What Core Values Help With Strategic Planning? What makes some businesses incredibly successful their profits rising year on year and other similar companies scarcely managing to keep afloat. Well, your company’s core values have a massive bearing on its success and should be a part of your strategic planning read this article to find out why.
How do Your Company’s Core Values help With Strategic Planning?
Your company’s core values boost your strategic planning by –
- Defining its beliefs, purpose and builds authenticity.
- Helping to underpin how the business functions
- Influencing the decision-making process to build a strong company vision
- Building aspirational strategic planning
- Defining the company’s social conscience
- Generating high standards of excellence using sound business judgement
To find out how you can build a solid foundation for your business using the above principles keep reading.
What Core Values Help With Strategic Planning?
Your company’s strategic planning should be based on what the business stands for. Its pivotal role is to define a company’s direction and also plays a part in analysing how it’s going to reach its goals and objectives.
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Basing strategic planning around core values allows your business to stay current and build a strong foundation. They are the business fundamental beliefs by which the company should base its aspirational pursuits that its customers can directly relate to.
“Building a dynamic brand that is cost-effective.“
The values of every organization differ according to its underlying purpose but it likely to include objectives such as,
- Improving the lives of people using their services.
- Offering first-class products or services that support the goals of their users
- Building a dynamic brand that is cost-effective.
These important core values support the above objectives and should therefore become a fundamental part of your business. Responsibility. Passion. Good-value. Perseverance, Quality, Determination. Honesty. Innovation. Creativity. Brilliance. Customer care. Respect. Openmindedness. Passion. Fair-mindedness.
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Your Business Mission And Strategic Planning
Whilst working for a restaurant group I was able to see how its core values helped build their business mission. They use their values to build on their success and develop their objectives which were to –
“Bring together aspirational brands in the restaurant, food and beverage, media and real estate industry. A leading cutting edge business with key partners, employees and associates their aim is to become a global force.
“It also welcomes diversity and a positive approach to equal opportunities.“
The Group’s mission was to develop a pioneering business establishing high standards of excellence using sound business judgement. And to provide clear and transparent targets on growth and development. It also welcomes diversity and a positive approach to equal opportunities.
Values that help with strategic planning and mission of the Group were.
Pioneering. Excellence. Clarity. Growth. Equality. Quality. Robustness. Diverse. Forward-thinking. Shrewdness. Discernment. Environmental sustainability. Spirit of adventure
Social Conscience And Core Values That Help
Strategic Planning
The Group also adopted a healthy approach to employee work satisfaction by providing a safe place to work. It also had an excellent work-life balance while being committed to improving the skills of its workforce.
In society today a business that fashions its mission around building positive employee experiences will be looked at more favourably than those that don’t.
“Customers are more likely to connect and identify with the business that …… treat their staff well.“
In the United Kingdom, JD Sports was heavily criticised for treating its staff badly. They were accused of underpaying their staff and unreasonably penalizing them for taking breaks. Reports state staff were “treated like scum”.
Customers are more likely to connect and identify with the business that not only provides first-rate goods and services but value their staff. So, businesses with a strong social conscience around the treatment of staff are likely to pay dividends.
“Worklife balance. Family values. Equality Empowering others. Strong Communities.“
Hence in the UK Amazon recently posted an ad, encouraging their customers to visit their warehouse to observe how well they were treating their staff.
The values associated with a social conscience are. Worklife balance. Family values. Equality. Social value. Empowering others. Strong Communities.
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How to Build Strategic Planning Around Your Company’s Vision?
A company’s vision is the long/short term future envisaged for a business at any given time.
“create your vision and determining what resources are needed to achieve it.“
It can be far-reaching such as being the industry’s market leader in five years. Or less defined such as to inspire new companies to form partnerships to increase profitability and enter into new markets.
Strategic planning around your business vision means establishing the steps required to create your company’s vision and determining what resources are needed to achieve it.
The vision of the Group I worked for was to provide a:
“a strong commitment to customer service, providing first-class products and services, the ability to attract and entice the right clients and customers to win and retain profitable business and the ability to differentiate themselves from their competitors.”
“Does your business have a mission statement based around its core values?“
The values that helped with strategic planning to build the company’s vision were. Commitment. Persuasion. Uniqueness. Resourcefulness. Empowerment. Good-stewards. Optimism. Positivity. Service to others. Consistency
Does your business have a mission statement based on its fundamental values?
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Why Your Company’s Vision Should Take Into Account Their Core Values?
Without core values, a business can lose direction and lose sight of the unique selling point along with the creative magic that initially went into creating it.
Staying focus on the social conscience and ethics of the business and what it stands for is crucial for business growth.
“Hallmark channel recently had to apologise after pulling an ad featuring lesbian brides from its channel.“
Failure to produce clarity on guidelines organisational decision making could be costly. This was clearly the case for the Hallmark channel who recently had to apologise after pulling an ad featuring lesbian brides from its channel.
After receiving mass criticism for its decision, CEO Mike Perry was forced to put out an apology stating:
“Hallmark is, and always has been, committed to diversity and inclusion – as well as in the workplace, as well as products, and experiences we create. It is never Hallmarks intention to be divisive or generate controversy we are an inclusive company and have a track record to prove it…The Hallmark channel will be reaching out to Zola to re-establish our relationship and reinstate the commercials.”
