Do you, your family, or your business have a set of core values? What are they? And, more importantly, what do those values truly mean?
We recently held The Blum Firm’s Annual Meeting, where everyone comes together to review the past year, assess where we currently are, and dream about where we are going. The focal point of this year’s meeting was to identify our core values.
As the firm’s Human Resources Manager, Eric Evans, said, “Core values are a small set of vital and timeless guiding principles. They define culture and who we truly are as people.”
I have discussed this in previous blogs, but core values aren’t just company-based. In fact, the Blum Family’s core values are faith, family, hard work, and education. These values were born out of the experience of being raised by immigrants who came to America with nothing but their values. It was those four core values that enabled my grandparents to survive hardships and set our family on a course to achieve the American Dream.
But you may wonder, how do I define my business or my family’s core values? And let me tell you, it isn’t an overnight process. Our Senior Leadership Team spent many hours, over several days, trying to hone-in on core values. We came up with a long list including some of what you might expect to see, such as honesty, integrity, and respect. We ended up with over 40 words on the list.
Knowing we needed to narrow down the list to only a few, we decided which values were truly “CORE.” We ultimately landed on three core values and let them “simmer” for 30 days, understanding these values are not something we strive for, but values we live by every day.
From there, we crafted definitions, being very intentional with wording and how we demonstrate them both within our firm and out in the community.
Here’s the big reveal of The Blum Firm’s core values:
- Excellence:We exceed expectations by delivering superior work with unmatched client service; we expand knowledge, enhance skills, and refine processes to maintain the highest standards of performance and quality.
- Relationships:We connect with kindness and humility, actively listening to different perspectives, following through on commitments, and serving as a trusted advisor.
- Collaboration:We partner with each other and outside advisors to achieve common goals by sharing ideas and leveraging strengths; we remain open to feedback and celebrate each other’s wins.
At the meeting, I shared a story about where The Blum Firm began—just my secretary, Sandy Stroman, and me. Now, 44 years later, the firm has grown and evolved beyond anything I could have imagined. The combination of faith, family, hard work, and education is what brought The Blum Firm to where we are today, a family of 68 dedicated team players who strive together to reach for the stars.
When we define our core principles—whether personally, for our family, or our business—we gain the ability to adapt while remaining true to our essence. This clarity aids in decision-making and unites us to grow and create the legacy we first envisioned.
Adversity will come—I can promise you that—but when it does, returning to your core values will give you the vision for moving forward.
My challenge to you is this: What are your core values?