Leading with Values
By
Tom Chappell, CEO
Tom’s of Maine, Inc.

What is Values-Centered Leadership? It is an intentional application of your company values into all aspects of business life, from marketing and sales practices to finance, human resources, and production. While traditional management by objectives provides more measurability and clarity of purpose, values-centered management involves what we care about more on the level of heart and soul. I recommend values-centered leadership as an integrated approach with objectives as well. Thus, the mind can still quantify the goals, like sales growth, market share, and profits, but values offer the addition of what matters to us as a human community, aspirations like how we treat each other, how we care about the community, the environment, human potential, and even bonuses and raises. Together, the heart and mind enhance each other’s part in the journey.

How Do Values in Business Make a Difference? Values are the substance of our hearts and thus they connect us as human beings in ways that analytical concepts do not. Business is dependent upon human beings. While strategic planning and priorities can be more intellectually grounded, values are easily articulated as matters important to any human being. To have a value like respect for one another is a notion all people grasp. Not all workers grasp or care about sales growth or competitive advantage. If I have a choice of motivating all my employees in the goals of the company versus only some, I will obviously take an approach that will motivate the whole company. Values have the capacity to interest everyone as long as the values are practiced and lived. At Tom’s of Maine, the leader in natural personal care products, we have a vision and destiny “ to be the trusted partner in natural care with people who share our values.” Our values are clearly stated in “Our Beliefs” which state, “we want to please customers with innovative products made from natural ingredients and to be financially successful while behaving in a socially responsible and environmentally sensitive manner.”  Our employees want to be the best at this business. They care about the customer’s happiness, they care about the community in which we live, they care about protecting our environment, and they know that financial success is important to their aspirations as well. Thus, company values relate to people on human terms, not intellectual terms.

Why Do Values Work in Business? Because values connect us as humans in more of a relationship, values serve the aims of the business in many ways. First, values can connect us with customers in ways that go beyond the product experience. If the customer knows we value feedback, they will go the extra mile of telling us. This begins a dialogue with consumers that few companies have. If the company listens and responds to the feedback, the customer is impressed and more committed to the product because of the company’s values. Customers become loyal and interested in other products made by the company. Tom’s of Maine receives 35,000 letters or e-mails each year and we respond to each with a personal letter. We have built a relationship, which is much superior to simply having had a transaction of their purchase of our toothpaste. Transactions begin and end with the transaction. Relationships begin with the transaction but remain open and interested because values create interest beyond the product experience. Values create a “community” of loyal customers.

Second, values define who we are. We do not all have the same values, but many of us have some in common. Because we have stated in “Our Beliefs” that we care about the sustainability of the environment, people who also care about the environment are naturally drawn to us and to our products. Our packaging policy of using recycled materials, as in paper, for instance, accounts today for the equivalent of 5000 acres of timber, which would have been used on our toothpaste boxes if we had no recycled paper policy. Five thousand acres is 8 times the size of Manhattan. Corporate behavior like that invites interest from our customers. They trust us to behave in a way consistent with their values.

We value family life at Tom’s of Maine. With flextime work schedules, full salary parenting leave when a newborn arrives, and generous child care programs, it is no surprise that we are a preferred employer in our area. People know that we walk the talk of our values because existing employees boast about us to their neighbors and friends. Consequently, we get the best of the best when we have a job opening. 

We value being a contributor to our community. We encourage our employees to volunteer in the community on our time—up to 5% of their paid time. We are involved in nursing homes, senior centers, crisis centers, nature trail construction or maintenance, or literacy training. The non-profits in our community know we are available. And our people return to work more refreshed and motivated because they have used their time to help others. The company is the beneficiary of this increased motivation and loyalty.

Third, values enhance performance. If I know my values and my customers’ values, I have the advantage of efficiency in trying to gain new customers. I do not need to waste time, money, and energy reaching out to a customer who does not value natural products, the environment, or community service. Self knowledge and knowledge of customer keeps strategies focused on shared values as a basis for growing customer base, promoting our products with values-centered promotions, or product design of new products. New products are 25% of our current sales because we are providing new benefits to consumers with whom we already share common values. Focus, passion, and efficiency are powerful qualifiers that enhance business performance. Everything works better this way. Sales increase, profits increase, and customers feel more aligned to you because of both good products and values they trust and appreciate.

Thus, values work because they build communities of common concern, they help us understand ourselves better, and they enhance individual and overall performance.

How Can We Apply Values to a Traditional Business? New tools are needed to integrate values into objectives. This website and my book, Managing Upside Down, describe The Seven Intentions® - the tools for Values-Centered Leadership.