angry, frustrated, or upset. This will lead to values that are being suppressed. It is important to note that every upset or moment of distress is likely to signal that a value is being suppressed.
List 5 times that you felt angry, frustrated, or upset.
Now look at the value that was suppressed that caused you to be upset. Make another list of values.
Define each of those values, similar to what you did for exercise 1.
Once you have these two lists, narrow it down again to a list of 10. Which 10 are most important to you? Now narrow the list down again to 5. Which 5 are most important?
We will call the list of your primary 5 values your Core Values. The values that showed up as 6-10 will be your Chosen Values.
These values will show up as one of the bases for your business, which we will get to in the weeks to come.
Next week, we will look at your purpose and the core reason you have a business.
Until next week, take care!
About the Author
Copyright 2006 Cory Halbardier of Peak Performance Group, Inc., All Rights Reserved. To find out more information or view related articles, go to our website at www.PeakPerformance-CC.com Send comments to Cory@PeakPerformance-CC.com
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