{"id":5781,"date":"2022-12-20T11:58:00","date_gmt":"2022-12-20T17:58:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mhisolutionsmag.com\/?p=5781"},"modified":"2022-12-20T13:31:53","modified_gmt":"2022-12-20T19:31:53","slug":"core-values-a-powerful-two-way-contract","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mhisolutionsmag.com\/index.php\/2022\/12\/20\/core-values-a-powerful-two-way-contract\/","title":{"rendered":"Core Values: A Powerful Two-Way Contract"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Executive Viewpoint<\/h4>\n
\"kevinBY KEVIN O\u2019NEILL<\/span>, PRESIDENT AND CEO, STEELE SOLUTIONS INC. AND MHI CHAIRMAN<\/div>\n

C<\/span>ore values are a big buzzword in business today. They can be very powerful\u2014but not if they\u2019re just a phrase on a plaque or piece of artwork in the conference room. At Steele Solutions, our core values guide what we do every day. They\u2019ve helped us deliver more value to our customers by identifying what\u2019s most important and incorporating it. Validation came in 2022 when we were honored with a Best Places to Work award by the Milwaukee Business Journal.<\/em> We were the only manufacturer to win the award in the Extra Large (over 250 employees) category.<\/p>\n

Core values are a way to make sure you have the right people in the right seats at your company. As an owner of Steele Solutions since 1997, I\u2019ve learned that it\u2019s true what they say: The worst behavior you\u2019re willing to accept is what sets your company\u2019s culture. I\u2019ve heard some crazy core values, like “Don\u2019t be a jerk.” I\u2019ve also heard some values that are so basic that they don\u2019t say much at all, things like “respect” or “honesty.” How about we raise the bar together?<\/p>\n

In this, the inaugural guest column from members of the MHI Board of Directors, I\u2019d like to offer a few thoughts about our company\u2019s own core values journey, and what we\u2019ve learned along the way.<\/p>\n

Embarking on the journey<\/h4>\n

Just over a year ago, our leadership team was working with Pinnacle Business Systems on strategy. Part of that process was to identify our core values. Our leadership team had several discussions about who we are and what makes us special. Our core values couldn\u2019t be aspirational. They needed to be the reality of how we live and operate the business every day. We created a deeper description to help our team, customers and vendors understand how we work. (Have a look at the sidebar on Steele Solutions Core Values, and you\u2019ll see what I mean.)<\/p>\n

Next, we had to make sure we had it right, and this was the best thing we did throughout the process. I led 18 separate meetings with about 25 people per meeting. We wanted to collect feedback and confirm that the entire team agreed we had the values correct. We rolled them out in small groups where people could have a voice. During those meetings, we explained our core values and gave examples of team members representing them. We printed out our core values and posted them on the wall in each of the four corners of the room. In each meeting, we had every team member get up and go to the value they most identified with, the one they thought they lived best. It was interesting: No single value dominated the vote. They were pretty evenly split up every time, and that was neat to see.<\/p>\n

Then we changed it up. We asked the team members to go to the one they felt we needed to work on most, and we asked people why they were standing where they were. We had a scribe taking notes. It helped us learn what we needed to work on. It was powerful. It was incredible feedback, and it felt safe to everyone, that they could share their opinions. Then we sat back down, and had the team members give examples, peer-to-peer, of who they had witnessed living the core values. There were some great stories, and it helped crystallize what\u2019s most important\u2014and why.<\/p>\n

Right from the start<\/h4>\n

Core values come into play from the beginning of the interview process through performance reviews. The first core value, for example, is Integrity in Every Decision.<\/em> We see that value as a barrier of entry to stay in our company. If you don\u2019t do your work with integrity in what you do, if you don\u2019t do what you say you\u2019re going to do, if you don\u2019t treat people with respect, you\u2019re most likely not going to be a productive member of the team.<\/p>\n

It comes down to the way we talk to each other, the way we treat each other, the way we work with each other. It means we also expect our team members to give our vendors, customers and stakeholders their best. If you think about a project, you have, for example, sales, who turns it over to project management, who turns it over to engineering, who turns it over to supply chain, who turns it over to manufacturing, who delivers it to the customer. In each step in that process, if you\u2019ve hit your deadlines, if you\u2019ve given it your best work, and asked that extra question, and all of those things, that\u2019s what integrity means.<\/p>\n

Sometimes, a team member isn\u2019t acting in a way that represents our core values. We\u2019ll start with a conversation about it. It\u2019s a softer way of telling someone, “Look, I\u2019m not pleased with what you\u2019re doing.” We\u2019ve had people leave the company, but the expectations of the core values have been present all along. Our core values are not the rules people follow to work at our company. This is who we are. If you don\u2019t fit in with this, Steele Solutions won\u2019t be a good spot for you to be.<\/p>\n

Maintaining momentum<\/h4>\n

Each day, when team members turn on their computers, the core values are there on the warm-up screen. They\u2019re also posted around. We talk about them in our communications every month, and we acknowledge and reward our team members who live the core values. What we\u2019re really looking for is one team member to nominate another. We share stories and examples.<\/p>\n