Have a set of core principles for your business, and be mindful of when you step away from them.
Core principles are like the soul of your company. These are the foundational truths by which you perform your work and conduct yourself as an entrepreneur. Even if you are a lonely soul, sitting in the basement in your boxer shorts, clicking away on a computer keyboard, you have a company culture, if only by default. The reasons for having core principles, a culture of choice, are legion. When you peek at the writings of entrepreneurial thought leaders on this topic, you often see discussions of ethics and morality. While no one doubts the necessity to conduct a business, much less a life, as a responsible citizen, human being, and spiritual entity, with this final mutable law, I instead submit three nuts and bolts reasons why core principles matter.
First, having core principles for your business provide you a framework for making decisions. For example, assume you are a real estate agent, and one of your core principles is to strive for satisfaction between buyer and seller in any transaction. Suppose you have buyer and seller who had entered into a contract, and later buyer gets cold feet. Some sellers, and their agents, might focus on enforcing the contract. Unless there is some contractual means by which the buyer can terminate the agreement, the transaction should be completed, even to the point of litigating the contract, should the buyer breach. But if your core principle was instead to strive for satisfaction, you might encourage the parties to execute mutual releases, and walk away quickly from the experience, both moving on. Staying true to this core principle makes reaching this decision easier for you. Conversely, if you’re an agent that believes in enforcing agreements and that people have an obligation to fulfill their promises, you would also act in congruence with your principles by encouraging enforcement of the contract.
Second, having core principles make it easy for you to work with the right clients, the right independent contractors, and even the right employees. It also allows you to enter into the right relationships with other businesses with whom you interact. Revisiting our previous example, if as a real estate agent you discussed your philosophy of striving for satisfaction with prospective sellers, you are more likely to secure listings from those with similar beliefs. This would thereby minimize any conflict between you and a client in the event a buyer wishes to back out. Moreover, it is true that birds of a feather flock together. When you are engaged with the type of clients with whom you share certain core beliefs, you will find that they refer to you other like-minded individuals. This can bring more prospects who are a good fit for your service or products.
Third, a set of consistent core principles becomes a part of your brand. Branding is extremely important in today’s web-based economy. Branding is a key component to how you attract and keep clients. But branding can also be thought of as your first-level gatekeeper. If the public image of your company turns on or turns off a potential client, and it is consistent with your core values, it’s done the job. It can winnow out folks for whom your services would not be a good fit. An example here is my own website. While I am deadly serious about helping each and every one of my clients succeed in their business, it’s apparent from the whimsical sea critters that adorn my pages that I like to have fun as well. Yes, business is about bringing in revenue, keeping an eye on that bottom line, maintaining the appropriate work-life balance, and servicing your clients. But if you can’t enjoy your day, and indeed enjoy your life, to me, there’s a big piece missing. I understand that my website turns off some people. So be it. It’s doing its job as my preliminary gatekeeper!
The other thing you will find is if you have a set of core principles, and writing these down after thoughtful self-examination is important, your business life will be simpler. And this ties neatly in with our goal of making you a ruthlessly efficient entrepreneur. Moreover, the more you focus on setting forth your core values, the more your intuitive voice will ring warning bells if you stray. Those red flags can help you avoid making the wrong decisions, attracting the wrong clients or other persons with whom you interact, and misrepresenting your brand. Mindfulness is key. Pay attention to that still, small voice.
Core values are more than a simple compass. They should track your ethical and moral guideposts. But more than that, they can be critical elements on your path to sustainable success.