There's a fundamental difference between living your core values and telling them to the world.
Living them demonstrates unmistakenly and predictably who are really are.
Telling them is no different from all those bullshit mission statements on bulletin boards ignored by millions.
Wikipedia defines "mensch" as "a person of integrity and honor" and "someone to admire and emulate, someone of noble character". By its very definition, you cannot call yourself (or your company) a mensch.
Once you start living your core values, you won't need to advertise them. Plenty of others will do that for you.
I think telling and living are held in tension. Say you are male, riding on a crowded bus with a small child in your care. A woman boards and you give her your seat. That's living a value.
The child then does a "why chain" on you. Why did you stand up? To give the lady a seat. Why did you give the lady your seat? Because it's polite. Why is it polite? Etc. Explaining your values to someone else can help you reexamine and refine them. Perhaps you didn't expect to exhibit them in public, but another core value (being honest and respectful to children) causes you to. Making them known also holds you to them.
I have worked for companies with very strong and sensible values that don't advertise them. That's a fine choice, but not necessarily better or more pure than articulating them to the world.
Comments
There's a fundamental difference between living your core values and telling them to the world.
Living them demonstrates unmistakenly and predictably who are really are.
Telling them is no different from all those bullshit mission statements on bulletin boards ignored by millions.
Wikipedia defines "mensch" as "a person of integrity and honor" and "someone to admire and emulate, someone of noble character". By its very definition, you cannot call yourself (or your company) a mensch.
Once you start living your core values, you won't need to advertise them. Plenty of others will do that for you.
I think telling and living are held in tension. Say you are male, riding on a crowded bus with a small child in your care. A woman boards and you give her your seat. That's living a value.
The child then does a "why chain" on you. Why did you stand up? To give the lady a seat. Why did you give the lady your seat? Because it's polite. Why is it polite? Etc. Explaining your values to someone else can help you reexamine and refine them. Perhaps you didn't expect to exhibit them in public, but another core value (being honest and respectful to children) causes you to. Making them known also holds you to them.
I have worked for companies with very strong and sensible values that don't advertise them. That's a fine choice, but not necessarily better or more pure than articulating them to the world.