The World Is Transparent
The world has become increasingly transparent, artifice and deception fool no one. Stick to your highest values from the very beginning. Forget the fake it to you make it scheme.
With everything being just a click away, gaining trust and loyalty has never been so difficult. A bad reputation can be damaging and can lead to a negative online review. With “fake news” thanks to the political world, we are being judged a lot more than we are used to.
People are not only questioning what they hear and see online, but they are also looking further into where they spend their money. They are looking towards values and principals. Thanks to the power of social and digital media, there is no hiding. One can quickly have a damning effect on trust and brand value. And rebuilding trust can be extremely hard. So make sure you and your people are value driven, don’t hide behind false promises. Values and principals should be the fundamental beliefs that dictate how people should behave, act and react. Keep in mind it’s easy to sell yourself as a go green, sustainable company, but it is much more difficult to build a competitive and sustainable business around these values. So staying true to your values is imperative, and having your dirty laundry aired can have a lasting and damaging effect that can lead to the ability to attract. So keep that in mind because you don’t want to be the Volkswagen of the industry.
“Values are like fingerprints. Nobodies are the same, but you leave them all over everything you do.” — Elvis Presley
Values go a lot further than one may think. One way to lose track of values is in the way employees and customers are treated. Richard Branson states: “Keep customer service at the highest level possible”, “It should go without saying, if the person who works at your company is 100 percent proud of the brand and you give them the tools to do a good job and they are treated well, they’re going to be happy,” Branson has stated. Make sure that everyone is aiming towards the bigger picture while keeping track with their core values. One way to do this is by allowing employees to share their opinions anonymously. Leading by example important is also an important factor. So transparency and equality are good core values worth enacting. Communication is another key component to creating a smooth workplace that is productive. The internet has increased transparency, it can be harder to display or hide true values. So make sure everyone knows and understand that they are brand ambassadors. Anyone who needs a reminder should be reminded ASAP.
In the current climate, we are in, individual actions and shared opinions can have a real lasting effect. But the real effect will do some damaging on trust. Which leads to business being taken elsewhere and reducing value. So respect the core values and culture. This starts at the very beginning of bringing the right people onboard, prepare them for everything and anything. From the first day, partners, employees, investors, and retailers should be screened. Everyone at all levels should represent the same core values. Constantly bringing everyone together is key, making sure that everyone understands that they are brand ambassadors, and moving together as a unit in the right direction is the mission and core values. A way to reinforce values is by asking employees to sign “social contracts” that outline how everyone will work together, make decisions, communicate, share information and support each other, to promote a culture of trust, encouragement, respect, accountability, and achievement.
We are living in a world where the public trust is at an all-time low. Accusations, lies and trickery doings are becoming more skeptical. So people start distancing themselves from anything or anyone who doesn’t match the personal values, principals, and culture. To assess individuals and associations make sure to keep value and principals first.
