The second problem with values is that it’s easy for people to say they subscribe to them, but then behave in a diametrically opposed manner. Take Enron. The company had values which they displayed proudly in their reception area: Integrity, Communication, Respect, Excellence. Enron went bankrupt as a result of fraud, and its executives were imprisoned. When developing pillars, it is better to think in terms of behaviours rather than values. A prescribed behaviour – such as “tell the truth”, as opposed to “integrity” – is clear and unambiguous.
When developing pillars, there is a balance to be struck between their internal focus (on directing culture) and their external focus (providing themes for marketing). There is no right or wrong approach, and the only answer is to do what feels right for the brand. One factor that often (but not always) influences the balance, is whether the brand is a product- or service-based business. If a brand is sold through retail channels and there’s little direct interaction with customers, then marketing can be seen as the key driver of the organisation’s success.
The right number of pillars
There are no rules for how many are needed. We often seem to arrive at having somewhere between three and seven. Danny Meyer, the founder of renowned hospitality company Union Square Hospitality Group, has 17 pillars that support the group’s purpose, which is to “take care of people”:
- Read the guest
- Authentic hospitality
- Writing a great final chapter
- Turning up the Home Dial
- Loving problems
- Finding the yes
- Collecting the dots and connecting the dots
- Creating raves for guests
- One size fits one
- Skunking
- Making the charitable assumption
- Planting like seeds in like gardens
- Put us out of business with your generosity
- Be aware of your emotional wake
- To get a hug, you have to give a hug
- The excellence reflex
- Are you an agent or a gatekeeper?
The pillars used within the Union Square Hospitality Group are also a great example of what we call “sticky phrases”. Pillars should ideally have catchy headlines or summaries that stick in people’s minds. This is how they become part of the culture and mythology of a brand. Nearly all of the sticky phrases used by Meyer will be meaningless to most people. This is part of their value. They are only understood by people within the Union Square Hospitality Group culture. This creates a sense of belonging and communicates that “there’s a unique way of doing things around here”.
