As a resident of the PNW after living in Southern California for over 20 years, I feel like I have an even greater appreciation for Fall and its glorious display of color and beauty. It’s a time of year when we see more contrast than any other month. The air smells rich with pine and cedar. The hearty maple trees are the first to release their leaves in preparation for a fresh start, an opportunity to renew and regrow.
I’m always fascinated by the process. It reminds me that there are seasons in life as we prepare for the new year and begin planning for our opportunity to bloom again. As the leaves turn colors, I’m also reminded of the abundance of growth and change happening among us as we reconnect with community and one another. Never before has connection felt more important than it does today.
The last few years have required all of us to look inward and find ways to reconnect with what’s important. At Olive, we are reminded of the importance of first truly connecting to your authentic values, but also reconnecting with your community. Generally speaking, your community will align with your values.
Have you revisited those values in this post pandemic time? For many, you might find that your top three have solidified even more deeply or shifted altogether. Maybe family has now become one of your core business values, or diversity or inclusion have become more prominent. Perhaps, connection is something that you previously took for granted, but now feel it needs to be at the top. Does health suddenly feel more important or something as simple as joy?
This Fall, as we watch nature release, I hope you also take time to release things that no longer fit and consider refreshing your list of values to set your sights on an exciting new year. If you need support with identifying your strategy forward or refreshed values, please give us a call.
Here are simple questions you can ask to begin eliciting your updated values:
- When you, your team and your brand are shining your brightest, what are you doing?
- How do you want people to feel when they engage in your business?
- What problems are you solving in the world?
- What is your why?
- What inspires and motivates you to keep doing what you’re doing?
Your values are a checks and balance for every single thing you do at an organization.
It is especially critical for business owners and leadership to understand these values and to live by them. Systemic issues start from the top and if someone within your organization is not demonstrating your values, you can’t expect the rest of your team to follow whether it’s good or bad.
You might be thinking, how do you apply these to every day messaging and business functions? The simple answer is that you can make this a foundation for everything you do from production to all your communication strategies whether it’s internal for your staff, external to your stakeholders or clients, or for your marketing and media relations efforts. You can ask yourself how you are communicating your values in everything you do. For example, are your facilities and culture in alignment with your values? Does the artwork in your business reflect these values? Does your social media content and marketing materials reflect these values? Are you making sure to communicate these values in your internal and external newsletters? Are your press releases clearly demonstrating your values?
You also must remember that values can’t simply be words framed on the wall or what you say. For example if being environmentally conscious is a value, you really do need to deliver in your actions. Today’s post pandemic world demands action and transparency.
If you need help with this, let us know. We would love to hear from you.