Business Values

Corporate Values, also called Business or Core Values, are the Aspirational Concepts that Guide the Strategy and Operations of a Company.

• What companies Consider and what they think about, before acting.

 

Large Corporations often Defend certain Values so that people Admire and Consider them better.

 

And, generally speaking, these Values end up being an Empty and Generic list of Values everybody agrees with.

• And, commonly, Companies boast about Values that they don’t actually follow.

The most Common Values that Companies supposedly defend are:

• Diversity.
• Integrity.
• Respect.
• Trust.
• Uniqueness.
• Progress.
• Service.

 

As you can see, these Values are vague and generic.

• Who would not support “Integrity”?
• Who would not agree with being “Respectful”?
• Who would disagree with the “Trust” Value?

Define Values that are Different and Unique.

• Don’t share 90% of your Values with your Competitors if you want to Stand Out.

 

Only set Values that you Actually Follow.

• Otherwise, your Brand image will be seriously damaged.

 

Apple Core Values example

 

Among many values, Apple prides itself on upholding Privacy above everything else.

 

Its Competitors have not Focused on This Value.

• What makes Apple Unique in this regard.

 

 

But, does Apple truly follow this Value?

 

Well, some years ago, Apple refused to collaborate with the FBI to unlock a criminal’s mobile phone.

• At the risk of significant Penalties and Fines.

 

You may or may not agree with Apple’s action, but you have to admit that it lived up to its Values.

Let’s see more examples:

We’ll now analyze the Core Values of 3 famous Companies.

 

We will discuss what we think of them and if they make any sense.

• Or if these companies defined them just to improve their reputation artificially.

 

Let’s begin:

According to Microsoft’s Website, its Corporate Values are:

• Respect.
• Integrity.
• Accountability.

 

I am a Microsoft lover.

• I love Windows, How it works, its Environment, Cloud Storage, etc.

They create very good Products that helps us in our Job and Personal Life.

 

However, these Values mean Nothing to us.

 

Microsoft is a Global super-Large Company.

• How on Earth would Microsoft not Value Respect and Integrity?

 

Microsoft creates Software and Operative Systems (mainly).

• What does Microsoft Respect? Its Competitors, its Employees…?
  • Obviously, they Respect their Potential Clients, like any other Company.

 

And, of course it Values Accountability.

• It is an extremely professional Company with some of the best “Brains” on Earth.

It is obvious that they Value Accountability.

 

According to Walmart’s Website, its Corporate Values are:

• Service.
• Respect.
• Excellence.
• Integrity.

 

Among these values, the most Unique one is “Service”.

• But not so much.

 

Walmart wants to be regarded as a Company that Serves its Customers much better than others.

 

But Does Walmart Live Up To Its Values?

• Not as much as they would like.

 

According to a Study developed by Forbes, Costco is doing much better when it comes to Customer Satisfaction.

• And it is almost its only direct Competitor.

 

Source:

• “Walmart vs Costco Comparison“.

 

Respect, Excellence and Integrity are obvious Values for all Successful Companies.

• And Walmart is, undoubtedly a Successful Company.

 

According to Facebook’s Website (Meta), its Corporate Values are:

• Be Bold.
• Focus on Impact.
• Move Fast.
• Be Open.
• Build Social Values.

 

Among these Values, we think that 3 of them are Relatively well Chosen:

• Focus on Impact.
• Move fast.
• Be Open.

 

Why?

Facebook has popularized “Likes”, “Viral Posts” that are shared massively, etc.

• It Focuses on Impact without question.

 

Facebook made a lot of changes very quickly, which allowed it to be successful.

• It moved Fast, unlike its Competitors (MySpace, especially).

 

Facebook has accepted New Things on its Platform.

• By introducing the “Unlike” button, Facebook proved to be an Open Platform.
  • Also, they bought “Whatsapp” and “Instagram”.

 

Regarding the Values “Be Bold” and “Create Social Value”:

• Be Bold: Is Obvious for a Tech Company.
• Create Social Value: We should first define what “Creating Social Value” is.
  • And then evaluate if Facebook does more good than harm.