Values and Culture

     Do you consider what causes any organization or group to well? What motivates any group to perform successfully? This was an interesting topic of conversation at a recent lawyer conference. We spent a good bit of time just listening.

     To us it seemed interesting that a large percentage of the conference focused only on business, numbers, costs, and expenses. The bottom line was that these were all money matters. While we certainly believe it is prudent to be financially responsible, we felt deep down that we were a bit different.

     So, the curious side of us pulled back out some of our old books on motivation and leadership. We also looked at models of what makes organizations really effective and have meaning. Our reading, I suppose, confirmed what we already knew and felt deep down - the strongest organizations are based values and culture, not just money and profit.

     Organizations appear to work best when the core or fundamental values and ethics are the driving forces. The organization then surrounds itself with individuals who believe in those values. Those values then become the culture, or feel, of the organization. Interestingly, research shows that organizations with money as a driving force have lessor continuity and tend to burn out more quickly since this is a rather weak "value."

     Then, from a business point of view we develop strategic plans that support those values and the culture derived from them. We previously discussed our Lewis & Daggett strategic plan in Renewal of Purpose. This supports our values and beliefs so there is really no effort to get folks to buy into our firm mission.

     If you have been reading here over the past several weeks, or if you have come into our office, you may have a bit of a feel for our driving values and ethics. We are proud of our team’s concern for folks who are seriously injured, disabled, or hurt at work. Certainly our Safe Sober Prom Night campaign is consistent with our firm culture. This caring is just part of our overarching values of caring, concern, compassion and respect for individual dignity resulting in client service.