Do your values define your business?

When you say someone is professional, what do you mean?  We had quite the discussion about this at one of our meetings this week, when two profs from University of Guelph came to ask our opinion.

Knowing they were coming, I’d actually given the topic some thought and found it interesting, that it was far easier for me to come up with what is unprofessional – like being late for a meeting, neglecting to say thank you when you’ve received some help,    being indiscreet, or crossing boundaries from professional to personal.

When we delved into this further, there was much conversation about social media,  and Facebook in particular, being the downfall of some folks, who reveal and share way too much personal information, and thereby diminish their standing and regard by others.   Employers just have to check out their Facebook page, and jobs are lost or careers railroaded.

So what does professional behaviour look like?  We felt it was about respect, and not just how you treat people, but the environment and how you communicate with others.

It’s about follow up – delivering on your promises.  It’s having and holding true to a high standard in your career. It’s acknowledging the contributions of others.  And it’s also how you show up in the world – as a person and yes, in how you dress.

The consensus was that Casual Friday has done nothing to enhance the professionalism in the workplace.  In fact, someone remarked that we’ve lost our sense of occasion – when we’d dress up to go out for dinner or a birthday party.

This whole dialogue was a prelude to our next topic – one on values and how our values impact and need to reflect our brand.  Two fairly connected topics in a way, as both hold us to our intentions and as women, often our need to be authentic.

But values are not something we likely give much thought to as we embark on this world of entrepreneurship, and yet we can quickly discover that they impact what we do and won’t do within our business.  It therefore behooves us to think and reflect on what values we hold close and which would be deal-breakers.

I know for myself integrity, honesty, respect and ethical behaviour are all strong values for me and I’ve been in situations when that line has been crossed, and I’ve had to make tough decisions.  In one instance, I quit the project because I did not want to be part of what, in my view,  was unethical.   On another occasion I ended a business partnership as I didn’t like the way she treated my team.

But the other part of digging deep on your values, is that they may well be the deciding factor for a potential client on why they want to go with you, rather than someone else.  So your marketing, your brand and your website presence needs to convey what you hold near and dear.

How do you do that?  By using the words that describe your values in your marketing materials.  By being the leader and role modeling your values to others.  For example, if giving back is important to you, showcase what you do in the community to make a difference.  Have giving back be an integral part of your website. Foster it in your employees – give them time off to volunteer.  Involve them in your philanthropic activities.

We covered a lot of ground in two hours, and I know we all left with plenty to think about, and to do in terms working authentically, professionally and with integrity within our businesses.  

Self-awareness is important – it’s time well-spent.  I encourage you to delve in and reflect. Ask yourself about your values?  How do you convey them to the world, and are you true to them?  What does professional mean to you?

Let us know, it would be fun to keep this dialogue going.

A message from the heart

What’s your life message?

I had to pick just one for my photo shoot with photographer Laurie Goodman who is coming up with a book of inspirational messages and photos of women.  Neat project.

Right away I came up with three!

One was about giving back – which was an integral part of my growing up.  My father, who dropped out of school at 14 to help support his family, was a successful businessman but he never forgot his humble beginnings.  He would always talk about having a sense of balance, meaning you had to level the scales, and if you had more, you had to give and share it with others.

It was his mantra and it probably wasn’t until he died, that I learned more fully just how much he’d helped other people.  He was a dragon, long before the “den” opened. He liked to invest and believe in people.  So my quote “All that you give into the lives of others, comes back into your own” was one option.

Then there’s the whole piece of letting go; of how we can’t control everything that happens to us in life, but we can control how we react.  Here I was thinking about my health challenges over the years, but no, that wasn’t it.

So what did I come up with?  It has a familiar ring to it – be bold, be brave, belong.  After talking it all over with Laurie – that’s the one we picked.  I like it because it refers to the future.  Mine and everyone else’s.

 I will always give back, and I have learned a lot of life lessons from the breast cancer, but being bold, brave and part of something bigger than myself is positive.  It means there are times when we have to put on our “big girl pants” and just do it.  It speaks to me and I hope it speaks to you too.

My wish is that it will encourage other women to follow their dreams.  I even wore my dream-catcher earings for the shoot.  No one else would notice, but I wanted to visually convey my message.

So have courage my friends and step boldly into your future.  Thank you Laurie for the fun experience and for the opportunity to dig deep and think about what is important to me. I encourage you all to do the same. 

Date first

When I worked in the non-profit sector, I had a reputation for bringing people together to collaborate on a project. Agencies didn’t always do so willingly, sometimes there was resistence – mainly because of territorial issues, but bottom line, we were able to find a common ground that made it work. Usually it was because of the clients, and we would pool our resources to better the outcome for them.

I can’t say I have had the same level of success since starting my own business. People are suspicious – always wanting to know what’s in it for them, and questioning why you would want to partner. Were you going to get more out of it? And when I have partnered, it hasn’t always worked out the way I expected.

When I reflect back on my non-profit days, I realize that apart from wanting the best for our clients, the other common factor we shared was our values. We tended to be working in the non-profit sector because we wanted to make a difference. Earning lots of money was never a draw, which is just as well as the salaries were low.

So when I look at the partnerships that haven’t worked, I can see now that part of the reason why, is we didn’t share the same values. We hadn’t taken the time to really get to know one another – to share our values, to discuss our vision of the intended outcome or to agree on goals. If one of you wants to make thousands and the other is happy with a lot less, then problems are bound to arise.

Also when you’re an entrepreneur, one of the reasons you’ve chosen that path is because you want to be in control of your own destiny, so it is not surprising that there are control issues when there are two captains steering the ship, and even more so when there is no real agreement on the end destination!

I’ve written my share of articles on partnerships, and have often joked that I really should read and heed my own advice! Does that mean that I am off partnerships? No. I see real merit in collaboration, in working with like-minded individuals who share a common audience or goal. It actually makes business sense.

But I am more cautious and less likely to get carried away by the excitement of a new idea, a new project. Now I would recommend dating before leaping into a serious business partnership with someone. Work on a mutually beneficial project first, see how it goes and then build on the relationship.