This episode runs 33 min.
David Lecours and Josh Miles discuss the importance of Core Values as a marketing tool.
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Mentioned in This Episode 137: Core Values as a Marketing Tool
Why Core Values as a Marketing tool
Core values are the foundation of our culture
Clients and talent select your firm for it’s culture
Culture = shared beliefs and behaviors of your firm
Core values must be codified
Do your firm’s core values have to be different from your competitor’s?
How to improve your core values
What’s the best quantity of core values?
How often should you revisit your core values?
Write core values with a verb to inspire action
Don’t include baseline values like integrity and quality
Write your core values to surprise and delight. See Atlassian example.
Create a core values manifestation
Share your core values internally and externally
Use core values to measure employees in performance reviews
Use core values to measure prospects in Go/No Go decision making
Try peer-to-peer recognition to reinforce core values. For example, bonus.ly
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Announcer: Welcome to PSM, the Professional Services Marketing podcast. It’s insight applied.
Josh Miles: David, you know what I value?
David Lecours: What’s that Josh?
Josh Miles: I value values, and I especially want to talk about Core Values as a marketing tool. What do you think?
David Lecours: Yeah, I value my core. I need to work on my core. That’s why I go to yoga and do some sit ups. But yeah, let’s talk about Core Values. I think it’s something that’s not often considered as a marketing tool, but it should be, so that’s our topic today.
Josh Miles: And before we jump into that, let’s talk about our title sponsor. We’re very fortunate to be underwritten by SMPS, whose vision is ‘Business transformed through marketing leadership.’ Check out smps.org to learn more.
Announcer: This is PSM. It’s insight applied.
Josh Miles: Okay, so we’re talking about Core Values today, David, as we have already enjoyed. We’re not talking about your physical core. We’re not talking about your personal values. We’re really talking about firm values, and how this can be used as a marketing tool.
David Lecours: Yeah. Yeah I think it-
Josh Miles: So tell me more about what you’re thinking here?
David Lecours: Sure. So I have to confess, part of why I’m thinking about it is because I have some clients that are asking us to help them with that as a service, both in developing their Core Values, but also wordsmithing and then eventually manifesting those, and we’ll talk about all those things later. But the reason I think Core Values are so important and kind of hot right now, is I really see them as the foundation of a firm’s culture. And I believe that both clients and talent select a firm based on culture. It’s not the only thing they select your firm on, but it is a very important thing. And Josh, I know you and I have talked about in the past how we’ve got this war on talent right now. And so how do you think culture plays into that, or does it?
Josh Miles: Well, I think it’s definitely different in different size firms, but especially firms that are very culture driven are going to hire consultants, or they’re going to hire firms to partner with, who fit their culture as well. So I think what we’re seeing is, especially Gen X or millennial influenced, if not led, firms. This has become, not just a trend, but I think it’s just a difference in how these generations deal with things. And I think it’s certainly influencing where are young talent in particular want to go work. They want to know that there’s a good culture match there.
David Lecours: No, absolutely. And I guess culture’s this word that we through around a lot. So I’m just going to throw a definition out, it’s not the only definition, but at least it will be the definition we’re going to sort of focus on for this episode. And so when I think of culture, I usually define it as the shared beliefs and behaviors of your firm. And what that does is allows everybody to know, “this is the expected way we think about things, a way we do things, the way that we’re going to behave in order to get to our vision, or get to whatever desired destination we want to go in.” And it allows people to kind of row together, and be on the same page, and start to get known for that, start to develop a reputation or a following for embracing particular behaviors and beliefs.
David Lecours: And I think it should be, of course, flexible enough that allows people to be individuals. We’re not asking everybody to wear a corporate uniform, and march to work, and be these automated robots. But I think what we are saying is, “Hey, this is what we believe in here, and we’re going to tell you that from the beginning,” and maybe self-select, right? So if you’re a prospective client, or a prospective employee, and you don’t really believe in the same things, then this probably isn’t a great fit for you. There’s, I’m sure, another firm out there that has an alignment with your beliefs, but I think it’s important to put that out there. Otherwise, how do people know?
Josh Miles: Well, I think you’ve kind of hit on something, which is these Core Values can really serve as a filter.
