Core Values as a Safety Issue

During a recent session for a local, fast-growing company in the construction industry, I had an insight about core values.

After a conversation about safety (a big focus for this company in the construction industry), the topic turned to core values. And it came to me, as we were speaking, that when there is a core values violation in the company it’s equivalent to a safety violation.

“The safety of the people shall be the highest law.” – Marcus Tullius Cicero, Roman statesman

The vision and culture of a company are defined, shaped, and supported by core values. Essentially, they provide a ‘safe’ and rewarding environment in which business gets done. Any violation needs to be taken very seriously and, ideally, very clearly communicated to the person who made the violation. This will help prevent it from happening again.

Companies with a focus on safety are very good at this. They will write people up, have conversations, give written notices and warnings (like giving a traffic ticket).

When it comes to core values violations, sometimes we don’t take it as seriously. as a result, bad behaviour grows – just like lackadaisical safety practices.

The Challenge

• Do you treat core values in your company as seriously as a construction company would treat safety practices?