Organizational Values: Live Them and They — the Talent — Will Come

“For us this lawsuit has always been about something much more important than patents or money. It’s about values. We value originality and innovation and pour our lives into making the best products on Earth. And we do this to delight our customers, not for competitors to flagrantly copy.”

This was part of the missive that Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, sent his employees after the big jury verdict that Apple won against Samsung.

As I read through this statement, a big smile came to my face. It’s more important than patents or money — it’s about values. And if you ever wondered why Apple is valued at more than any other company, re-read that line.

Values = Culture

Career Portfolio? It’s How Everyone Shows Their Organizational Value

“Can we speak later? I have a big interview next week and I have some thoughts that I want to run by you.”

My response was that I would be more than glad to hear what is on her mind. When we spoke later that afternoon, she told me about the value that she wanted to bring to the interview. She wanted to leave behind a career portfolio of some of her work.

The amazing part about this story is not that her background was not creative, which is a staple of any interview. It was the fact that she is just 23 years old, only three years out of college, successful in both jobs so far, and about to land that coveted position that she has dreamed of.

Yes, that’s right — a Gen Y-er talking about value.

Like a lot of you, I mentor a lot of this generation. Sometimes when I get in at night, I have two or three calls to follow up on, and I find that I’m left with an interesting perspective from this generation on work, career, and life. We could all learn a lot if we opened up.

Leadership: Good or Bad, It’s All About the Communication

All eyes turned towards the manager as she gave her opinion of a strategy that was being discussed.

This was part of the strategic meeting with the leadership team, with the C-Level executive sitting at the head of the table. As she walked through her reasoning, everyone was nodding their head in agreement. She was always seen as one of the thinkers, a person who always brought something to the table.

Here’s the problem with this scenario: the C-Level executive looked her in the eye as the manager gave her thoughts. When she finished, the executive turned, glanced around the room, and quickly moved to another topic.

As they say in the movie business — CUT.

An astonishing story

Improving Performance: It’s All About Paying the Price to Get Better

“I don’t like average.”

During a recent webinar, that statement was made by the CEO of a major company. When I heard it, my thought was that I know of so many people that appear to LOVE average.

Like a lot of you, I watched the London Olympics this week and I am just intrigued not by the sport but by the commitment and sacrifices the athletes make to be the best, or shall we say, above average. Their training routine will basically kill off the vast majority of us.

But how about being that committed at such a young age? Any way you slice it, you have to take your hat off to them. Even the ones that did not win medals still went through that grueling routine, all in the quest to get better.

Do you have a plan?