Just another core value

An English artist and his wife had decided to come to live on a Scottish island in because they had fallen in love with it. Back in London he had been a respected and well-known artist with a good deal of commissioned work from galleries, international magazines and the like. But the relative isolation on the island had cut him off from the cultural mainstream on the mainland. Building up new and commercial relations was a hard time. And some years ago there was a moment when it really had became tough .

It was around Christmas and the artist drove to a farmer to pick up some wood for the fireplace. When they returned to the car, the man said 'We've put something in the car for you.' There was a big basket on the backseat, which he did not dare to open right then because he was to embarrassed to ask. Back home he discovered that the basket was stuffed to the rim with great food. The good people had not asked about their condition. When the artist phoned the farmer to thank him, the man said: "We felt that we wanted to help."
It's past Christmas, so what's so special about this story? First of all, it's not an allegory, it really happened. I have met the artist in person. Second, I heard similar stories all over the island during different visits. This was a community that shared at least one important value: involvement. Collectively perceived and performed values like this one guarantee the cohesion and the survival of a community.

In organizational terminology you might call it 'engagement'. It was one of the stories we would call a 'value-in-action-story'. Authentic stories of real people being involved with the well-being of others, not only inside their community (organization) but also towards newcomers from outside (stakeholders and clients).

'Core values' are often determined by boards of directors, based on intervision sessions, market analyses, desired positioning and - at best - desires of a small group. With the assumption that the same goes for the rest of the organization. Seldom are they based on authentic experience or personal stories. And often they are pumped into the organization by way of a 'corporate story'. Often these values feel more like rules, or norms. There is little perception, emotion or meaning attached.

The only way to find out if - and how! - these values are perceived and lived in the organization, is to listen to stories from the organization attached to these values. Stories about how people perceive and perform them, internally and externally. Only by these authentic stories the genuine value and meaning of those 'core values' will be revealed. And because they are authentic, the corporate story will be credible, easier to implement and to tell. These stories tell about the 'why' and 'how'. And that is all what I want to know (and to receive), as an employee and as a customer. Packed up in 'what'. A beautiful basket, for example...