Better Software - December 2007 - (Page 28)

ver the years, much has been written about the importance of defining company mission statements and the corresponding strategic goals and objectives that support them. What seems to have been forgotten, unfortunately, is that a mission is nothing without a foundation of values, because it is values that drive behavior—not the mission statement, not the strategic objectives, and not the project plan. Do you remember the last time you were performing a task and thought to yourself that it was the dumbest thing anyone had ever asked you to do, or that it was the wrong thing to do, or that it would never work and the customer would never buy it? How about a time when you and everyone else knew that the project was failing miserably, yet no one spoke up? The mission statement of your company reads, “MegaCorp is dedicated to providing its customers what they need when they need it,” and its goals include improving customer satisfaction and increasing revenue by 10 percent. How, then, do you suppose keeping quiet and following orders align with the company’s mission? When this project fails, you will not have satisfied the customer, and you will have contributed to lost revenue. This is exactly the opposite of the company’s mission and goals. What is driving your behavior in this instance? It’s clearly not the mission statement or the goals that are motivating you—your personal values are motivating you to remain silent. Our values drive our behavior. In this example, you value supporting your family. Keeping your job and maintaining a steady income allow you to do that. You’ve seen others speak up and then shortly thereafter disappear to “special projects” or to “pursue other opportunities.” Based on these observations, you believe that your company actually values deception and the illusion of constant success, regardless of reality and what the mission statement says. Unfortunately, we’ve all probably been part of a similar situation at some point in our careers. Organizations often O begin with a mission statement and expect it to drive behavior. But all it does is drive the definition of subsidiary goals and objectives. It does not guarantee that people will work together to achieve those goals. Nor does it influence how people will react when faced with the harsh reality of the possibility of failure. Therefore, instead of stopping with a mission statement, organizations should continue with an examination and declaration of their values, because this will focus their mission statement and their goals. In fact, a thorough consideration of values often leads to a modification of the mission statement. Corporate Values As Lynn Sharp Paine, a professor at the Harvard Business School, writes, “Values are not a management tool nor are they bits of ethereal matter [They are] beliefs, aims, and assumptions that undergird the enterprise and guide its management They constitute an organizational infrastructure that gives a company its distinctive character and ethos—its moral personality” (see the StickyNotes for a reference). And unless these stated values affect everything you do every day of the week, they mean nothing. One example of a company that not only defines a set of shared values but also communicates them to its staff regularly and effectively is Applied Energy Services (AES). AES defines five core values: safety, integrity, commitment, striving for excellence, and fun. AES expects its values to drive behaviors and actions and even states in its SEC filings that “AES believes that earning a fair profit is an important result of providing a quality product to its customers. However, if the Company perceives a conflict between their values and profits, the Company will try to adhere to its values—even though doing so might result in diminished profits or forgone opportunities.” Google is another example of a company that defined its values clearly, and it did so in the form of a “philosophy” (see the StickyNotes for more information). One of Google’s most famous credos is “You can make money without doing www.StickyMinds.com evil.” Google values making a profit, but not at the expense of doing right, which is one of the “ten things Google has found to be true” that has shaped its corporate culture and thus the behaviors of its employees. At both AES and Google, the corporate cultures that sprang from their values have served as flashing neon signs to others with the same values and have allowed these companies to attract and retain loyal staff members who embrace the same values to achieve the company’s goals. They subscribe to a set of values, not because it is seen as a means of achieving economic success, but because adoption and adherence to their values is seen as a worthy goal and, quite simply, the right thing to do. Corporate values such as those described ultimately define what business we are in and what type of environment we create. Stretching further, process values drive how we do the work, while business values drive what we put into the product. And our personal values drive our motivations and how we relate to one another. If companies are to achieve their goals, then their corporate values must be in keeping with employees’ personal values—or vice versa. But how do we know if they mesh? First, we must explicitly identify, define, document, and communicate the corporate values. These values should be few, succinct, and easy to remember. Note that in the AES example, the company used simple words to declare its values: “Put Safety First,” “Act with Integrity,” “Honor Commitment,” “Strive for Excellence,” and “Have Fun Through Work.” But when the values are stated in this fashion, is it enough? Do staff members agree with the values? Are they committed to them? And are a couple of words without context enough? Where does that leave us on interpretation? From Values to Behaviors It isn’t enough to have a few words that represent the values we wish to embrace. Organizations must take these values and weave them into the fabric of their everyday business. Their values must become things that 28 BETTER SOFTWARE DECEMBER 2007 http://www.StickyMinds.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Better Software - December 2007

Better Software - December 2007 Contents Mark Your Calendar What's Happening @ StickyMinds.com Technically Speaking Code Craft Test Connection Management Chronicles Man and Machine Let Your Values be Your Guide A Story About User Stories and Test-driven Development Product Announcements The Last Word Ad Index

Better Software - December 2007

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