Understanding its Destiny is a central tenet of top performing organizations, as has been discussed in this blog, and Values are essential components within. Values are the unshakable core principles at the very center of the organization. They influence long-term direction and help define the codes of conduct that are acceptable within the culture. An important finding from the research in Competitive Success-How Branding Adds Value is that top brands focused on building values ahead of developing strategic plans, not the other way around. This approach had an important complementary benefit: it helped inspire the development of the company’s culture. The logic of this is clear in retrospect, but not always obvious to business leaders during their normal daily activities. By building the right culture based on the right values before setting strategy, the businesses we studied found significant and sustained prosperity. Think of it from a different perspective: bringing together a remarkable collection of people can lead to interesting and innovative solutions that ultimately help define strategic direction. Conversely, while any business can develop an elegant strategy, the absence of a strong team of people attracted by the right values can quickly undermine that strategy, no matter how well-crafted. When venture capitalists evaluate entrepreneurial ventures for potential investment, they consider three important criteria: the team, the market potential, and the product idea itself. As has been known in start-up circles for years, a great team can transform a mediocre product into a superior success story, but a mediocre team can quickly turn a strong product into a disaster. Having the right values directly influenced the success of the companies we studied because their values guided their people selection efforts. The top firms asked Who will fit in our culture? Who will thrive in our environment? Who will contribute, be inspired, and inspiring? With respect to the other components of Destiny discussed in prior blogs, developing and understanding core values directly relates to how firms create value and move closer to fulfilling their ultimate dream. This underscores the importance of having the right values, long-term dreams, and value-creating perspective before a strategy can be properly developed. Nike illustrates the importance of understanding values to drive success. For decades the company has emphasized the importance of authentic athletic performance in everything it does. All three words in that phrase are core values and the implications are both simple and profound: virtually every decision is weighed based on whether it reflects the core values of being authentic, athletic, and performance-based. These values influence the kind of people that are recruited to work at Nike--pretenders need not apply. One can easily imagine how this affects and enhances the company’s overall corporate culture and reinforces the emphasis on sports and fitness. Products are designed to meet the needs of top athletes in sports, whose demands are far greater than those of the average person. If the products succeed at this high level, there is little question they will be superb for the mass market user. Values are crucial drivers for Nike, just as they are for other top performing brands.
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