Is there any value in values?

Josie Salkey investigates.

Here is a typical set of corporate values: communication, respect, integrity and excellence. All good stuff, right? Well, yes, but truly valuable to the organisation? In this case, no. These were the values of Enron circa 2001 – and we all know how that story ended. So how can values help to build a competitive advantage? And how can we make them meaningful to a workforce whose collective nose is finely tuned for the faintest whiff of corporate bull***t?

The truth about values programmes
You can’t read the management press without coming across a company trumpeting about how it rolled out a values programme to employees, but what does this ‘programme’ typically involve?

The first step, of course, is an expensive executive retreat where senior leadership – with help from a clutch of smooth-talking consultants – brainstorm some values and uncover the new ‘soul’ of the business that will triple the share price or help it act as ‘one company.’ Step two is to create a snazzy logo and brief middle management, and step three is to communicate the values to employees and get them all ‘on board.’