When the leaders at Medworks set out to define the company’s core values, we had no idea how mentally challenging the task was going to be. Frankly, it was tedious and fatiguing as we invested hours upon hours of our valuable time. Through numerous brainstorming sessions, we examined ideas and ideals, along with the words and language that accurately expressed them. Natalie, our fractional marketing director who is a world class white-boarder, kept us on task, focused and organized. She expertly wrote on the board, connecting lines, drawing circles, erasing this and replacing it with that. At times, it really seemed like we were spinning our wheels. But there finally was a tipping point when things began falling into place. Tedium and fatigue were suddenly replaced by energy, excitement, and satisfaction.

The Medworks core values are GROWTH, READINESS, INTEGRITY, and TEAM. This can be summed up in its acronym, “GRIT” (reference the book with that title by Angela Duckworth). Some people might say, “You are a small company. Why take the time and energy to do this?” It is true that many small companies (and some large ones) do not give much thought to core values. For me, it was essential that we as an organization knew WHO we were and WHY we were. Unearthing our core values helped us tremendously in the search to define our culture and our reason for being. Today, we measure almost everything we do by the standard of these core values. For example, to team members working independently, these core values function as a leadership voice readily delivering guidance, policy and answers. As a result, the “GRIT” model serves as a blueprint or conscience to help us consistently do the right thing for our customers and their patients.

Did we get it 100% right? Time will tell, and re-evaluation will be necessary periodically. The important thing is that we believe in the values we chose and use them as a moral compass.

Lately I have been thinking it might be useful to define my own personal core values. It’s not that I don’t know what I believe in or stand for, but there is something clarifying about reducing those values down to a few important words that represent the “core” beliefs. I posted a blog at the end of last year called “One Word”. In it, I chose a word theme to try to live by in 2018, and I challenged readers to do the same. The word I chose was discipline. Having that word has most definitely impacted my actions so far this year. This makes me think that going even deeper could help keep me focused on staying true to myself, and guided toward what is important and valuable.

Would you consider exploring your own core values? I would love to hear your thoughts.

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