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I've worked at places that have really great culture. And places that just wasted everyone's time like we all have. The key for me was seeing people consisten

I've worked at places that have really great culture. And places that just wasted everyone's time like we all have. The key for me was seeing people consistently let go for breaking "core values". Or having it be a basis for someone's promotion. Obviously that is never going to work well in a University context where tenure is a thing. If your company is doing that... AND you actually agree and like the Core Values they are promoting, I'm kind of into these workshops and the extra work that goes into maintaining a strong and specific work culture.

aidenn0 7y ago
I think part of the point of TFA is that it wasn't specific; the core values they suggest would make just as much sense for McDonalds and for GWU.
- kthejoker2 7y ago
  A good rule of thumb: if you can't imagine a company adopting the opposite position of a "core value", it's not a value at all. "Honesty" is not a value. "Move fast and break things" is a value.
  - whatshisface 7y ago
    The opposite position of honesty is lying pathologically and constantly, which some leaders do, so honesty passes your test.
    - kthejoker2 7y ago
      Lol well fair enough but I guess I mean "Pathological lying" isn't emblazoned on the front door ... The #1 "value" at Koch Industries is "Integrity".
      - ghostbrainalpha 7y ago
        This is exactly what I am talking about. "Pathological lying" will never emblazoned on the front door, but if you work in P.R. or a Law Firm they will absolutely embrace phrases like "Framing the narrative". At those work places "Honesty" is absolutely not a core value. I worked at one institution where if you took a sick day, but then posted pictures on Facebook from Disneyland it was entirely acceptable. That place kind of sucked even though you could get away with anything. Another job I had would fire people for very comparatively small lies. Things that people do all the time like pretending to have sent an email that just wasn't delivered somehow. It resulted in an incredibly honest and relaxing workplace.... once you adjusted to not telling white lies to cover your ass, and just admitting your mistakes all the time. That company paired honesty with being much more lax than usual about punishing mistakes. And it was totally ok to say "I need a mental health sick day" and then go to Disneyland. The more honest people thrived in this environment, but many people just can't adapt to the culture at the institution.
        whatshisface 7y ago
        Crazy to think there are people who are that pathological. Lying must be a regional trait where you work, I have never met anyone who lies in professional situations. Frankly, I have never heard someone give an excuse for not sending an email. What kind of weird culture would punish forgetting to send an email but not punish lying about having sent it? Crazy.
  - Johnny555 7y ago
    There are plenty of companies that have embraced the opposite of "honesty" (Enron, Arthur Anderson, and Theranos are a few that come to mind).
    - kthejoker2 7y ago
      Arthur Andersen's value statement began "We believe in integrity." Enron's core value statement included " Integrity – We work with customers and prospects openly, honestly, and sincerely." So my point stands.
Ididntdothis 7y ago
My rule is the more a company talks about things like culture, the less they live them. The best companies I have seen had no workshops or motivational posters but after being there for a few days you clearly could see the culture from the behavior of coworkers and management.
mlinksva 7y ago
https://hbr.org/2002/07/make-your-values-mean-something https://hbr.org/2002/07/make-your-values-mean-something is the classic article/opinion piece expounding approximately the above.
bluGill 7y ago
Everybody is hired and fired because of how they express the core values. In some places the top core values are "don't get caught", and "frame your neighbor". In universities it is "get and keep tenure". Both of the above often have other core values, but they are up to you to discover. Sometimes you run across an organization that has stated core values that match the real ones.

aidenn0 7y ago

I think part of the point of TFA is that it wasn't specific; the core values they suggest would make just as much sense for McDonalds and for GWU.

kthejoker2 7y ago
A good rule of thumb: if you can't imagine a company adopting the opposite position of a "core value", it's not a value at all. "Honesty" is not a value. "Move fast and break things" is a value.
- whatshisface 7y ago
  The opposite position of honesty is lying pathologically and constantly, which some leaders do, so honesty passes your test.
  - kthejoker2 7y ago
    Lol well fair enough but I guess I mean "Pathological lying" isn't emblazoned on the front door ... The #1 "value" at Koch Industries is "Integrity".
    - ghostbrainalpha 7y ago
      This is exactly what I am talking about. "Pathological lying" will never emblazoned on the front door, but if you work in P.R. or a Law Firm they will absolutely embrace phrases like "Framing the narrative". At those work places "Honesty" is absolutely not a core value. I worked at one institution where if you took a sick day, but then posted pictures on Facebook from Disneyland it was entirely acceptable. That place kind of sucked even though you could get away with anything. Another job I had would fire people for very comparatively small lies. Things that people do all the time like pretending to have sent an email that just wasn't delivered somehow. It resulted in an incredibly honest and relaxing workplace.... once you adjusted to not telling white lies to cover your ass, and just admitting your mistakes all the time. That company paired honesty with being much more lax than usual about punishing mistakes. And it was totally ok to say "I need a mental health sick day" and then go to Disneyland. The more honest people thrived in this environment, but many people just can't adapt to the culture at the institution.
      - whatshisface 7y ago
        Crazy to think there are people who are that pathological. Lying must be a regional trait where you work, I have never met anyone who lies in professional situations. Frankly, I have never heard someone give an excuse for not sending an email. What kind of weird culture would punish forgetting to send an email but not punish lying about having sent it? Crazy.
- Johnny555 7y ago
  There are plenty of companies that have embraced the opposite of "honesty" (Enron, Arthur Anderson, and Theranos are a few that come to mind).
  - kthejoker2 7y ago
    Arthur Andersen's value statement began "We believe in integrity." Enron's core value statement included " Integrity – We work with customers and prospects openly, honestly, and sincerely." So my point stands.

Ididntdothis 7y ago

My rule is the more a company talks about things like culture, the less they live them. The best companies I have seen had no workshops or motivational posters but after being there for a few days you clearly could see the culture from the behavior of coworkers and management.

mlinksva 7y ago

https://hbr.org/2002/07/make-your-values-mean-something https://hbr.org/2002/07/make-your-values-mean-something is the classic article/opinion piece expounding approximately the above.

bluGill 7y ago

Everybody is hired and fired because of how they express the core values. In some places the top core values are "don't get caught", and "frame your neighbor". In universities it is "get and keep tenure". Both of the above often have other core values, but they are up to you to discover. Sometimes you run across an organization that has stated core values that match the real ones.