In my role as Chief Relationship Officer for CEO Connection I had the opportunity to sit down recently with a few of our member-CEOs for a conversation about their views on corporate values, purpose and culture. These members are mid-market CEOs, representing companies with an average of $1.6 billion in sales.
It was one of the most thoughtful and thought-provoking conversations I’ve had outside of Leadership Chat recently! I wanted to share with you a few insightful quotes from the CEOs that will give you a feel for their perspectives on these critical business assets:
On Values:
1. Values are at the core of strong companies. They manifest in an organization by consistently following them rather than consistently stating them.
2. CEOs must be the highest steward of values, one of which must be to get out of the way of your people.
On Purpose:
1. You don’t teach people how to build a ship, you teach them how to yearn for the sea… (this quote had the rest of the members all saying, “Ahhhh” in unison!)
2. As CEO I have to get my people excited about a higher order calling, but I go about it in different ways with different people.
3. The most successful companies have the most engaged people, and they engage because of a higher purpose.
On Culture:
1. What’s inherent to culture is beliefs. What you believe then drives your strategy.
2. When you look at culture as we do national cultures, as an operating system of a group of people, you see how people are subconsciously influenced by it and reject those who do not adapt.
3. It is very difficult to go from one culture to a very different culture and be a high-performer in both.
4. To change a culture you need influencers who are empowered.
5. Teams and culture are a competitive advantage.
6. Culture is the only sustainable advantage.
Do these insights and perspectives resonate with you? Please share your reactions, as well as your own viewpoints on corporate values, purpose and culture in the comments!
~
The Introvert's Guide to Success in Business and Leadership
“The Introvert’s Guide to Success in Business and Leadership” eBook is NOW Available! Now an Amazon Best Seller & Hot New Release and Featured on Huffington Post!
BUY Now on Amazon for Kindle or Buy it at B&N for Nook!
Click here to DOWNLOAD in PDF format. Thank you!
This 60+ page eBook is for introverts who want to use their introversion to their advantage in business and leadership, and for extroverts who lead introverts and wish to be more effective leaders. Being an introvert is truly an advantage in business and leadership if you know how to leverage it, and if you remain true to yourself.
RELATED POSTS:
The CEO’s Most Pressing People Challenges
What Every CEO Should Know About Talent Alignment
Four Priorities Keeping CEOs Up at Night
Photo is boardroom by Celine Nadeau.
27 Response Comments
Perfectly articulated, Lisa. Thank you.
Thank you, David! And you’re very welcome. 🙂
“Culture is the only sustainable advantage” – now THAT’s thought-provoking! I wonder how many business leaders truly believe this – and act on it?
Isn’t it though! That’s part of the reason this was such a fascinating and inspiring conversation to be part of. And great question… Thanks, Steve!
Number 4 under Culture seems like a monumental hurdle for many organizations.
Great post.
Ryan
Because of a lack of influencers or the need to empower them? And thank you, Ryan!
Hi Lisa – your best point is ‘The most successful companies have the most engaged people, and they engage because of a higher purpose’ and this plays out accordingly to your points in culture
Thanks for letting me know what resonated most with you, Steve – I appreciate it!
This is a great piece of writing.
Leaders must make sure they live the values and the culture. I’ve been in places where it is just talk, and eventually, morale collapses.
But I’m worried about 3. I went from the largest tellecommunications company to a Big 4 firm where the cultures were so drastically different it was unbelievable. Yet I thought I did well at both. At the first I was a junior but you learn to fit in.
Another word about culture. In the Big 4 world, I went through a merger of two very large and very well known firms. The perceptions of our culture and values turned out to be so very different that what the public thought. Culture is an internal business that shines to the outside world like a star does to the universe. Caution is advised here. A question should be asked here: what is a firm’s culture really like?
As one of those who commented above said, 4 is also important. We get back to the old situation of letting go. Here, the leader has to let go and let others bring forward and promote the firm’s culture, vision, and situation. This is difficult to do.
I love the part of culture being a sustainable advantage. That’s forward thinking.
Interesting insights, Henry – thank you for sharing your perspective!
Brilliant, absolutely brilliant! Thank you, Lisa.
Thank you, Anna!
As a retired CEO who has been generally disappointed by the values of the current breed of CEOs, I was both surprised and delighted by the results of this study. However, in the cool light of day when CEO’s are answering these types of questions, I suspect they might be inclined to “say the right things” but when they are on the firing line or in crisis, these ideals may become secondary. Nonetheless, this is a good report and the more folks like Lisa Petrilli communicate the power of values and culture to companies and their employees, the better off all of us will be.
Thank you for such kind words, John. I understand your concerns and suspect that what I hear is slighly slanted because these are CEOs who join the organization in an effort to keep learning and evolving and who want to be around other high-caliber CEOs. Thus, they care, and that show in how they lead. But I wholeheartedly agree with you, to hear these words from leaders is delightful and encouraging!
Thanks for the post. Sometimes you wonder if this belief is just all touchy feely stuff brought to us courtesy of authors and coaches trying to make a name; at least that is what some people seem to believe.
Great to see proof that strong companies have a strong focus on values, purpose and culture. All of this must be lived and worked on not just written on paper and hung on a wall.
Hi Doug,
I can understand that concern, but absolutely guarantee that there are leaders such as these CEOs who I believe are truly making a difference. And you stated it eloquently – all of this must be lived and worked on (it’s always a work in progress!) and not simply hung on a wall. All the very best!
Another excellent post Lisa! I like the way that you clarify these different but related concepts. A take-away for me is that a leader defines and exemplifies values & purpose, and the organization collectively creates the culture. Thanks!
Christopher, I love the way you summarized the post – perfect! Thank you so much!
Great article, Lisa. It’s true what you say about CEOs needing to be highest steward of values. At our quarterly all hands meetings, every meeting is kicked off with our CEO reviewing our mission, goals, values, etc. He also reminds us to keep these in mind when making day-to-day decisions in our work. It’s very empowering.
It sounds like you’re blessed with a great leader. All the best to you and thank you so much for taking time to comment and to be here!
I was recently exposed to as business where the culture felt “off” but I couldn’t put my finger on it. This article helped me narrow things a bit, especially the “consistently following them rather than consistently stating them (values)” and that CEOs must be the highest steward of values, one of which must be to get out of the way of your people. These both resonated.
Thanks.
Geoff
This is why I personally think it’s so important to trust your gut. I’m so glad to know that the post helped you to identify what was making you uncomfortable. The encouraging thing (I think) is knowing that there are leaders out there who genuinely believe in these principles and work very hard to see them through. Thanks for sharing your personal reaction, Geoff, I appreciate it!