A values statement for small organizations that shows each employee what to do during "down" times.

1. Values in a Consultant Organization
1. Get the work!
- Marketing: Find and bring in new customers. Others need what we have learned.
- Support and Service: Keep our current customers. Make each customer feel special.
- Entrepreneurship: Expand current opportunities; package and sell good ideas.
- Quality and Timeliness: Don't lose the current work. Never surprise or disappoint.
2. Get the work done.
- Plan carefully. Start with the customer’s requirement & deadline and count backward.
- Communicate (team, management, customer). The wider project team includes stakeholders.
- Execute the plan (milestones, specs, schedule). Document & estimate all changes.
- Review (missed points, blind spots, perspectives, implications). Together, we’re smarter.
- Deliver in a professional, polished manner. We do judge books by their covers.
3. Improve the process.
- Generalize from each ad-hoc requirement into our business processes, for next time.
- Use our business processes. Become expert in them. Use them to convey status & issues.
- Learn more and share it (technology, customer culture, market, competition, resources).
- Improve individual skill proficiency. Get better at what you do, as a team and individually.
- Protect the customer’s information, our information, and the information network.
- Improve the processes; incorporate lessons-learned; propose new processes as needed.
4. Teach the next generation.
- Identify the knowledge, skills, and practices that are critical to success in your area.
- Hire successful, promotable, motivated people and grow them.
- Grow your team members and associates in skill, responsibility, and confidence.
- Document and share what you learn and what you create.
5. Give something back.
- Be generous with recognition to colleagues, team members, and support organizations.
- Provide premium treatment and attention to good customers.
- Give frequent rewards for team/group achievement.
- Ensure support, improvement, and strength to the supporting processes and infrastructure.
- Contribute to and participate in your communities – professional, family, and civic.
Copyright © 1994, 2001, 2012 John E. Carpenter
All rights reserved. Permission granted to copy and distribute, with attribution.