Business After Business

CEBU, Philippines - Why does business belabour the creation of corporate values, vision and mission statements? The crafting of these words are not just there to make the enterprise look good and have a professional, progressive appeal. It is there to show the direction the company is moving, and it defines every step this particular business will be taking to separate it from the other businesses.

Core values is the soul of business. It is what makes the people in it move in accord and it is the thread that binds each member whether employee or owner to the purpose of the business and their purpose in that business as well.

It is what keeps the people together and motivated even if the leaders in the business seem to make turns that are not usual, or that seem to go beyond the traditional practices and products of the company.

The buying-into of the employees to the corporate beliefs is like a binding pact that keeps the organization afloat and to certain extents soaring.

When people believe in their company, take pride in their products, and in their participation in giving their time and talents to their job, they truly become the greatest asset of the firm and this is not just a cliché but an honoured truth.

Manifestations of belief in the business is seen in corporate loyalty. They stay in the company not because they cannot find another job or that the compensation is high, but because they feel proud to be part of their organization.

They exert effort to keep the company’s reputation intact through performing well on their specific assignments even without the roving eye of their supervisors.

A simple manifestation of corporate pride is the use of the uniform. When out of the office, the uniform of an enterprise is the immediate identification of an individual’s relationship to an establishment. When it is worn sloppily or with neglect, it reflects sadly on the company aside from the person wearing it. Some of the companies gather the uniforms of their employees after they retire or when they are separated for this simple reason. That they do not want their emblem to be used indiscriminately if the employee decides to donate his extra clothes somewhere.

The respect for the logo is another thing. Large conglomerates take pains to arrange their corporate identity with such care that they can distinguish if a communication is legitimate or not simply based on the stroke, font consistency and the colors of the logo used. 

Behind all these details is really the core of it all. The protection of a pride and reputation which can only be sustain through the shared values of employees.

In the recently concluded Mandaue Business Month Business Summit of Mandaue Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Chief Operating Officer Eugenio Lopez III of ABS CBN simply reiterated the strength of his business relies of their consolidated belief in their purpose.   Their strategy is their guiding force. It provides for them an agility to adjust to the changing environment. They find it an imperative that their people understand what they are doing rather than do it out of habit. For Mr. Gabby Lopez, a company must be able to listen with the heart for its customers and partners and must at all times be in touch with them.

It does not need for a business to be in the same industry as Mr. Lopez, to take a page from his experience and keep a clear communication line with its customers or to pursue its set of strategies that are related and complementing. The strategic directions should be versatile in that it has the ability to change, transform and anchored on the very core values of the business. This is where the energy comes. (FREEMAN)