David Lecours: Yeah.
Josh Miles: And that’s for internal talent, it’s for internal leadership, and it’s certainly for external clients, which really become … As we’ve talked about positioning a lot in the past, it really helps shape your point of view. So when you say something like, “Our firm is different, because our people make us different,” well, that’s a horrible positioning statement, not because it’s untrue, but because it’s what everyone else is saying. And I think when you can really get your culture nailed down, and it’s something that you can express and share, that’s a way to say that differently, which is, “What our people believe is what makes us different.” And I think that’s a spin on that generic positioning that actually holds some water.
David Lecours: Yeah, absolutely, and there’s going to be a lot of beliefs. And a lot of times I’ve heard some firm leadership push back and like, “Really, why do we have to do this exercise? Everybody kind of knows what we should be doing.” And usually my eyebrow goes up at that point. I was like, “Really, because if we did a survey of employees and asked what are the top three priorities, or what is the unifying thread that makes this firm special, I would probably get, if it’s a 50-person firm, 50 different answers.” So it’s really … These Core Values must be codified in some way. They must be written down, and be available for people to refer back to. Otherwise, if becomes sort of like a game of telephone where everybody interprets what they may of or may not have heard prior, and passes them on, and distorts them. And so by the time they get to end three years later, they’re totally different from what the intention was in the beginning.
Josh Miles: I think it’s helpful too when you’ve got these things literally on paper, or they’re on a poster, or they’re on the wall in your office, it’s easy to go about your business and forget what you all agreed on. But having that there is a reminder to go, “Oh yeah, that’s kind of a thing,” or to talk about them as you’re making business decisions, “When we talk about our value of being open, then that’s why this seemed like the right decision, and that’s what we’re sharing with you all.” And just making it part of that internal language, I think is better than doing this as an exercise in strategic planning, and then never talking about it again.
David Lecours: Right. You used the word filter before, and I think that’s really good. So not only should prospective employees go through your firm’s Core Values and filter themselves, but you should also use the Core Values to filter that prospective employee. But that’s not all, you should also be using these Core Values as filters in your go, no go, decision making, right? So if a prospective client has radically different values than your firm, it’s a recipe for project disaster, right? So if you’re not valuing similar things, then man, find that out early, right? Find that out during the dating period, where you’re getting to know each other before you marry and it becomes an expensive and painful divorce.
Josh Miles: Good tips. Good tips.
David Lecours: Yes.
Josh Miles: So where do we start if our firm is thinking about how to improve their Core Values?
David Lecours: Yeah.
Josh Miles: Or maybe they haven’t dusted these off recently, and reconsidered with current leadership if this still resonates. Where would you start?
David Lecours: Totally. I’ll answer that in one second. I just want to also clarify why I think in most cases your Core Values are not so great. Or what I’ve found is most firms don’t do a great job of this, and then we’ll talk about how to solve it. So often times it becomes the last agenda item at a strategic planning retreat, and everybody kind of wants to go home, and you’ve got an hour, and you’re like, “We’ve got to get Core Values done. We have it on our agenda.” And so it gets banged out. It gets very generic, and so a lot of times it’ll be just very expected things like, “We embrace quality.” Really? If you didn’t, you wouldn’t have a job. The other one that drives me a little bananas is this word integrity. You know, “We’re going to use integrity whenever we can.” Okay, whenever you can? The other side of that is like, “Oh really, when would you not have integrity?” Right? You’re going to lie? And so I guess if it’s totally expected, and minimum baseline for being a human being that works, please don’t include it as your Core Values.
David Lecours: That’s one aspect. The other part is they don’t get written up real well. They sound sort of generic. They start to go to another bunch of firms for inspiration, and they kind of do a mashup, and it becomes very generic, and they’re not inspiring. Then, they don’t get distributed, and I’m a firm believer in the importance of something is very reflective in how you deliver it. So let’s say you spent the last hour of your retreat on these Core Values, and then they get sent out in an email on Monday to all the employees and they say, “Yeah, these are our Core Values. Please comply,” and so that has no inherent value. People don’t like email, and they’re just going to go away, and they’re never going to be remembered.
