TL;DR.
The seventh value in our values mini-series is about Quality. Quality is one of the first things people think when it comes to business but most times we don’t have a quality first approach to what we do. We cover important why values are important, give you our own business value examples, dive into our value Quality Is Our Direction, and why you need to have values in both your personal life and for your business!
Introduction.
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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Quality Is Our Direction.
No one wants to be known as being bad quality, especially not as a business. Quality is often times a subjective thing though. So how do you know if what you’re doing is of great quality?
There is no simple or easy answer to this question. Instead you should always be listening, adapting, and improving both you and your business to better provide quality in each and every situation. At Maven X we know that we aren’t perfect (If anyone says they are, they are lying) but we are always getting better.
Quality to us isn’t a destination but a continuous journey. This is why our values says that Quality is Our Direction. Our focus is set on quality and we fill in then details as we move forward.
This should be a value that every business has. Set a commitment to your clients and customers that you will always be listening, improving, and getting better. This value says that if something isn’t right, that they can tell you and you will fix it. We think this is huge. As a value or not, your clients and customers will know if you and your business is built around quality or not so why not commit it to them directly?
Final Thoughts.
Quality is at the front of everyone’s minds in a business interaction. Am I really getting the value out of my purchase? Commit to your clients and customers that you are dedicated to quality. On a personal note, does your reputation precede you as being a person of quality? This characteristic trait is one that is often determined through unspoken means. So take it to heart, put it forward and public and commit to being focused on quality.
Previous & Next Value.
The previous Maven X value we covered was Communication Exemplifies Our Integrity –“We’ve all heard that communication is key. But we take that a step further into ensuring that our communication keeps our integrity. Whether it’s bad news or good news we communicated it accurately and effectively.”
The final Maven X value is Collaboration Unites Us – “We aren’t made up of a one person show. The beauty of all of us is that we all have our strengths and weaknesses. Instead of letting that divide we let it unite us! In our collaboration we can make sure we are performing our best work and promoting ourselves for the greater good.”
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