By letting ideas and values penetrate, companies can create strong culture of their own.

This time, I will write about “how to let ideas and values penetrate.”

“Values” Important in Making Daily Judgments

For a company to grow, its work must be evolved and renewed.

In the evolving process, you do not have precedents and therefore, you will have to make your own decisions for each situation.

At this time, on what basis should we make decisions?

A possible strategy is having one who makes decisions.

Just like the team where a manager always makes decisions about everything.

This strategy has a problem.

First of all, people need to ask the manager every time and so that they cannot make decisions on their own, resulting in the loss of the speed in the business.

Then, more problematic issue is that others cannot judge if the decision is right.

Having employees who can “make decisions based on the values” is important both for efficiency and consistency.

Are the Values Spread and Understood?

Many companies raise their own “values.”

ISAO has 5 statements of values which we call Spirits.

- Challenge what’s new out there.

- Honor yourself, love what you do.

- Be open, be authentic.

- See the unseen.

- Trust your team.

Are the values widely spread and understood in your company?

Moreover, are the decisions made on the values in your company?

A few years ago, a major electric maker company became a topic for its improper accounting.

The employees on site made this decision because of the strong pressure from the upper echelons.

Ironically, the values of the company included a statement of “appropriate accounting.”

This company caused a crucial issue because it put people with power over its values.

Just like this, there could be many cases where companies hold their values in a picture frame but, resulting in gathering dust.

How about your company?

Delivery of the Values Starting from the Leaders

Values do not mean anything when all they do is to remain on the website.

Leaders first need to speak and tell with passion about what each in the values means.

In ISAO, the most illustrative example is to “Be open, be authentic.”

I keep telling “ISAO makes everything open and transparent!” at every opportunity.

Furthermore, I invite everyone into actions saying “Not only the company, but also each of us make our ideas and activities open!”

By keeping and accumulating the delivery, members will finally start to realize that “The company is really and seriously trying to maintain and follow its values”

Values WON’T Penetrate, Nevertheless

If the leader keeps delivering, will the values be spread just by that?

The answer is “half yes, half no.”

If the leader keeps the delivery, the values themselves will be recognized and the content will more likely to be understood.

Still, it is not enough for penetration.

By penetration I refer to the situation where everyone can say “I understand the values and I do things based on them.”

What should we do for the remaining “half?”

Penetrating the Value in All Employees

Each employee will feel closer with values by actually using them in their daily decision making in everyday tasks.

When decision making is needed, they should do it based on their values.

In ISAO, we ask ourselves if we are “Challenging what’s new out there”, which is one of the ISAO Spirits.

To actually give challenges is important.

Caring not only about one’s selves, but also the others, we ask if “Is that challenging what’s new out there?” when we look out over the team and see somebody tending to be defensive.

On the other hand, when somebody started a new challenge, the people around will praise saying “That’s great!”

By doing so, the people will truly understand that the company really considers the value of “Challenge what’s new out there” important.

The Key in Daily Communications

The kind of communication I stated above needs the opportunity where everyone can see others’ work and praise the “good job”.

In small teams of a few people, they can have such communication by staying close and keeping conversations.

However, the bigger the team becomes, the more difficult such communication will be.

There, IT tools hold their important role.

By installing IT tools, information can be shared with every team member at one time, and the members can “Like” and give comments to praise and hold discussions.

The best IT tool for such objectives is the in-house SNS.

In-house SNS, which did not exist twenty years ago, information can be shared widely with everyone, at the same time.

Furthermore, not only sharing information, ISAO tried to find out a way where everyone in the team can make delivery on their own and stimulate the in-house communication.

We wanted to create a circumstance where individuals and teams share everyday progress toward the goals and where communications are made upon them.

That is our hope with which “Goalous”, the next generation OKR SNS, was created.

Please contact us if you felt you want to use Goalous to let the ideas and values penetrate to create successful culture in your company.

“Goalous” the next generation OKR SNS