David Lecours: So those are the issues. Now you asked, how can they be improved? One is, I think you should … because your firm probably already has Core Values, but I do think they can be improved. And I think you need to revisit them, maybe every five years, or maybe every time you do a strategic plan. So whether that’s three years or five years, you should really take a hard look at your Core Values, and determine is it something that is a little bit unexpected, right? So it goes beyond quality and integrity. And can the writing of it be improved and be a little bit more memorable and creative, and so forth? Anyway, I talked for a bunch. Any thoughts on what I’ve said?
Josh Miles: Well, I think one of the things that I was alluding to about the dusting them off is having a regular pace at which you revisit them, or some milestones, like every time we bring on a new principal. And for some firms that’s every year, so maybe it’s an annual thing, just to revisit and reinvestigate what we think we meant by that and unpack.
David Lecours: Yeah that’s-
Josh Miles: Do we see this alive in our firm?
David Lecours: That is such an important part. I think a firm’s culture should grow and evolve and change, and so as a result, yeah, your Core Values should do the same.
Josh Miles: Absolutely.
David Lecours: Did you have a magic number that you like, because what I’ve found is that there’s a lot of things the firm believes in, right? And so you could list a hundred things, but you can’t remember a hundred things. And there’s power in focus. So if you were going for a certain number of Core Values, what might you suggest?
Josh Miles: I certainly like more than two, and I like as many fewer than 10 as you can manage, but something like three or five is probably a really good target. And if your firm just feels strongly about four main things, then I think four or six is okay, but visually odd numbers always look nice.
David Lecours: Yeah, right.
Josh Miles: The aesthetics in me says three or five is probably good.
David Lecours: Yeah, no I totally agree. I tell firms to try to limit it to five or less, and the fewer the better, because man, if you can just sort of keep three in your head, that’s such a more focused, powerful effect.
David Lecours: So there’s some things that I typically recommend to clients if we’re helping do the writing, or wordsmithing, is that the Core Values should be written with a verb in it as an action statement, so that it can become a behavior, right? So if it has that verb in it, then it’s really clear how somebody should act. So let’s say, like radical candor, the idea of like just … So you would say something like, “Write and speak with radical candor, or we write and speak with radical candor,” referring to the whole company, right? And so the writing and speaking in there is the action or verb, so people are really clear what behavior they’re supposed to embrace, and then the summation of all these behaviors really does become your culture. And yeah-
Josh Miles: Yeah, I really like that idea of using an action statement or verb in expressing it, instead of just saying service, or just saying honesty, whatever.
David Lecours: Yeah. Yeah. Right.
Josh Miles: I think it really gives you a little bit more to stand on when you go back to review that and say, “What did we mean by integrity?” Well, if you make that an action statement, it’s a little more clear I think.
David Lecours: Yeah, no absolutely. There’s this company in Australia that makes software, and I’ll put the name in the show notes in a link. But one of theirs is, “Never,” and then there’s an F, and an exclamation point, and a dollar sign, and a something, and a K, “the customer.” And so you can fill in the blank there, and so we don’t cuss here on the PSM.show. So rather than like … So the generic thing would be service, right? But having this sort of unique, sort of eye-catching, sort of almost arresting like, “Whoa,” kind of thing makes you like … For one, it’s kind of how people talk in real life, and I like that.
David Lecours: A lot of times these Core Values get written, and I think there’s this idea that they need to sound so lofty that they hold us to a higher standard. Well, the problem with the higher standard is that it’s so far out there that we can never embrace it. It’s just not realistic. And so writing these as if somebody would speak, here’s an example. We were working with a client, and they wanted to talk about quality. So what we titled that Core Value was, “Our work goes on the fridge.” And at first you’re like, “What? What?” And so when I say that, what does that mean to you, Josh?
Josh Miles: Well, I just think of when I was a kid, doing artwork or getting a good score on a report card or a test, and my mom would throw that sucker up on the fridge. It was boasting rights.
