An Exploration of Core Values, Finding an Angel

“There are some values that you should never compromise on to stay true to yourself; you should be brave to stand up for what you truly believe in even if you stand alone.”
— Roy T. Bennett

5:08 a.m. mountain time, 7:08 a.m. eastern time, I’m in the latter, good morning to you where ever you might be.  It’s Friday; we can collectively high five, we made it through another week, one more day, and then most of us can relax.  I wonder how you might rate this week; I think I would give it a B; I’m noticing some storm clouds coming our way; we need to prepare, time to button down the hatch.  I’ve ridden out storms before; it always builds character, this time will be no different. So I would encourage you too to look up and out, any clouds coming your way?

It was an excellent first day back in Indiana; we had a few things we had to get done, one being, I needed a car.  The car I had when home I donated to charity a few months ago; the idea was we would no longer fly back, we would drive, we have one vehicle here, but I needed some wheels, both my wife and I need to travel separately today. So we headed over to our daughters, who has an extra car; I taught a class, and then we headed up to our bank to sign some renewal documents.

We left there and headed to get a bite to eat; I needed a couple of items, as did she before heading to the grocery store; our refrigerator was empty, the air b and b guests didn’t even leave condiments. So we planned our week of meals and picked up our supplies; we got home about 6:00, cooked, ate, and then relaxed watching a movie. Finally, we hit the bed by 9:00 and slept in until 7:00; I think that might be 10 hours of beauty sleep, a nice recharge for our traveling bodies.

I’m heading up to Muncie; I’ve got a couple of appointments that I am fortunate to run. In addition, I’ve got a virtual call at 2:00. I plan on running from my parent’s house; I’ll check in with Mom and Dad before heading back to our Indy home.  We have dinner planned tonight with our Indy family and a busy weekend of wedding showers and birthday celebrations.  Our week next week looks pretty busy before we head back west for a couple of weeks.

The world is a funny place; you meet people, think you know them and learn that they are not who you thought they were.  I’m sure this has happened to you once or twice.  I’ve had a couple of clients that I thought were trustworthy only to learn they were thieves.  I use my gut a lot when meeting people; in 30 or so years of business, I’ve been wrong twice and right the rest, not a bad track record; I think my gut is a good judge of character.

I was talking to a friend recently, and the issue of loyalty came up.  I was sharing some news, and he said, “that person of which you speak has no loyalty.”  That conversation led to a back and forth about core values and their importance to any company.  We both agreed one must understand their firm’s core values before hiring; if a person does not fit the values, no matter their skill level, they cannot join one’s family.

If I were to pick our five core values for our firm, I would start with honesty.  Tell the truth, if you make a mistake, own it, fix it, and move on.  This value is injected through our three veins, our team, our clients, and our vendors.  Each core value is injected into the three central veins of every company.

Integrity is essential; you don’t run a company for 30 years without integrity.  The ability for others to know your heart and how you will treat others in a time of loss is central to our way of doing business.  Integrity goes both ways. We expect this from our three veins and, over the years, have been blessed to work with people aligned with that value.

Loyalty is. Next, we are loyal to our team, our clients, and our vendors.  We expect the same; when the commitment leaves the relationship, it’s over.  I learned this lesson as a young man, it was a hard time, but I knew that for others to be loyal, I too had to show my commitment.  This event was my biggest failure and biggest lesson.  I think this might be my guiding value these days.

Positivity is vital; realizing that everything that happens is a gift or opportunity is a way of life.  Things don’t always go as planned, there are forks in the road, storms that appear out of nowhere, and you must always be looking for the silver lining.  A week ago, we had a pretty big event happen in the company; I took it personally.  I went for a walk and sat on a bench in the middle of the wilderness alone.  I kept asking something bigger than myself for guidance, maybe an angel to show up and help me.   But no sign or angel ever showed, so I returned to my car and called my wife; she suggested we get a bite to eat once I was ready. 

As we sat down, a friend appeared and listened to our situation, he gave some sage advice, and I shared that for the last 2 hours, I was in the wilderness alone, looking for an angel, and I finally found them.  He realized the power of his words and came over and hugged me.  Positivity was restored at that moment.

Let’s wrap this core value conversation up with authenticity.  My firm and I are unlike anyone else in our industry.  By design, we show up different, work different, our team is different, but we are authentic.  From the first interaction through the sales process, people get a different experience, and for some, it’s joyful, and for others, it’s not their bag. Still, we stick to our policies and procedures, and it’s allowed for a long run of profitability and pleasure.

I hope you got a little bit of something today.  If not, I’m sorry, I’m doing my best, the world is in a washing machine of ideas these days, I’m concerned with the direction of our country, but I know others are leaning in, so I’ll hold my judgment until the experiment proves success or failure.  These days I seek to control what I can control and let the rest of the world go the direction it chooses; I suggest you do the same. Cheers, I’ll see you tomorrow.

“There are some values that you should never compromise on to stay true to yourself; you should be brave to stand up for what you truly believe in even if you stand alone.”
— Roy T. Bennett