Balancing people, values and business
By NANCY PROFFITT, President of Proffitt Management Solutions and Proffitt Management Leadership Institute
The mantra of FedEx rings true even after all these years — follow the PSP philosophy. People, Service, Profit. That was such a stronghold of our success in the decades I worked at FedEx as a member of senior management, and I apply it in my coaching with clients to this day.
Really great companies, even in bad times, place people and values first. An obsession with stock prices or bottom line profitability can obscure vision and cause companies to lose their way. The link between people and the bottom line is becoming more apparent. Organizations that succeed over time are those that have a strong values-driven culture. They are people-centered organizations that balance values and business.
The quality of the interaction with and among employees drives the quality of the products and services. A focus on treating employees with warmth, dignity and respect pays off in how customers are treated and consequently in how the business performs.
Many organizations forget the connection between customers, employees, and financial results. If you want to have great business results, you must have customers who love your products and services—customers who believe that they’re getting excellent treatment from the company. In order to do that, you have to have employees who are motivated, committed, and using their talents on behalf of the organization.
As Fred Smith, CEO of FedEx has always said, “if we treat our people with the respect due, they in turn will carry that attitude on to how they treat our customers and the long term results will always prove profitable for all stakeholders.”
Think about connecting your core values with the understanding that your employees are your most valuable asset. When core values are clearly defined and articulated, they become living values that get communicated and reinforced continually. In the absence of repetitive reminders of these values other implicit and negative values can take over, such as individual ambition at the expense of team work. The only insurance against such undermining is to reinforce values in both language and actions.
John Miller authored QBQ! The Question Behind the Question: Practicing Personal Accountability in Business and in Life, (www.qbq.com). He suggests asking some questions in order to stay connected with core values:
- How can I reinforce and communicate our core values on a daily basis?
- How can I create and communicate a clear vision for the part of the business that I manage?
- What can I do to help others understand how our values drive our strategies?
- How can I provide the people with whom I work with clear performance objectives that support our values?
- How can I create an atmosphere in which people feel included and valued?
- What can I do to ensure that everyone is heard?
- How can I help my people succeed?
- How can I show people they’re important to our success?
- What can I do to maximize the talents of those who work with me?
- How can I help people learn from their mistakes?
- What can I do to ensure that people have the knowledge, skills and tools they need to be successful?
- 12. How can I build better relationships with my customers?
- How can I increase the value my customers receive?
- How can I build better relationships with my suppliers?
- What can I do to build strong relationships with the local community?
Why are values so important? Because money by itself isn’t sufficient for motivating long-term high performance. Most of us need to believe that what we are doing makes a difference to others and that our work is important. We also want to feel that we are valued as people. We want to be respected for who we are, not simply for what we do.
Nancy Proffitt, MBA, Certified Business Coach is the president of Proffitt Management Solutions and Proffitt Management Leadership Institute, an internationally recognized Leadership coaching firm dedicated to unleashing the full potential of individuals and organizations. She may be reached at 561-682-6060 or email:
Nancy@proffittmanagement.com . Visit her website at www.proffittmanagement.com
