Daily Archives: August 20, 2015

Words to live by… not promote.

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I saw a kid walking in a store yesterday wearing an athletic tee-shirt proudly displaying three words on the back: Pride, Integrity, Respect. Oh boy. Whenever I see stuff like this I get the sense that it’s a program in trouble.

When I see these kind of words in a company mission statement, my radar goes off and I suspect a historical lack of pride, integrity or respect. These value promos may be a reaction to the category, a la car dealers, lawyers or ad guys, or may be a reaction to the company itself.

Don’t get me wrong these are all great qualities. But for a business or kid it should be a given. If a company or program has a poor moral compass, it needs to be fixed “in-house.” Fixed through training, role-playing, incentives, deeds and programs. Not external communications.

Live it. Don’t post it.

Peace!