David Lecours: Yeah. Yeah. Isn’t that what we all want? We want our work to go on the fridge, and that only happens if it’s quality. So yeah, so that was just a clever way of saying something a little bit differently. And that can be a way to capture people’s attention, get people engaged, and also communicate, “Hey, we’re a little bit different,” because I actually don’t think that all our Core Values need to be different from the firm down the street, but I think at least you’re going to have some common individual ones. I think collectively, yeah, you should have a set that is end up being unique, but you’re certainly going to have some that are probably in common. Where I think you can differentiate them, is sort of how you express them, and so how you title them, name them, and write the Core Value.
Josh Miles: I think there’s something about that ‘on the fridge’ concept that makes it feel … There’s a lot baked into that. It makes it feel very close to home and familial. And there’s a lot that is implied when you even use that phrase, so that kind of creativity as you’re writing those values I think really gives a more differentiated vibe to the overall value itself.
David Lecours: Yeah, that company that I was thinking of is called Atlassian, A-T-L-A-S-S-I-A-N, and if you go to their site you can find their Core Values. They have another one called, “Play, as a team.” And so what I like about that is it’s all in the comma, right? So there’s this idea that, “Yeah, we’re going to work our butts off, but we’re going to also play, but not as an individual group of rebels. We’re going to sort of work together.” And the idea’s like, “Hey, the more we sort of make, … ” or as they say, “We spend a huge amount of our time at work, so the more time that doesn’t feel like quote, unquote, work, the better.” You know like, “Don’t take ourselves too seriously.” I think that’s super cool.
Josh Miles: Well, speaking of creative ways to express Core Values, I think one of my favorite projects that you’ve ever done, if I had to pick a favorite David, is your coasters that you did for Marie Smith. So maybe for our listeners who are not familiar with that, tell them why … First of all, why coasters? And then, what was the connection here to Core Values?
David Lecours: Right. So with them we were helping them develop their Core Values and sort of unofficially they had started calling themselves … because of some of the positioning we’d done, one of their three uniques was, “We’re just the right size.” So they’re medium-sized, they are located in the Pacific-Northwest, which is famous for their craft breweries, and then a lot of people within the firm really liked drinking beer. So we decided to express their Core Values as faux beer brands. And so each core value, they ended up with I think seven, was a faux beer brand. So there was like, “Collaboration IPA.” And there was, “Fun Lager.” And so we had seven of these, and each one had a unique faux beer label. And we letter-pressed printed these on this really beautiful thick paper, that spongy beer coaster paper. And then on the back, we described in greater terms, or elaborated on what that Core Value really meant to that particular firm. So like for fun, it sort of described some of the things that they do for fun as a team.
David Lecours: And yeah, it was a great project. It was a great project, because it took their Core Values and put them in front of the people every day. You see these Core Values being used throughout the office. They have some nice conference tables. Nobody wants to be the one that stains the conference table, so people actually use these coasters. They take them to job fairs for their recruiting, and they give them out. And so they’ve had a real life beyond, and they don’t just get put in an email and tucked away, and thrown in the trash. These things have a life that reinforces the Core Values, and it is a creative manifestation. And I think all firms, they don’t have to be beer labels or beer coasters, but they should do some creative manifestation of their Core Values that brings them to life in a way, and it says to everybody, both internal and external stakeholders, like, “Yeah, we take these seriously. We take them seriously enough to invest the time and money into creating this thing, this artifact, and you should take them seriously too.”
Josh Miles: Well yeah, in that instance, again, not everybody needs to have beverage coasters necessarily, but that’s something that just floats around the office and could be at every desk, and at every conference room table. And it’s just something that you’re literally going to be looking at every day. So finding an opportunity within your firm for something that’s similar, maybe it’s the ink pens or pencils that are laying around the office, maybe that’s where you’re going to have that.
David Lecours: Right.
Josh Miles: But just that kind of visibility is just something that really reinforces those values.
David Lecours: Here are a couple other ideas of how you can manifest your Core Values creatively. I’ve seen Clark Construction, big general contractor, their Core Values … They did an individual video for each Core Value, but they chose an individual person within the firm as the narrator of that particular Core Value, so a different person for each Core Value, and that person explains the Core Value. But then they also go on and tell a personal story about how that Core Value got brought to life within maybe a project, or working on a team with another employee. And so I like that approach.
