Stop Talking About Your Values. Start Measuring Them.

Corporate leaders love, Love, LOVE to talk about values, even while many of these values are laughable – anodyne verging on meaningless: honesty, integrity, excellence – I mean, seriously?

And beyond their generic character, many companies don’t walk the talk; their values are simply talking points for PowerPoints rather than tactics put into daily action.

Showing my age here as it recalls one of the best music videos of the 1980s:

So, there’s a lot of values talk.  But there’s something missing from the equation; rarely is a company’s performance living up to these values measured and communicated to stakeholders.

That’s why I was intrigued when I learned about the new “B Corp Values Embodiment Assessment” created by LIFT Economy.

This new assessment provides a framework for how a B Corp is living up to the central tenets, or values, that are integral to the B Corp certification.

While there is no single statement defining “B Corp values,” LIFT Economy synthesized values found across different guiding documents that are integral to the B Corp certification or which hover nearby in associated business ideals, such as public benefit corporation principles.

“B Corp values—when you gather them across these sources—include topics like stakeholder governance, environmental stewardship, employee well-being, justice and equity, and community engagement,” says Ryan Honeyman, a partner at LIFT Economy and co-author of the second edition of the B Corp Handbook.  “These are not meant to sit in a binder or be buried on a shared drive. They are meant to guide decisions, shape strategy, and inspire everyday behavior.”

Honeyman says the initial response has been positive, pointing to key insights from one of the founders of B Lab Europe who classified two distinct types of B Corps: those with an intrinsic connection to the movement and those motivated mainly by external recognition. “The intrinsically motivated companies, where the mission feels like part of people’s DNA, tend to sustain their impact and culture through leadership transitions and market changes,” relayed Ryan, “while the extrinsically motivated ones often lose energy once certification is achieved.”  The hope is that this can help the B Corp movement strengthen its intrinsic core.

While this tool was created specifically for B Corps, I believe the broader business community can adapt relevant components of the tool for use with their own companies or use it as inspiration to create their own metrics for values embodiment.

I did the latter at my firm, Oliver Russell, in a very rudimentary way, annually and anonymously measuring adherence to each of our brand values on a 1-5 scale.  I learned from this that it’s necessary to do this consistently and to involve all employees because – surprise, surprise – they might have different viewpoints than leadership on how a company is living its values.

I asked Ryan if his company had completed the assessment, and he said that they had.

“We scored 104 out of 150 points, which falls within the “moderate alignment” range.  The results were humbling, but also helpful.  We realized that even as a high-scoring B Corp, we have areas for improvement.”

He added, “Since taking the assessment, we’ve started using it as an ongoing reflection tool.  It’s helping us shift from assuming our values are embodied to continuously checking whether they actually are.”

You can access the assessment here.  LIFT Economy also has written a longer article about the assessment.

Godspeed, friends.

Russ

💬 Think About It

"If you don't stick to your values when they're being tested, they're not values: they're hobbies." Jon Stewart

💥 Quick Hits

• Renewables overtake coal – While things look a little different with the reversal of regulations here in the U.S., it's looking brighter internationally as renewable energy has overtaken coal as the leading producer of electricity globally. (BBC)
• Looking for joy and wonder? – What's a dirty activity that can create a sense of joy and wonder? How about gardening? (New York Times)
• The Next Economy MBA – Keeping the LIFT Economy thread alive from the main story, here's a cool program for emerging leaders of an equitable, inclusive, and regenerative economy. Lots of other interesting programs, too.

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