After discovering your companyโs core values, the next step in rolling out EOS to your organization is an all-hands meeting.
In that meeting, the Visionary (or Integrator) delivers a Core Values Speech. The speech paints a picture with history, stories, examples, analogies, and perhaps even โantiโ examples. The leaders share what acceptable behaviors look like in action. There is a hiring mantra: โhire for behavior, train for performance.โ The Core Values Speech reinforces acceptable behavior and helps the core values permeate into the company and culture.
Walk the Walk
In EOS, core values are โdiscoveredโ internally, not written by a marketing company or consultant. As each value is discussed, leaders weigh in: โCan I live this value?โ
If you are a leader, you canโt forget that YOU are the model for behavior. Everyone in the company takes their cue from you on how to behave. How to communicate. How to hold themselves accountable.
If a leader is serious and abrupt, meetings and the culture will most likely mirror that. If a leader is fun, appreciative, and hard-working, ditto.
I observed this phenomenon of mirroring when I worked for the GAPยฎ when Mickey Drexler was CEO. In one meeting, someone noted that all twelve men in the room were wearing a version of Mickeyโs daily dress: flat front khakis, brown belt, denim shirt.
Why Core Values Can Fall Short
- They are aspirational: not reflective of the company
- They are โpermission to playโ: so foundational to being a good human being that the bar is too low
- They are accidental: they exist, but they are not meaningful and may came from leaders whoโve moved on
- They are in a drawer, not on a wall: not actualized into everyday behavior
- They become internal marketing slogans: easy to ignore
How to Make them Stick
- DO support your Visionaryโs telling of a Core Value Speech
- Know your core values by heart
- Recognize core values in action with โcore value shout-outsโ โ in meetings, on paper, in contests
- Ask employees to get in on the fun, and do their own core value shout-outs
Chunk them out. Rotate through each value by week, quarter, or month. Over time, everyone in the entire organization will know them and, more importantly, live them. Previously published on the Velocity 6 blog
Get the Official Playbook for Rolling Out EOS Company-Wide
ROLLOUT: Get Your Entire Team Running on EOS to Achieve Your Vision is the official guide for activating EOS across your entire organization. Written by EOS Implementers Marisa Smith and Beth Fahey, with a foreword by Gino WickmanโFounder of EOS Worldwide and creator of the Entrepreneurial Operating Systemโthis book provides a comprehensive, step-by-step roadmap to engage every team member, strengthen accountability, and integrate EOS into daily operations across every level of the organization.