David Lecours: I’ve seen really great posters done, or even super wall graphics that get applied to the internal part of the firm so that they’re right in your face as you go to work, but done tastefully and well designed. Starbucks has this thing called the green apron book, and it’s a little handbook, that as you can probably imagine, goes in that little pocket in the front of a Starbucks employee’s green apron. And in that book is a whole bunch of great advice about how to treat the customer, and so if in doubt, the barista can just reach into this and remind themselves the values that he or she should be embracing as a Starbucks employee.
Josh Miles: Yeah, and I love when you go into a space and they’ve got some creative use of wall graphics. So it’s more than just putting the values on a plaque, and hanging it in the conference room. It’s something that really is part of the interior design and the culture of the space, so you reinforce that in a more fun way that feels a little bit more baked into the culture of the office, and not just a list.
David Lecours: Can I share one more that we did?
Josh Miles: Oh yeah. Go for it.
David Lecours: So we did Core Values with this firm, it’s an architecture firm in Los Angeles called KAA. And so, we think of Core Values as this foundational element, right, help sort of prop up the firm. Within this firm’s office, they had these five thick metal poles that were foundational structured, and we took their five Core Values and we wrote them with vinyl lettering vertically on these poles. And we made sort of like graduated marks, and so they were like little tick marks, sort of like a scientific beaker or measuring cup kind of thing. And so we named the Core Value, let’s say it was collaboration, and we made these little almost like … I don’t know what to call them. Flags? They used magnet, and they were sort of like this little beacon thing like two inches by ten inches tall, and you would attach it to the side of the metal pole where the Core Value was written.
David Lecours: And then they would actually, whenever they would have staff meetings, depending on how they’re doing on their Core Values, they would move this Core Value up or down on this graduated scale. And they would make a ritual of this and say, “Hey, we really kind of screwed up on this. We didn’t utilize collaboration, and as a result, the project took longer than we thought.” So they would self-regulate, and move it down. So they had this instant visual, if they looked at all five of them across all five of these poles, they could kind of check their pulse of where they were doing as a firm in terms of their Core Values.
Josh Miles: Yeah, that’s really cool.
David Lecours: Yeah.
Josh Miles: So it’s kind of a real-time assessment of, are we living out the Core Values, or are we kind of sucking a little bit right now?
David Lecours: Right. And so I recommended every quarter they start over, they start fresh, and they work their … Hopefully, they’re moving up more than they’re moving down, and so they would kind of move up, and then yeah, real-time assessment.
David Lecours: So this brings up an interesting point. So a lot of times people think Core Values, “Oh, it’s just an internal exercise.” But what do you think? Do you think they should also be shared externally?
Josh Miles: Well, I think a lot of the examples that we’ve talked about so far really are internal. And I think maybe the closest cousin to that is to go external from internal, if you will, is to use it within your recruitment.
David Lecours: Yeah.
Josh Miles: And that is … Sorry, the neighbor’s car alarm was going off, and I wasn’t sure how that was going to last. Yeah, so using that for recruiting is kind of the next step up, which is making sure that you’re sharing that in pieces, such as a job description, or a posting, and the collateral that you give to that applicant if they are there for an interview, or are they exposed to all those things? Again, it’s like that dating process, and man, there’s nothing that is more essential to that then as you’re scaling up and adding talent, making sure that person is a good fit.
David Lecours: Yeah, so when you were dating April did you ask her, what are your Core Values on the first date?
Josh Miles: Yeah, I actually had them tattooed on my arm, so I rolled up my sleeve. I actually don’t have any tattoos. I’m sad about this. So-
David Lecours: But yeah, I agree with you. Right, you got to share them. So you mentioned sharing them for recruiting, but I think it doesn’t hurt you to share them with prospective clients. I think we talked about earlier the idea of let’s learn early, are we aligned or not? And then if we are, let’s figure out a way to work together.
Josh Miles: Yeah, absolutely. And I think even if you look at someone else’s Core Values and you think, “Well, that’s not exactly like me, or not exactly what our firm or our leadership values,” it really still helps you to gauge and understand what it might be like working with this firm, or what the benefits of those Core Values might be to you as a partner, or as a vendor, or as a service provider, however you’re looking at that. But you know that when you’re working with a firm who, maybe for instance one of their Core Values is social responsibility, and based on the type of projects you’re doing, you can see how that’s a really strong fit.
