| Blogging is good for business and this is what | | | | because I was not able to keep that business and |
| most companies are turning towards to today. It | | | | honor my own value of personal freedom. The |
| isn't just some crap about putting together stored | | | | nature of the business demanded too much time |
| ideas and using keywords in the process. It is | | | | and dedication. Once I realized this, no amount of |
| about building identity and this is something that | | | | money could make me stay. |
| has helped in the marketing and promotions of | | | | If you are a business owner, your business values |
| most companies today. | | | | are your company's invisible CEOs. Whether you |
| Most people who jump ship do so because they | | | | realize it or not, your values help manage every |
| just cannot stay one moment longer at their | | | | aspect of your business. They guide your |
| place of work and honor their own deeply held | | | | decisions; they help determine if your business is |
| business or career values at the same time. | | | | viable and valuable. When you create a business |
| People might be able to happily get by with less | | | | that is in alignment with your values-and when |
| money, but they cannot work for long in a | | | | you bring people on board who are in harmony |
| situation that violates a deeply held core value. | | | | with those values-your business has the best |
| Values go beyond beliefs. They are the core | | | | chance of meeting your personal and financial |
| philosophies we hold sacred. People often report | | | | goals. |
| feeling as though they were born with these | | | | How closely your business is aligned with your |
| values. | | | | own values, and how closely your employees' |
| Every individual has a core set of personal values | | | | values follow suit, determines the degree to which |
| he or she brings to work; every business has a | | | | your business will fly or flop on all fronts. A strong |
| core set of business values. The optimum | | | | sense of shared values allows you to initiate |
| business situation is when these sets of personal | | | | meaningful actions based on mutual agreement |
| and business values overlap, blend and morph into | | | | instead of spending all your time managing the |
| what I call shared values. | | | | fallout caused by not honoring them. |
| Whether you are consciously aware of them or | | | | Without this shared value, our working relationship |
| not,your personal values constitute your ideals, | | | | would have been doomed from day one. With the |
| and shape your being - indeed they are your | | | | respect piece missing, we would not be happy |
| being. And whether you are in alignment with | | | | with their performance and attitude, and they |
| them or not-whether you own or work in a | | | | would not be happy trying to fit in with us. |
| business that reflects them or not they affect | | | | The payoff for consistently knowing and acting |
| your every thought, word and action. | | | | from this and other shared values was that we |
| I am the best example of how values- or rather | | | | enjoyed long term relationships with employees, |
| a conflict in personal and business value-helped to | | | | vendors, clients and customers that stretched 25 |
| shape my behavior and decision-making. I sold my | | | | years or more. We had corporate contracts that |
| thriving business, not because it was a failure- | | | | lasted 15 and 20 years, a time period unheard of |
| financially speaking, it was wildly successful- but | | | | in the contract dining services industry. |