There is an often quoted story of how Jack Welch, the former warrior-CEO of GE, made every employee carry a card that states the core values of GE.
Yes, for me Jack Welch was a warrior-CEO in the true sense. It takes a warrior to wage war on entrenched culture and values that are like a quick-sand dragging an organization into the bottomless pit of poor performance, weak customer service and shameful ROI for share-holders.
After retiring, Jack has given numerous high-powered talks and also informal interviews. I have watched and read some of them. What strikes me the most is his emphasis on vision and values. He always,always goes back to the value and vision that he wanted to give GE.
My fellow corporate trainers and I are always amazed when we find many of our participants who are sometimes senior managers are not able to describe the vision and value of their respective organizations. For us, its like the story of if you don't know where you are going, anywhere will be just fine. That includes down.
Vision and values drive an organization. It gives a road-map for its employees. It gives a clear guidance on the parameters of everything they do from 9 to 5 everyday. The decisions they make or don't make, the service they provide or don't provide, or the innovations they make or fail to make are all driven by the vison and values that they believe in. But of course, as all things, employees must be given a reason to live and breathe the said vision and value. One of the best reasons for them to do so is when they have a say in developing the vision and values. What people give birth to they do not destroy.
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