Why Every Company Needs to Refresh Their Core Values In 2021
A lot has been written about corporate core values. And we posit that most, if not all, core values across the corporate spectrum are now out of date. In fact, one of the core principles of creating core values is that, “as your company evolves, so should your values.” Last year, we heard the phrase “2020 shook us to our core” over and over again. One would then conclude that if 2020 shook us all to our core, that it bears that we look deep inside our core and make sure that the things we now value, the things that 2020 taught us we should value, are wholly reflected through every level of our organizations. And not just in a quick social media post, or a blog article (like this one). But to take a good hard look at our actual Core Values, the pillars upon which we build our companies and see if they reflect where we now stand, after being rightly shook to our core.
Don’t believe me? Take for example Google’s 4th core value. If I were a betting person I would guess that this particular core value gets a second look and a fresh update this year. I mean if a conspiracy theory is liked, linked, shared, retweeted and embedded into the roots of growing groups of people on the web, within democracies, across borders, and causes real world harm, then does democracy really still work on the web? One thing we’ve all seen of late, however, is that these companies are trying very hard to make sure that the web still works for democracies.
Democracy on the web works.
Google search works because it relies on the millions of individuals posting links on websites to help determine which other sites offer content of value. We assess the importance of every web page using more than 200 signals and a variety of techniques, including our patented PageRank™ algorithm, which analyzes which sites have been “voted” to be the best sources of information by other pages across the web. As the web gets bigger, this approach actually improves, as each new site is another point of information and another vote to be counted. In the same vein, we are active in open source software development, where innovation takes place through the collective effort of many programmers.
To their great credit Google begins their 10 things with this statement, “We first wrote these “10 things” when Google was just a few years old. From time to time we revisit this list to see if it still holds true. We hope it does—and you can hold us to that.” And I’ll bet that they do just that in 2021. This year will surely be a great year of reflection for so many people and companies around the world.
We at Source are no exception, and thus we spent time revisiting our Core Values with input from all of our team members, and we found that they didn’t say strongly enough the things that we felt were important in building a Post-COVID-Post-2020 technology company. We wanted to ensure that the people we hire moving forward were shaken to the core, just as we were. And that we continue to find hardworking, talented peers that will help us build a more equitable company to serve the vast architecture and design community. So we can continue to support our clients and members who are working hard to create more equitable communities and built environments around the world.
Source’s Core Values - 2021 Edition
Do hard things.
Unable to accept the status quo
Ask questions, find out the why and the how behind the what. Never settle for “that’s the way it is.” And rely on the people around you for help answering your questions. Everyone on the team is working hard, and moving fast, and yet always has time to support each other.
Respectful instant feedback
Treat all people with respect, especially if you don’t yet know their story. We have direct, respectful conversations to hold each other accountable with instant + continuous feedback.
Accountable to execute
We are a team that believes execution eats strategy for breakfast. As a fast paced start up we take calculated risks, and make good investments with our time. We play the long game, flex on strategy when needed, and we always get things done to move the company forward.
Flexible + embrace change
At Source the only thing constant is change. If you don’t like the way something works, don’t worry, it won’t be that way for long. And if you do like the way something works, well we have news for you...you may be creating an even better system soon.
Strong + passionate team
We nurture strong teams that work hard to execute and put out work that we are proud to tell our clients, investors, our network, and the world about. When possible we shout it from the rooftops. What we do, we do well.
We look forward to 2021, and beyond, with hope and optimism for what the future holds, and hope that our new values will be a strong foundation for our growing technology company. And if not, well, we’ll take a page from Google, and we’ll plan to revisit them from time to time.
Nicole Schmidt, CEOShe / Her / Hers