- Brainstorm: everybody blurts out what they think our values are. Honesty, integrity, loyalty, stick-to-it-ive-ness, technical competency, ongoing education, etc.
- Group: can we lump honesty in with integrity? Efficient with productive? Creative with innovative?
- Rank: everybody gets five votes.
- Evaluate and Refine: do the values that floated to the top seem like a gut-level accurate representation of us? What is missing? What is over-emphasized?
- Define: come up with a pithy phrase to describe what each value means specifically to us.
- Decide: usually done later by Director-level staff.
I loved participating in and facilitating those kinds of meetings - it's fascinating to hear how a group sees itself, and it feels a little like magic when it works out well (none of mine went haywire, thankfully).
It occurred to me that I could define my values in this job too, even though I'm not a group. I mean, I pretend like I am sometimes by having complex inner dialogue and role playing being someone else, but it's really just me. So I went through the steps with myself (it sounds naughtier than it was, sadly), and came up with this list.
- Do No Harm: help when I can, but at the very least, try not to hurt anyone, including myself
- Be Honest: be as real and straightforward and emotionally available as I can (without breaking #1 by violating my sense of personal safety)
- Have Fun: squeeze as much enjoyment out of each call, blog post, and photo shoot as possible
Those cover at least 90% of my intention with the job. Sure, there's also "Make Money" but I believe that will take care of itself as long as I'm sticking to my values.
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