The way we see ourselves, and the cultural mores that influence how we talk with each other, have a great effect on our behavior – sustainable or not. If we are to adopt an “integral” view of sustainability performance – a view that addresses both the “inner” view of consciousness, motivation, and culture and the “outer” view of measurable behavior, social systems, economics and technology – we need a way to measure these “inner” phenomena.
Values are a key link between the “inner” and the “outer”. Values matter in an organization or a community, because they provide a consistent guide to decision making, in particular when one value may conflict with another.
In business, values are, too often, a set of nice sounding words on a plaque in the lobby.
Perhaps this is because we confuse values with ideals. People tend to think that values must represent the best of who we are, and of course must be positive. But what if you work in a company where, for example, secrecy is a hallowed principle of management decision making, but we can’t admit to that without – well – violating that value? Even if it doesn’t sound warm and fuzzy, isn’t that truly a value?
How do we incorporate values into the practice of strategic planning, and performance management? The first step is to be able to actually measure values.
My friend and colleague Kathryn Alexander has developed a values assessment tool that links values to business behavior and performance outcomes. This tool is the basis for a certification program she has developed, called Forever Green™, that provides a “maturity model” for business and other organizations working to improve ethical and sustainable performance.
Kathryn’s work over the years has demonstrated that the values that support sustainability correlate well with an organization’s capacity for innovation and resilience. On the other hand, there are competing sets of values that will actively undermine a firms ability to achieve sustainability. These values also undermine the resilience and creativity of the firm. In the emerging business paradigm, a commitment to sustainability is just plain good business.
Why? In a nutshell, sustainability thinking is inherently long term, acknowledges complexity, and addresses what are becoming key risk areas in an age of unprecedented transparency.
This is why tools for measuring values are critical. How can these metrics be integrated into an overall strategy, using the Balanced Scorecard?
Here’s an example of how a values-based sustainability theme can be expressed in a Strategy Map. In the Balanced Scorecard, the most foundational level – what we call Organizational Capacity – is intimately linked to leadership, culture and values. And, thanks to the work of people like Kathryn, we can now measure the evolution of values over time in an organization.
For an organization to develop a sustainable business model, the most basic ingredient is a declaration by leaders that this will be so. This declaration is the basis of a culture that attracts and reinforces like-minded employees. This builds a culture of people who enter creatively into the collaborative design and implementation of more sustainable products and processes.
This process also has an impact on branding – telling the story of the product, and of the way the company does business, in a way that attracts the attention of consumers whose values match yours. This in turn results in enhanced customer loyalty and positive revenue results.