(This article was first published on the "Liu Run" official account, subscribe to the "Liu Run" official account, and gain insight into the essence of business with me).
Have you noticed that the walls of many enterprises are unwilling to be empty?
There will always be slogans. For example, "the pursuit of excellence", "customer first", "down-to-earth, create the future together" ......
What is it, you ask?
These are values, he said. Our company values.
Oh, so does this value, hanging there, really work?
Hang up the "pursuit of excellence", the marketing plan that can be made is no different from last year.
posted "customer first", you can call 400 customer service**, and no one answers.
Written "down-to-earth", but the closing data for customers is not true.
Is it still necessary to hang such values there? Some people even say that when you do business, you can talk about value, what kind of values do you talk about?
However, in the "Evergreen Foundation", which has studied many Fortune 500 companies, it is said:
Corporate values are the most fundamental core concepts that can support the company's long-term development.
If it's really unnecessary to talk about values, why Huawei, JD.com, Ali....Every business that has gone far is talking loudly and over again about values?
Values, what exactly are they? Is it a guise for a false head, or is it really useful? What do I have to do to make it work?
Today, I would like to share some thoughts with you, I hope they will inspire you.
Values, what exactly are they?
First of all,What are the values?
Is it a very empty thing? What's in it for me?
I'll give you an example.
In a company, on the wall of the restaurant and on the company's official website, there are values: "integrity-based, result-oriented".
Employees can see it when they eat every day, and they can see it when customers come to visit. It's positive, it's decent.
But what if there is a conflict between integrity and results?
You help customers plan events, and when the event ends, you need to settle the payment according to the number of online participants.
Looking at the background data, I found that only 3 people had actually participated, how should you write your case closure report?
Write honestly"3 people"？Not to mention that you can't get many models in this order, and future orders are estimated to be yellow.
Write with a stroke of the pen"3000 people"？Customers are very satisfied, and you can also make money and get performance results.
How do you choose?
Integrity-based, result-oriented. Result-oriented, integrity-based.
They are all things that are very valuable to the company, and they can be used as values.
However, the difficulty is that there are sometimes conflicts between them, and you have to make trade-offs.
Writing "3 people" can guarantee integrity, but the performance results are really sacrificed.
Writing "3,000 people" can get performance results, but the sentence "integrity first" may no longer be read.
Once you say, "Adults don't make choices, I want both," that value is thereWithout prioritization, when things come and you need to choose, they can't help you sort, make trade-offs, and make decisions.
This is why many people feel that "values" are very empty.
So what are the true "values"?
There is a clear sorting. When it comes to making decisions and trade-offs, it's clear which is the most prioritized option and which will be second.
Just because you put a word "values" in a prominent position doesn't mean it's your values.
But when faced with a choice, when you need to make a trade-off, what you choose first, what you put first, what your values are.
So what exactly should be put first?
When I go out for consultations, I often ask a lot of questions, get information, and then use a lot of decision-making models in my head to process that information.
But when it comes to the last step, when talking to the customer about the decision, I never say:How do you choose.
I'll just say:If I were you, what would I choose.
Why? It's because different people have different values, different rankings, and different choices.
There is often no standard answer to the multiple-choice question of values.
The company has a hard time, do I make this quick money or not?
With that much budget, do I allocate it to R&D or marketing?
These questions are like "all fall into the water, do you save your wife or save your mother?" ”
There must be someone to save the wife, and there must be someone to save the mother.
The key is not "what", but "what to choose first".
The essence of values is priority.
Once this is clear, the values can really work for you.
What's the use? Values can become a "talent magnet" in your hands.
Values, what's the use?
Have you ever met such a person: very experienced, very good at reading people?
What does such a person see when he looks at people?
A friend's answer to me is very interesting:
There are many people and things that have been experienced, and looking at people will be like playing video games, and everyone will have a value order on the top of their heads.
For example, some people rank honesty and integrity first, while others rank achievement and efficiency first.
What's the use of seeing this sorting?
It's very easy to use when you're doing management.
How to work with someone you like? How to ensure that everyone works together with less internal friction?
The answer is to find people who have a similar order of values above their heads.
Why? I'll give you an example, there are two teams today.
The first team is all of the same kind.
For example, in the order of values above the head, the first place is "integrity".
Then, every time they are faced with a problem like "integrity and making money", they always make the same choice: integrity.
What will be the effect of them working together?
Decisions are more likely to be consistent.
Less scrambling and internal friction, more tacit understanding, unity, and concerted efforts, and better collaboration.
The second team is all outliers.
There are "integrity" ranked first, "making money" ranked first, and "if it is for freedom, both can be thrown" ranked first.
What would be the effect of such a team when faced with conflicting issues such as "integrity and making money"?
There was a disagreement. You think this is important, and I think that's the one that needs to be protected the most.
So, they had meetings, quarrels, quarrels, and reconciled, but when it came time to make a decision, they still disagreed, and they still wanted to quarrel.
Conflicts, internal strife, fighting in silos, and even falling apart.
This is "the same sex attracts, the opposite sex repels each other".
Values are a "talent magnet".
If it is not used well, it is all an outlier, even if the team is full of elite soldiers, they are all damaged by internal friction, and they cannot win the battle together.
If you use it well, you can gather the same kind of talents, even if you have different ability models, educational backgrounds, and even nationalities and beliefs, you can also form a team with high decision-making efficiency and less internal friction in execution.
When you feel that the management effect is not satisfactory, you may wish to use this magnet well.
Once it is used well, many management "selection, breeding, retention, and use" can save a lot of effort.