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Consequences For Failing to Define Your Business
Core Values via Strategic Planning
Sarah Kate Ellis, the President and CEO of GLAAD an LBT group explained how she was “thrilled at the decision” and that it was “off-brand” for the channel to pull the ad. She continued by saying Hallmark they had been talking to Hallmark all week, and they want to do the “right thing”, and they would be “looking at what they do in the future.”
“What went wrong is that their core values became blurred.“
According to Ellis, Hallmark, “weren’t expecting this sort of backlash, and they organised quickly as the LGBT community always has to advance the quality of acceptance over the years.” She further went on to say how she and her wife felt personally upset by Hallmark’s initial decision.
Clearly, this was a nightmare for Hallmark, who Ellis said have in the past practised diversity. What went wrong is that their values became blurred. And there strategic planning was flawed because it failed to include diversity.
“Has your business ever had to apologise for a lapse in its core values?“
It remains to be seen what impact their initial decision will have on their brand. But this shows the effect of not developing authentic core values leaving them open to criticism.
Has your business ever had to apologise for a lapse in its core values?
If yes, what steps have you put in place to make sure it doesn’t happen again?
Continual Development, Strategic Planning, And Core Values?
The key to the growth of any business is using strategic planning. Such planning should be based around the core purpose which affects your decision making and policies going forward.
Sheabutter founded by Richelieu Dennis fell victim to failure to identify its core values to help the strategic planning process.
“felt marginalised and excluded by the ads“
The company sells natural skin and hair care products predominantly aimed at the black community. It suffered a backlash after the black community criticised their decision to feature mainly white women in their social media ads.
Dennis was forced to apologise to the black community who felt marginalised and excluded by the ads that had previously featured black models who were the primary users of their products.
Richelieu Dennis explained how his company made mistakes that were now more highlighted due to social media. Its instantaneous nature means people can see errors happening in real-time. He explained that:
“the best approach to it was to be humble enough as a company and a brand to recognise that it happened and to own it and to be accountable and to be transparent.”
“make your business accountable and authentic“
Richelieu Dennis strategic planning ran 40 different ads, one of which did not include black women who were his core customers. He explained that this was a mistake, he owed it he apologised for it. It would not happen again and said his company was about inclusion and particularly about black women who have been underserved.
Dennis recognised that failing to commit to their core values was like failing to engage with your consumers.
He understood that using core values for strategic planning helps to make your business accountable and authentic and that you’re allowed you to make mistakes and recover from them.
How Can Core Values Showcase Your Business?
Core values give your business a dynamic opportunity to showcase its brand and tell your community that you care about them. Moreover, your business gets a chance to demonstrate it take its social and corporate responsibility seriously. The importance of defining company core values is further explained in this article.
“welcomes diversity and a positive approach to equal opportunities“
The restaurant group I worked showcased their business by stating:
“The Group is a pioneering business establishing high standards of excellence using sound business judgement, clear and transparent targets on growth and development. It welcomes diversity and a positive approach to equal opportunities.
Adopting a healthy approach to employee work satisfaction it provides a safe place to work with an excellent work-life balance. Furthermore, it’s committed to improving the skills of their workforce and building success while observing its corporate responsibility.”
“build community relations where possible.“
They aim to develop meaningful relationships with their customers, clients and key partners to make a real difference in people’s lives. They respect and value people across all boundaries, to create personal development and to reward performance at every level.
The Group is conscious of the value they bring to communities both on a social and economic level. They work responsibly and diligently to protect the environment and build community relations where possible.
Does your business highlight its benefits through its values?
If so, how?
If not, why not?
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Core Values That Empower Employees
The advent of social media can highlight the mistakes of brands in real-time. And that to recover, you need to own your mistake and take responsibility for it.
“their staff were also being paid the minimum wage.“
Mike Ashley, established Sports Direct plc. in 1982. Like with JD Sports, he was also accused of mistreating his staff. In fact, a British Member of Parliament commented that staff were not treated like humans.
Mike Ashley was told he must be held accountable for company failings. One MP said the company’s work practices were like a Victorian workhouse. Along with this, their staff were also being paid the minimum wage. Sports Direct sort to defuse the backlash by stating they had a policy of treating staff “with dignity and respect”. But just imagine what this bad publicity does to a brands representation.
Positive Core Values That Will Grow
Your Business
Growing a business is about valuing your workforce and showing economic, corporate and social responsibility. Clearly failing to define proper core values by employing strategic planning can stunt the growth of our business.
“understand that training, rewards and incentives are critical“
The core values relating to the Group I worked for clearly showed they valued their employees and stated that their approach to:
“hiring seeks employees who are both passionate and competent at what they do and are in line with the Group’s core values. They appreciate the value each employee brings to its business, creating a strong community focus and dynamic career opportunities.
They understand that training, rewards and incentives are critical to the Groups success. Consequently, this encouraged them to support the following core values.
“Encourage training and advancement“
- Make sure your employees are content at work by fostering a positive forward-thinking well-being system of work.
- A strong emphasis on providing excellent conditions at work.
- Values equal opportunities across all its brands.
- Seeks employee input to encourage better employer, employee relations.
- Promote career progression by creating opportunities for advancement and development within the Group
- Encourage training and advancement by providing support for professional and personal development.”
How does your business demonstrate through its core values how it values employees?
If not, why not?
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