an article about shared values

Small Values, Big Returns

I'm often asked to discuss values as they pertain to organisational culture. Are they important? Do shared values really make a difference in a business? Are the benefits the business gains, worth the time and effort that it takes to align a company and focus its people?

Those questions make me recall a time with Charli, my little 4 year old daughter; a mess of curls, always looking to get herself into trouble. Anyway, she had this pet ant called Anty. But this wasn't a pet ant that she had in a container or an ant farm - we're talking about a pet ant that roamed around the house and garden, always seeming to appear when Charli was around.

One day I was looking over her shoulder and I saw an ant scurrying about and I asked her, “Is that Anty?”
“It sure is” she replied.
So I asked her. “How do you know that that ant is Anty? It could be some other ant?”
“No. That's Anty.” she said with a smile. “You can tell by the things that he's doing. Anty is a real adventurer. He's always running around and looking at things and exploring new places.”
“Really…?”
“Yeah, Jade's ant is Antarella, and hers pretty much stays at home. You can tell because she only really runs around in a little spot. She doesn't do much. Anty runs around everywhere!”

Jade was one of Charli's best friends and even though she lived 15 minutes down the road, Antarella always seemed to show up at our house at the same time as Anty.

The whole situation made me consider how we perceive, be that our perception of a person, a company or even an ant. It made me think of how perception creates reputation and how our reputations or brands are really defined by the actions we take, rather than how we look, or what we say we are.

Interesting lessons to learn from an ant.

But Anty had more to teach.

Charli and I were sitting on the step at the front of our house one evening last month. I was cooking a BBQ under the car port and Charli was studying a line of ants that were walking across the concrete. “Is Anty in there I asked?”
“Yes. I can't see him now, but I saw him run over to his friends. Did you know his favourite colour is black?”
“Really?” I got up to turn the sausages when one bounced off the grill and landed on the concrete, right near the track of ants.

Charli laughed and we both watched as the ants swarmed over the half cooked meat and proceeded to move it across the floor. Now I remember from my pre-school days that individual ants can lift over 20 times their own body weight, but no individual ant would have been able to move this sausage. Together, like the ants from a cartoon picnic, they were moving this sausage across the floor; each ant an individual, and to my daughter Charli and her friend Jade, each with their own personality and things they cared about (values). But in this case they were working together, focusing on one task and moving in the one direction. They moved that sausage over the next 30 minutes from one side of the car port to the other, then off into the bush.

It was fascinating to me, that at such a small size they were able to move an object thousands of times their own weight. If tiny ants are able to accomplish acts like this in 30 minutes, imagine what we as aligned and focused organisations can achieve in a year. How about 5 years?

So let me asked you some questions - Is your team aligned to a set of core values? Are you focused on a common goal? Or are you running around with your individual missions like Anty and Antarella - Very cute and likeable, but not really accomplishing anything greater than yourself? I ask myself and my team these questions every month. Could we do more? Where is the focus? What are we doing right and what needs to change?

I invite you to learn something from an ant and consider what harnessing the power of shared values and a focused mission could mean for enhancing the results of your team.

Imagine what it could mean for your business success.