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O P I N I O N
Core values Company culture is about much more than the fun you have, the events you sponsor, time off, and cushy health benefits.
O ur personal core values are developed from an early age. For me, they were first defined by my parents and surrounding family. The Boy Scouts provided me with the 12 points of the Scout Law which gave tangible words to my values. Texas A&M University further defined my values through its institutional core values of respect, excellence, leadership, loyalty, integrity, and selfless service.
Stephen Lucy
Once defined, the struggle then becomes to maintain and nurture those values as they are the essence of your firm. To succeed at that, it is imperative that you start with the right personnel as missteps in the hiring process can immediately put your firm’s culture at risk. Based on both the an answer. So why is it that as companies we struggle so much to define our cultures which are essentially our core values?” “If you ask an individual what they believe in, most can provide you
If you ask an individual what they believe in, most can provide you an answer. So why is it that as companies we struggle so much to define our cultures which are essentially our core values? And wouldn’t the definition of our core values allow us to better operate our firms as we would have a common filter by which to evaluate our decisions? So many times, we tend to reflect on the physical trappings of culture, not the culture itself. Likewise, it is often challenging to differentiate a firm on its technical skills or work product alone as everyone can prepare statements of qualification that infer his or her firm is the best. But if you can clearly define and live your core values which are the drivers of your firm’s culture, you can differentiate yourself to your clients, staff and prospective staff.
See STEPHEN LUCY, page 10
THE ZWEIG LETTER October 2, 2017, ISSUE 1218
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