TL;DR.
As we dive into our values mini-series, we are talking about Ownership. We believe that when you take ownership of something, you begin to care for it in a different way. Ownership is our first value since normally it comes first! We cover important why values are important, give you our own business value examples, dive into our Ownership value, and why you need to have values in both your personal life and for your business!
Introduction.
Ownership is the start of most things. In order to start a task you need to take ownership of it. When you purchase something you now have ownership. If you want something to mean something to you, you take ownership in either something tangible (item, product, etc.) or intangible (thoughts, ideas, feelings.) Ownership, in terms of our value, is where we begin.
Note: The first two sections (The Value in Having Values & What Values Convey) are located in each value post. They provide important information to remember when reading each post. So if you’ve already read them in another post, you may go ahead and skip to the Ownership value section!
The Value in Having Values.
Values are often times the sounding device you will use for a multitude of different things. We all have personal values, whether they are constructive values or destructive values, we all have them. Your values should point you in the right direction. Often times they are something that is a relief and something that can be relied upon. At Maven X we have values to both convey what we stand for but also to show our clients and potential customers what we deliver each time.
Having both you and your clients or customers align on a value is a win-win for both sides. It can give your clients a more relieved feeling to go with someone who has the same values as them, you’re telling the client what they are to expect from you, but also you get a read into what might be important to that person or brand you’re working with.
Values also don’t have to be this crazy unique thing just to you and your business, but they shouldn’t be generic or just adopted because it looks good. You need to live it out.
What Values Convey.
Values speak things into someone’s mind before they meet or even talk to you. Spoken and unspoken conclusions are made based upon someone’s values. You and your business values are no different. Your values can either be an asset or a curse. So what can values convey to others?
- Your Purpose
- Who You Are
- Your Sounding Process
- Your Decision Making Guide
- What Matters to You
Your Purpose
In a business sense your purpose is the reason that you exist. In a personal sense you purpose is something that drives you or is a part of your identity. Your values will convey what your purpose is but in small details which play into the big details. Let’s say you sell cybersecurity services, one of your values should be trust. They play together. You need to be trusted to handle security. So make sure that your values speak into your purpose.
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Who You Are
Someone’s values speak a lot about the person that they are. Like mentioned, values tell a story about you and your business. Your values will show what you stand for. You shouldn’t take on values unless you are already putting them into action or you really want to pursue them. Your values also shouldn’t be difficult to “implement” because they should already be there; they’re a part of who you are.
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Your Sounding Process
A sounding is defined as:
information or evidence ascertained as a preliminary step before deciding on a course of action.
Oxford Languages
When making decisions or taking action on something the steps should align with your values. They fill in the blanks before you begin to make a better decision. What we can see is that a lot of false opportunities or noise is filtered out when values don’t align. This is a good thing! A process or boundaries should be in place to protect you and your business from certain things. So use your values as a way to filter and guide you to the decision or outcome.
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Your Decision Making Guide
Similar to being a sounding process, your values should help in making decisions. If you can’t trust someone, don’t do business with them. If they don’t have integrity, cut them out of your personal life. Some decisions can be cut and dry when aligned (or mis-aligned) with your values.
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What Matters to You
Finally, your values should show what matters to you. These are your top picked traits and items that mean something to you. They will convey ultimately what you are looking for in others as well as other businesses. It’s a match-match situation. You’ll be more aligned to another person or another business when your values match. These are the characteristics that you both are that matter to both of you. When you’re showing that you’re living them out, there is no argument about who you say that you are and what you stand for.
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Ownership.
Ownership is defined as;
“The act, state, or right of possessing something.”
Oxford Languages
When you are in charge of something you own it. Everyone is proud to own something that is beautiful or performing well but what if it’s broken and not performing at all? Ownership is still just as important. You own things like how you handle or maintain physical things, processes, friendships, or other intangible items, your reputation, your actions, and your decisions.
Leadership and trust are often outcomes from solid ownership. If you own something you are going to take charge to take care of it. In business, such as with projects, ownership is entrusted to you. If you fail with it, you will lose business, your reputation will be tarnished, or more.
You must make it personal. In business it’s easy to cloak ownership over everyone but ultimately there is always one singular person who owns that thing (relationship, item, or process). When you own it you in turn make it more personal. The reason this is a Maven X value is because we truly believe each of these points. Your success is directly tied to us when you hire us. Our services are built for our clients. Our performance, our work, and your benefits are inseparable from us. That’s why we own it. We want to make sure that we make us look good and our clients even better.
Final Thoughts.
As we wrap up our first value, I challenge you to create a list of values for yourself (personally) and for your business (if you have one). There are great examples you can find online or keep checking out ours! But make sure that the values you choose are ones that you care about, ones that you will live out, and ones that you want to be held accountable to.
Next Value.
The second and next Maven X value is Excellence Is Our Endeavor – “We know we can’t be perfect, but we can come as close as we can. Excellence isn’t a destination but a continuous journey. That’s why are continue to strive for excellence each and every day both for ourselves and in our projects to you.”
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