Are Your Values Aligned?
I trust everyone had a restful holiday season and are energized about the coming year. I know I am. New Years is traditionally a time for reflection and planning and today’s post is about exactly that.
Over the holiday’s I had breakfast at Chez Cora’s – a franchise restaurant that specializes in breakfast. It has an excellent reputation locally for appetizing breakfasts that are presented well.
On this particular morning I felt like an omelette, but wanted one that wasn’t listed on the menu — a Western with no onions. I was told “no”, all the ingredients for the omelettes are pre-made and no variation was allowed.
Resultant, I ordered a ham and cheese omelette and went about my day.
However, a few days later I happened on their website and noticed a section called “History of our Plates”. In it were 4 stories about how specific dishes came to be. Of interest, was how all 4 of these stories focused on how someone had requested something that was not on the standard menu that led to the new signature dish.
Interesting.
Their website/brand heralds back to the early days of fresh ingredients and personalized family service, however, the reality is that the franchise has become a “chain” no longer aligned to their historical values and culture. Success has eroded the values of this organization and brand and they have become a quick serve business dressed up to look like a family restaurant.
Business is still good, but one has to wonder, as they get further away from the values that made them successful, will another restaurant step in and take their business and Cora’s won’t ever understand why.
My Perspective: Today’s question is has your success or business caused you to lose sight of what your fundamental values are? Are your values and your actions aligned?
In your desire to become efficient and profitable, is it possible some of the values that made you special or unique — or exceptional — have gotten lost.
Take the time in the New Year to re-examine what makes you unique from your competitors and make sure that edge hasn’t gotten lost.
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Bill is recognized as the Performance Excelerator™ because of his uncanny ability to create profound change and deliver extraordinary results with the most demanding organizations.
He works with senior leaders to inspire and develop high-performance teams that deliver exceptional customer service, higher productivity and improved profits.
For additional information please visit www.billhogg.ca or email: bill [at] billhogg [dot] ca
