I sent my friend and colleague Ben Ridler, CEO of RESULTS.com, a draft of the “Credo” we posted here a couple of days ago. He gave me some positive feedback—but told me it was too long. He wanted not 49 values, but ONE, or at the most FIVE. I decided it was worth a try—and failed. But I did end up reducing the FORTY-NINE to EIGHT. I did not cheat and try to combine various items from the first list. These EIGHT “finalists” are exactly as they appeared the first time:
Our Credo/A Work in Progress
* We are dedicated to and measure our success to a significant degree by our unwavering commitment to the extreme personal growth of every one of our employees.
* We will aim to make our customer engagements adventures beyond the comfort zone, or adventures in growth to use a less intimidating phrase—we will aim to add value in novel ways that surprise and stretch our customers and ourselves.
* We will exude integrity, individually and collectively.
* We will bring to bear overwhelming and instant and collective force to redress any customer problem, real or imagined.
* We will be civil in all our dealings with one another.
* We will never, in any way, compromise on the quality of our products or services—regardless of difficulties in our marketplace and economy.
* We wholeheartedly acknowledge that in the short term (as well, obviously, as the long term) we must be profitable and exhibit stellar financial performance that is consistent with the audacious efforts to serve our people and our clients as described above.
* We shall unfailingly aim for EXCELLENCE in all we do.