Just about every company today aims to be "value-driven." Executives are pushing their organizations to create grand statements Cheap Jerseys Online , often known as "core values," "guiding principles" or "aspirations."
Designing these lofty declarations is a good idea. Examples abound of high-performing organizations that have replaced stifling rules and policies with fundamental values supporting the culture they desire.
Yet, many such exercises elicit snickers from the employees they are intended to inspire. Managers and front-line workers humor their bosses by placing their left hands over their hearts, raising their right hands Cheap Jerseys Wholesale , pledging commitment to the pretty words - and going back to work.
In one organization that went through a "value clarification," the process became derisively known as "kidney stone management." The employees'' attitude was: "It''s going to hurt for a while, but this too shall pass."
In 10 years of work with hundreds of organizations, I have observed two common problems in defining values: first in designing the statements Cheap Jerseys From China , second in putting them into action. To start with, companies err by failing to boil their messages to a few core statements or words. Values statements become a laundry list pledging to be everything to everybody.
In one extreme case, a Canadian utility handed out pocket-sized folders to its thousands of employees listing the organization''s 36 values.
Anything beyond three to four core values are no values at all. As with so many issues of strategy and culture, executives need to set priorities about what''s really important to the organization. Core values are those few words or short statements that act as central "hooks" on which to hang the key behavioral guidelines that shape everyone''s actions.
An even bigger challenge arises after values have been articulated: how to instill them. Many executives make a mockery of the exercise because their actions aren''t connected with their words.
Peanuts creator Charles Schultz once observed: "There''s a big difference between a bumper sticker and a philosophy." Some executives have created "bumper sticker values" that they negate through contradictory actions.
The president of a major retailing chain kept talking about trust and partnerships. At the same time Cheap Jerseys China , he expressed frustration that store managers weren''t "entrepreneurial enough" to keep merchandise that was mistakenly over shipped but not invoiced by suppliers. "After all," he explained, "these companies are always jerking us around."
In other cases, executives who declare teamwork to be a core value don''t recognize how their own failure to work as a team creates cynicism.
One group discovered that the sniping they did to each other often led to whole departments sniping at each other. Factions would point accusing fingers when something went wrong Cheap Jerseys , and erect walls around their turfs. Little wonder that cross-functional teams floundered.
Effective cultural change has, at its core, a simple definition of the beliefs that are to shape the organization''s character.
Then comes the hardest leadership test of all - consistently showing rather than just telling what the organization stands for.
Many executives have "done their values thing" and produced pretty parchment papers filled with inspiring words. However, many are frustrated because managers Wholesale Nike NFL Jerseys , supervisors and front-line employees aren''t getting the message.
But people do get the executives'' message. They see it loud and clear. Collecting books is more of a hobby for most people who read. They end up with a number of books by certain authors because that''s what they like to read time and time again. But when you want to become a more serious book collector, you need to consider many more aspects of books and publishing. By thinking about what you love first, then about what is popular and the value of your collection, then you can begin to make your love of the written word into a valuable investment. Here''s what you need to do to help your library grow in value.
What Do You Love?
While it might seem to be a better idea to look at what''s valuable first and then begin to assemble a collection Wholesale NFL Jerseys , this is not necessarily the best way to go. After all, you want to fill your library software catalog with books you would read too. Start off by choosing authors that you love and then building your collection around this author or genre. A book collector begins with what they know as any knowledge gained thereafter will only increase your ability to find and to choose books of value. As you get to know your genre or your author better, you will begin to understand the subtleties in collecting those particular books. And honestly, no one wants to collect things they do not understand and do not truly love.
What is Popular?
At the same time Wholesale Jerseys China , there''s nothing wrong with trying to become a book collector of those authors who were more popular in their time and in the modern time. For example, if you want to collect Agatha Christie novels, you won''t be alone. And this makes it all the more fun. Since you will be vying for the same books along with other collectors, it''s all the more thrilling when you can purchase a certain edition. In addition Wholesale Jerseys , when you collect more popular books, you will be able to be more assured of their value in the long run. After all, more people know who authors like Agatha Christie are, even long after her death.