Does your company live its values?

[Kristen Roth]

There's a big difference between wanting to be a company that lives its values, and actually being one. The reason is simple: it's hard.

Take Patagonia. Long before corporate social responsibility was a popular concept, the company not only espoused a deep commitment to better outcomes for its workers and the planet, it delivered. But, as we learn in our Teamistry episode "Patagonia's Demand for Ethical Supply," even an exemplar like Patagonia struggled. In trying to create a balance between ethics and profits, Patagonia discovered issues of exploitation and poor working conditions in their own supply chain – the very issues they sought to avoid. (If you haven’t checked out the episode, have a listen.)

Patagonia learned that values can be stated, but unless checked, revisited, and recommitted to, may not be lived. Companies are responsible for instituting systems that perpetuate values, and then they must empower employees to carry out the values.