In the professional world, it is becoming increasingly clear that the days of traditional management are over. It is no longer enough to keep systems running "somehow" and to "deploy" human resources within them. The age-old credo of only being able to manage what you can measure no longer applies. Simply organizing is no longer enough, but it is still necessary, of course. Why is that?
The complexity of today's working world means that no one person can achieve lasting success on their own. They need others and must cooperate in a flexible manner. The much-lamented silo mentality in companies must come to an end. It must give way to cross-functional collaboration that contributes to the overall goal of the company and creates meaningful change. It is not possible to measure everything with millimeter precision. Instead, we must learn to assess and evaluate holistically.
Enrichment for people and the environment
This brings us to the purpose of the enterprise, or its mission, which should be describable in a maximum of three sentences. Every corporate mission should inherently enrich the universe for people and/or the environment. Enrichment here is explicitly not meant in a monetary sense, but rather in terms of values.
Robert S. Hartman puts it clearly: Running a business just for the sake of "making money" is not only pathetic, but also unsatisfying. Every company needs its own unique meaning and purpose. Sales and profits are necessary, just like blood and water are for humans, but they are not the most important things in life.
But what values are we talking about?
There are obvious answers that are profound and easy to understand at the same time. Every human being has consciousness and is unique. They have an infinite number of characteristics that they can combine in their own individual way to create value. However, they can also destroy value. In this respect, we often have to protect ourselves from ourselves.
Human values such as creativity, inspiration, community spirit, motivation, and solidarity are infinitely valuable. They show that we are alive. All material values are secondary in comparison. Of course, we need material things to survive. But ultimately, all the riches in the world cannot outweigh a single human life—that is how valuable each and every one of us is!
Human interaction follows certain rules
However, in addition to material things, we also need certain principles or rules. Otherwise, human coexistence would not work. Otherwise, technology would not be where it is today. The exact sciences follow universal physical principles. But the rules are there to make life easier for people—not the other way around. Companies are also there for people—not the other way around.
This makes it easier than you might think to systematize value-based leadership: Human values (H) are more valuable than material values (F), which in turn are more valuable than principled values (P). So the following applies: H > F > P. It is easy to find examples that fall predominantly into one of the three categories, which we now call "value dimensions":
- In principle: discipline, justice, rules, systems, procedures, hierarchies, organization, theory, strategy, sustainability, etc.
- Functional: tasks, functions, case studies, results, contributions, movements, influences, aids, objects, tools, etc.
- Human: feeling, love, sympathy, empathy, self-respect, self-confidence, authenticity, assistance, encouragement, or the like.
Playing with values
Of course, many values can be viewed through different "lenses." For example, a German man may "love" his car, a Swede may "use" it, and a Japanese man may "classify" it as part of the mobility system. Ultimately, however, it is an object. As you can see, we are now beginning to play with values and systematize them.
Finally, I invite you to try the following exercise: Write down your company values one below the other. To the right, draw three columns for H (human), F (functional), and P (principled). Now you have three points to distribute for each company value—i.e., per line. You can give all three points to one value dimension, distribute them evenly, or choose two-to-one combinations.
Let yourself be guided by how much the respective value is lived in your company. Then add up the points in each column. At the end, you will see the distribution for the value dimensions. Ideally, the following inequality should be fulfilled: H > F > P. If this is not the case, you should consider whether the values are correct or whether they need to be defined differently and supported in their implementation so that the general value hierarchy is fulfilled. It's worth it.
Have fun working with your values!
Yours, Uli Vogel
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Image source: ©pixabay – StartupStockPhotos