David Lecours: Yeah, that’s a great example.
Josh Miles: Yeah.
David Lecours: So the last part I just want to touch on is these Core Values need to come to life, and there’s this sort of famous quote about “what gets measured, gets managed.” I think it’s by Peter Drucker. And I think that if you want people to embrace these Core Values, even as great as a manifestation like the coasters have been, you’ve got to take it even one step further, and you’ve got to incorporate the Core Values into employee reviews. And so that’s why I think writing them as a verb helps you to evaluate, are they taking on that behavior? And it’s not the entire employee review, but there should be an aspect of it where you’re giving people that barometer on how they’re doing in relationship to our Core Values, because we want to develop this culture.
Josh Miles: Yeah.
David Lecours: And then the other part of it, of course, is using them as like a go, no go, criteria. Anyway, what were you going to say?
Josh Miles: Well, I was just thinking another way to think about that is even internally as most of our audience are marketers or principals within an AEC firm, as you’re thinking about initiatives that you have happening from a marketing or business development standpoint, maybe you can start to categorize each of those under each of your Core Values. So how would adding this new page on our website, which one of our Core Values should that relate to most?
David Lecours: Yeah. Yeah.
Josh Miles: Does this video exhibit our Core Values? Or as we think about a new email list tactic to grow that email list, is that in line with what our Core Values are? So just another way to … Again, another type of filter that I think you can apply those Core Values to.
David Lecours: I love that. I think … Yeah, I would almost make the declaration that every form of marketing communication should be grounded in at least one Core Value. And if it was just one, that would make it even more I guess focused and tight. And then, I guess where there’s even cross-over, might make it even more powerful. Then that would ensure that, yeah, externally we’re communicating what we’re all about, because each time we do it’s, again, grounded in a Core Value.
David Lecours: A tool that I’ve heard firms use successfully is a digital tool, it comes from this company called Bonusly. Bonus.ly, if you want to check it out. And through peer-to-peer recognition, it offers the ability for … because a lot of times managers aren’t in a position to even see when you do something great just by the way companies are organized, but usually your peers often do. And sometimes it’s more gratifying to actually get positive feedback and recognition by your peers.
David Lecours: And so Bonusly sets up a thing where your company would put in a certain dollar amount into a pool, and then you would be deputized with being able to … Let’s say your company puts in, just for round numbers, a thousand dollars. And then each employee, ten employees, gets a hundred dollars for the next quarter, and they can decide how they want to give that hundred dollars out to fellow peers. The Bonusly thing comes in, and there’s a social sharing component, and you can use Slack channels, or use can use Intranets, or use can use I think even email, that let’s people know that you have given … Like let’s say that Josh did a great job with CPSM week this week and I say, “Hey Josh, I love what you did with those videos, I’m going to bonus you fifty dollars.” And you literally give him fifty dollars, and everybody knows it because you’ve made it public. So I just think it’s a cool digital tool that uses the social web to do peer-to-peer recognition.
Josh Miles: Yeah, and if you Google that kind of peer-to-peer recognition thing, there’re a couple others. And off the top of my head, I can’t think of any of them. But I’ve heard of a couple different companies, both in AEC and software, and other segments that are using these. And I’ve seen a lot of that in bigger or growing firms. It’s a cool little cultural bonus.
David Lecours: Yeah. Yeah. Nice. Alright, well I think we’ve pretty much wrapped up the Core Values. Was there anything else you wanted to add Josh?
Josh Miles: Well David, mostly just that I value our conversations.
David Lecours: Oh, thanks Josh.
Josh Miles: And I think we should use this as a marketing tool.
David Lecours: Alright, let’s do it. Now dear audience, if you guys have questions or comments, we of course want to hear from you. The best way to do that is to go to PSM.show, scroll down. We’ve got a one query line form you can fill out, and we’ll get it, and we’ll know what you’re thinking, so if you have guest recommendations, or whatever. But anyway, that’s it for this episode of PSM.show. Thanks to SMPS for sponsoring. I’m David Lecours, that’s me, and Josh Miles. We’ll see you next time.