I keep hearing, just as many of you must have heard, that values, principles etc are not for the present day competition. Many people who are aspiring for success, who are working their way up in life, and who are keen on accumulating wealth (in India we call them middle-class) have this notion that principled living, value-based living does not take us far. It won't allow us to grow. Such notion stems from the belief that the world around us is all bad and smart. To survive in such world, we can’t be good and true to our values.
In fact, in many seminars and conferences, I face this question that what you are saying about values is good for conference, but not in real world. They quote sometimes examples of their bosses who grew up the corporate ladder by following not necessarily values and principles. The mantra is therefore - success at any cost!
Prima facie, their argument seems to be having some truth in it however unacceptable to me internally. I know there is something missing. I can quote Built-to-last - a classic book on successful habits of visionary companies. But it all sounds very defensive to push through my agenda of values. I wanted some way where in I don’t have to be pushing too hard, but rather the audience see it for themselves.
I asked them the question: How many of you consider yourself as moderate to high success so far in your life and career? As expected, many hands went up proudly.
Then came my next question: How many of you followed crooked ways and broken your principles to reach where you have successfully reached today?
There was an uneasy silence. I thought point was almost made.
I said" when none of you broken your principles and values and still achieved moderate to high success so far, what gives you the impression that to be successful you need to shed your values and principles?"
To top it up, I asked another question. How many of you like to guide your children towards value-less, principle-less living?
There was silence all over.
I broke it again. So, while we may say and see some examples of successes that are not based on values, mostly we believe in it. But the question of "WHY VALUES" needs to be addressed for our satisfaction. Can I have your thoughts on it?
This time the responses were more spontaneous. The main reasons why we need values are:
- Values give us peace of mind
- We can be true to ourselves
- We don’t have to feel guilty
- We can have our heads high
- Our image will be in tact
- It can attract better reputation
- People tend to trust us more
- Our potential risk will be lower
And lastly, some one summed up the whole discussion beautifully by saying:
"Values give us stability, lasting power and pay off in the long run"
Isn't that a strong enough business case for values?
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