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Zoom out: what's at the top of your value system?

1/6/2015

 
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Years ago, when I moved to New York from Virginia, I’d occasionally hear people comment that the service ethic down south was, in their opinion, not good. On the flip side, several Virginians mentioned they found New York service lacking.

Was service good in one place and bad in another? That depends on your priorities. In this case, one group placed a higher value on speed, while the other prized friendliness. 

Different value systems like these play out everyday with business customers, employees and distribution systems. So, while many organizations have similar goals, their varying cultural environments demand very different approaches. 

To forge a feasible path in any environment, you have to see both the forest and the trees. A good consultant can zoom in and zoom out with a perspective rendered hi-def by experience. Plus, our hard-won practicality means we can usually find paths that don’t require extreme clear-cutting measures, which is important when your environment won’t stand for clear-cutting.

On the other hand, if your organization thrives on “the next big thing,” then dramatic change might be just what the doctor orders (or what the consultant recommends).


Paul Gaulke
1/7/2015 08:29:17 am

This article has great insight.

Emily Porter
1/7/2015 11:33:58 am

Thanks Paul!

Karen Lundquist
1/7/2015 11:19:55 am

I am especially intrigued by the regional take on different strokes for different folks.

Emily Porter link
1/7/2015 11:33:17 am

Exactly Karen! I have kept track of how value systems and drivers vary by region, organization type, and industry, just to name a few. Sometimes I learned the hard way!

J-LO
1/8/2015 04:39:32 pm

Organizations should prize what their customers want not their geographic culture.

Emily Porter link
1/8/2015 04:50:07 pm

Great point, Jen -- and we both know that can be harder than it seems on the surface when a company expands to a more diverse customer base... hopefully the things that unite us will prevail!

Vicki
1/9/2015 05:53:28 am

I believe it's also generational and not just regional. I was recently at a client meeting and it was obvious they hired late 20s/early 30s engineers. What was most important to them? Free soda? Age, gender, education and regional. Know your audience, right?

Emily Porter link
1/9/2015 06:34:07 am

Free soda -- always important!

Norm link
1/9/2015 06:37:27 am

We all have our own lens that shapes our values. What's minor to me may be major to someone else.

Emily Porter link
1/9/2015 07:05:11 am

Totally agree Norm... and we consultants fine-tune our senses to detect what's important to who (or whom) and how that affects relationship dynamics.

Norm Schultz link
1/22/2015 12:13:06 am

4th and goal - here we go!

Dick Klick link
2/28/2015 01:02:01 am

Emily, Well Said !

Too often we spend so much time preparing and rehearing our verbal presentation while spending minimum time researching the attendees and why they are there. If we invested more research of attendees we would be able to read their expressions and put more connection into our presentations.

I recently was interviewing a prospective speaker for a conference. She asked to be considered for a future conference because she wanted to know the audience better.

Thank you for your writing.


Comments are closed.

    ABOUT THE AUTHOR

    PictureEmily Porter

    A well-traveled guide in a diverse array of organizational cultures, Emily Porter has a distinct POV marked by large doses of realism, empathy and outright humor. She has lived and worked in DC, NYC, Boston, Richmond, VA and now Minneapolis.
    Emily's CV


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