
Let’s Talk About Values
Welcome to the last half of 2025.
The first 6 months of the year have been pretty topsy-turvy in almost every aspect of our lives.
Political and Financial to name a couple of areas.
Not just national and international news, but also locally and personally.
Is Artificial Intelligence going to make my life better, or is it going to ruin us is one question I hear every once in a while.
What’s the next “Big Thing” I need to be aware of so I don’t get left behind? That’s not a new question, but a persistent one I’ve heard for years.
How do I make my content go viral? I’ve heard versions of that for the past couple of decades.
People are looking for short-cuts, hacks or tricks to beat the system and be successful. I recall 18 years ago a friend of mine at the radio station i was at wanted my secrets to getting on the first page of Google. His purpose was to sell stuff and he thought if he could get found by the Google Gods (or algorithms) then people would send him money and ….
He never did get rich but it wasn’t because I wouldn’t tell him how, it was because he didn’t want to do the work to build something properly.
Look, technology will continue to improve and grow. Not every online platform will be successful, just like any offline business is more likely to fail than succeed if you try and beat the system.
Instead of focusing on the temporary tech, focus on the permanent values that attract people.
What are those values? It’s not price discounts, too-good-to-be-true prices and guarantees.
The Gallup organization released a new study that says that for Americans:
Vast majorities regard family, respect, trustworthiness, freedom and kindness as important values.
You can dig into the details here: https://news.gallup.com/poll/691964/family-top-value-americans.aspx
However, the real challenge is how do you incorporate those values into your life both professionally and personally?
As a business owner, as a manager, as an employee, what are real demonstratable ways you live these values?
I’ll share with you one way that I’ve seen companies do this…
Time off: In retail it’s expected that you’re going to have to work some nights and weekends. I know a local car dealership that gives their employees holiday weekends off. That sounds crazy especially when the holiday falls at the end of a month and they need to sell a certain number of units that month and the pressure is on, but that’s what they do. And they hit those numbers without tormenting their sales team.
Where I work we implemented Unlimited Paid Time Off when I was in management and it has helped us recruit and retain staff. Plus from an employee viewpoint, if you need to take time off for a dentist appointment or to help out with your kids Summer Vacation Bible School, it’s not counted against you. If you are sick, we don’t want you coming to the office and spreading germs, work from home or take the time off to heal.
Back to the Gallup Poll:
Beauty, wealth, adventure, achievement and innovation are among the values least likely to be chosen as important, all by fewer than four in 10 U.S. adults. More than eight in 10 Americans agree that respect, family, trustworthiness and freedom are important values to them, and at least three-quarters say the same about kindness, health, integrity, happiness and knowledge.
To better understand the people around you, take a look at some of the differences that are in the article too. Then I challenge you to have an open discussion with the specific people and ask them to rank the 23 values in the survey and figure out ways to implement some of them even more than you already are.
No matter what else is going on in our world, these are things that you can do to improve and have a positive impact.