For example, keep people.
Ma Yun once said that if he can't keep people, it's just that he didn't give enough money and was wronged.
So, if the money you can give is similar to that of other companies, how can you make the other party more likely to stay?
At least, reduce internal friction and increase recognition, so that he is not aggrieved.
This is precisely where the value of values lies.
It is difficult to solve the problem of "grievances" by relying only on hard means such as rules and regulations and performance appraisal. But values can.
Your first priority is "integrity", and so are your team members, so when making decisions, they are often hit off and like-minded. With such a team, there will naturally be a lot less grievances.
Conversely, your values are prioritized by "integrity" and your team members are prioritized by results.
You asked him to tell the customer that the number of participants in the event was "3 people", but what he saw in his eyes was the yellow orders and the performance that flew away, how could he not be "wronged"?
In the end, every time he makes a different choice, every time he will have grievances, as the cooperation time becomes longer, the internal friction will slowly increase, and one day, he will be very depressed and decide to leave.
You see his resignation email, and you're depressed. The young man's ability is good, I have been cultivating vigorously for so long, but now he is leaving, what should I do?
So, you are kind to persuade each other. Vigorously promoted. Heavy money to retain. He also did withdraw his resignation.
But, you may be even more depressed next.
Because, as long as the values above the head are in a different order, the choices he wants to make are still inconsistent with yours, and there will still be grievances.
And the higher he rises, the greater the impact of his inconsistency on you and within the organization.
It's better to try to find people with more like-minded values to work with at the beginning.
You're a company that prioritizes results, so attract people who put results first.
If you're a company built on integrity, attract people who put integrity first.
Make good use of the talent magnet of values to attract the same kind. Let your team collaborate more efficiently with less friction from the start.
It sounds like the management tool of values is very easy to use.
However, how can we make good use of the talent magnet of values?
How to make good use of the talent magnet of values?
Strengthen your values.
Let it have a greater "magnetism", attract the same sex more strongly, and repel the opposite sex.
What do you mean? What does it mean to be powerful? What should I do?
Be clear enough, resolutely implement, and tell the world.
Let's say it one by one.
First, be clear enough.
For the talent magnet of values to work, at least, the poles of your magnet should be clear, right?
What are your values, what are your priorities? What do you identify with the most? What is most opposed?
For example, if you are most likely to be results-oriented, then it is best to make it clear at the beginning that you want to see the results.
He doesn't have to work the surface, he doesn't have to work overtime ineffectively, he doesn't even have to clock in and out of work, and all bonuses are only linked to performance results.
Once those who "have hard work but no results" and "will do things, but do nothing" can also get bonuses, or even similar bonuses, the "magnetism" of values will be weakened and become very empty.
On the contrary, the "magnetism" of values will become stronger. It can really effectively guide and motivate employees, really retain those employees who can get results, and screen out those employees who are good at superficial things.
Second, resolutely implement.
What is Resolute Enforcement?
One is to perform uninterruptedly.
Advocating "diligence and dedication" means not being late every day? Advocating "customer first" means helping customers with their luggage? Advocating "keeping pace with the times" means to enroll yourself in classes?
No, it's not enough.
Many entrepreneurs, in order to make the corporate values really convincing, will lead by example.
Yes, never late for 10 years in a row. Yes, with a net worth of billions, they also help customers with their luggage. Yes, at the age of 60, I went to self-study and try AI.
Only by consistently and consistently implementing can you prove that your corporate values are really the first priority.
One is to enforce at any cost.
If your value is "customer first", will you really pay for the quality of your products? Or will it spend the most time optimizing the customer service voice and making it more difficult to pay out?
If you know that a product is cost-effective and the quality is not high, but the commission is high, do you still refuse this selection? Or will it be on the shelves, or even set aside the best time slot to recommend it to your followers?
Such a decision is easy to say. But to become a landing decision, pay real money to pay compensation, to refuse commissions. Not easy.
Once this is done, the magnetism of values will also become stronger.
Third, tell the world.
Hang it on the wall, post it on the official website, and print it on the employee handbook. In essence, it is all a proclamation to the world.
Let more people see your values, so that the company can attract more like-minded.
Be clear enough to have a prioritized value. Resolute execution, really convincing. Tell the world and let more people see your values.
This is to strengthen your own values.
What happens when you become stronger? What kind of effect will this talent magnet have?
In the short term, you'll find that your team has oneExtrusion effect
As the "magnetism" of values becomes stronger, people with different values from you will feel repulsed and will be removed from your team, either passively or actively.
In the long run, you'll find that your team has oneInhalation effect
More people with the same values as you will find you, get close to you, join you, and grow stronger.
Many problems that are originally a headache, such as talent retention, difficult management, and internal friction. will open up a new situation.
I have seen an analogy played by Liu Qiangdong in an interview, which is quite interesting. He said:
People who are very capable, but whose values do not match, have a name in JD.com: rust.
If the ability is not strong, but the values match, then it can still be cultivated.
But "rust" does not. "Rust" can easily spoil the ethos of the team.
Even, the more capable the "rust", the more destructive it is to the team.
So no matter how good the "rust" is, it must be expelled.
Be sure to hammer the rust away.
That's a good point. Does your business have such "rust"?
Do you have enough clear, resolute and exemplary values to help you identify and remove "rust" like a talent magnet?
I wish you, when improving management and optimizing the team, remember that in addition to the regulatory performance of your left hand, you also have the talent magnet of your right hand: values, which can help you absorb "gold" and remove "rust".
Personal opinion, for reference only.