Building a Hierarchy of Values Helps Businesses Navigate Ethical Challenges and Ideological Attacks
Most communicators will be familiar with Maslow’s hierarchy of needs that drive human motivation. Similarly, a “hierarchy of values” provides a valuable framework to think about decision making for both individuals and companies in what will be a turbulent year.
Philosophical ideas from the ancient Greeks to today, underscore a critical point about values, morals and ethics: The ability to make categorical statements about what is right or wrong depends upon the lens applied.
A key takeaway is the relativity of values. For example, members of both political parties cite freedom as a value but have very different interpretations of what this means. And yet, all agree on its importance.
Evangelicals and Catholics may have very different views of the role of religion in society and the morality of abortion, compared to those who believe in a woman’s right to choose. Yet, with few exceptions, all believe in the sanctity of life.
If we focus on values with a small “v”, through the lens of political party, economic class, religion or creed, we are likely to focus on what divides. If we look at big “V” values, we start to think about commonalities and what we share.
Although the big “V” idea of American or universal values may feel abstract and is not without issue, if we want to find a moral high ground above the current ideological melee this is where we need to operate.
As a starting point, we need to re-visit values that matter to us as, our businesses and society. For companies, developing or building on a hierarchy of values offers a clear path for both action and reaction to the small “v” attacks from activists, political leaders or consumers.
Companies such as Apple and Costco, with a strong values-based moral center for their business models have been able to fend off assaults from Johnny-come-lately bullies. Kowtow-to-power, bend-with-the-winders, are likely to face market disruption without the anchor and certainty of values. The return on equity of having and sticking to values is significant.
Going through the exercise of developing a hierarchy of values for decision making provides a path to express differences in views, while making a case for actions that are intellectually sound and defensible.
When I went through this exercise, I selected the following foundational values:
Equal rights
Freedom
Truth
For me, all should have the right to pursue happiness and success, to vote as they wish, to be able to express opinions and be paid a fair wage. Freedom is, in this context, the value that maintains these rights within society. And truth is the foundation for society’s ability to function transparently, consistent with these values.
That others will have different priorities is a feature not a bug of this process. The values of companies and professionals must be authentic if they are going to serve as a solid foundation for making compelling arguments or bet-the-company decisions.
Values, ethics and morals are complex but without a focus on big “V” values, we are lost at sea.
