{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"Why Establishing Core Values is a Waste of Time and Money","description":"Company culture experts urge leaders to establish clearly defined values to serve as a guide for decisions and behaviors throughout an organization.    To ensure they have the best representation of the values shared among those in leadership, companies often spend gobs of cash and time on experts who ultimately produce a document aligning the most common ideals.    Mounted on the wall, and often on the website, these key words or phrases are meant to ensure everyone is on the same page about what\u2019s expected and acceptable.   While these values are typically inspiring and alluring, they often fail to produce the intended result\u2014a strong team environment. In many cases, these key phrases wind up serving to weaken trust, accountability, collaboration and productivity.   Stopping into Best Buy to exchange a gift I received for store credit, I headed to the customer service line. Fortunately, the line was quick and I was walking toward the exit in less than 10 minutes.   As I made my way toward the exit, I noticed a security guard patting down the jacket of a guy leaving the store and found myself concerned\u2014\u201cDid that guy steel something? Are they worried he stole something? Are they going to pat down my jacket before I can leave the store?\u201d   As I approached the exit discomfort took over and I wound up doing what I typically do in situations like this\u2014say something ridiculous.   \u201cCan I be next? Do I get this same level of attention?\u201d   \u201cNo, no\u2026\u201d both of them responded, with a sincere discomfort that was palpable.   Moments later, the young man who was patted down caught up to me and I asked him, \u201cWhat is that all about?\u201d   \u201cAll employees have to be patted down before they can exit the store,\u201d he said, and continued with, \u201cWhich is stupid because if I wanted to steel something I certainly wouldn\u2019t put it in my jacket.\u201d   \u201cWhy do they do that then?\u201d I asked, seriously needing to understand why any company would come to the conclusion that such a practice was a good idea.   \u201cI have no idea,\u201d he said as he threw his jacket on and headed off, \u201cbut it\u2019s stupid.\u201d   Later, I looked up Best Buy\u2019s core values\u2014   Unleash the Power of Our People Learn from Challenge and Change Show Respect, Humility, and Integrity Have Fun While Being the Best   \u2014and found myself wondering:   How does such a lack of trust allow the power of their people to be unleashed? Have they thought about identifying theft as a cultural challenge and enlisting employees to uncover the necessary change? Does this practice show respect, or encourage humility and integrity? Does the executive team think such a practice is fun for anyone involved, including customers? How is anyone supposed to be their best with such a significant lack of trust?   While getting on the same page regarding values is important, what\u2019s more important is consistently asking, \u201cHow do we know we\u2019re living our values?\u201d And, especially for those in leadership, \u201cAre my behaviors in alignment with our values? How do I know they are?\u201d   The key indicator to discovering the truth behind each question is looking at employee behaviors, along with customer feedback. If they aren\u2019t living the values, perhaps it\u2019s because the leadership is confused about where the real values are born and die.    Here\u2019s to your greatness,   Misti Burmeister   ","author_name":"Provoking Your Greatness - Misti Burmeister","author_url":"http:\/\/www.measurablegreatness.com","html":"