A quick introduction to basic business concepts aimed at engineers and all who wish a simple and quick explanation. Part 6 and last part in the series is covering perhaps the fuzziest concept of them all: company values.

1. BUSINESS FOR ENGINEERS:
COMPANY VALUES
Jan Isakovic
@iYan

2. USUAL REACTIONS TO THE
CONCEPT
• What a silly thing
• Marketing BS
• Something to put on a web page
• Can I go back to work now?

3. PERSONAL VALUES
Enable us to make decisions
• personal freedom: should an authority
regulate something
• morals: gay marriage
Enable us to forge bonds with others
• common values are a good indicator if we
are compatible with somebody
Enable us to form communities
• Jewish kibbutz
• Amish town
• “Open carry” towns in USA

4. COMPANY VALUES
Enable us to make decisions
• “Customer satisfaction first!” (Zappos)
• Warranty, attitude, ..
Enable us to form relationships with customers
• “I’ll pay a bit more because I like their customer service
policy”
Enable companies to find suitable employees

5. COMPANY VALUES
So when Zappos hires new employees, it provides a four-week
training period. After that it's time for what Zappos calls “The
Offer.”
!
“If you quit today, we will pay you for the amount of time
you've worked, plus we will offer you a $1,000 bonus."
!
If you're willing to take the company up on The Offer, you obviously
don't have the sense of commitment they are looking for.
Source

6. LET’S SEE SOME EXAMPLES!

7. Our Values
As a company, and as individuals, we value integrity, honesty,
openness, personal excellence, constructive self-criticism,
continual self-improvement, and mutual respect.
We are committed to our customers and partners and have a
passion for technology. We take on big challenges, and pride
ourselves on seeing them through.
We hold ourselves accountable to our customers, shareholders,
partners, and employees by honoring our commitments,
providing results, and striving for the highest quality.

8. • Customer Obsession
•Ownership
• Invent and Simplify
• Are Right, A Lot
• Hire and Develop the Best
• Insist on the Highest Standards
• Think Big
• Bias for Action
• Frugality
• Vocally Self Critical
• Earn Trust of Others
• Dive Deep
• Have Backbone; Disagree and
Commit
• Deliver Results

9. 1. Deliver WOW Through
Service
2. Embrace and Drive Change
3. Create Fun and A Little
Weirdness
4. Be Adventurous, Creative,
and Open-Minded
5. Pursue Growth and Learning
6. Build Open and Honest
Relationships With
Communication
7. Build a Positive Team and
Family Spirit
8. Do More With Less
9. Be Passionate and Determined
10. Be Humble

10. Ten things we know to be true
1.Focus on the user and all else will follow.
2.It’s best to do one thing really, really well.
3.Fast is better than slow.
4.Democracy on the web works.
5.You don’t need to be at your desk to need an answer.
6.You can make money without doing evil.
7.There’s always more information out there.
8.The need for information crosses all borders.
9.You can be serious without a suit.
10.Great just isn’t good enough.

11. CREATING COMPANY VALUES
• You usually cannot create them, unless you are
building a start-up
• But you can discover them
More info 1 More info 2 More info 3

12. So - what are your company’s core values?

13. BUSINESS FOR ENGINEERS
1: Customers and sales 4: Value proposition
2: Product conception 5: Core competencies
3: Minimum Viable Product 6: Company values
Jan Isakovic
@iYan

14. BUSINESS FOR ENGINEERS
Thanks for checking these out - if you have ideas for more
topics let me know!
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