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Value maximisation is too narrow a perspective

COVID-19 has demonstrated how quickly society seeks to polarise values and set them in contention. The tension between maximising health, economic or education values. The pandemic is a threat to all of these. Yet, we have learned how to take sides quickly in this battle of values and seek to win for our point of view. We have learned to maximise one value over others. There is another way to approach problem solving and value creation by considering the different values involved and designing solutions that find a sustainable balance. This is not about maximising one value at the cost of all others.

ESG

Organisations and society are representations of values. Businesses only exist to create value. The question is what sort of value? We are seeing the reprioritisation of value with the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) movement in investing and corporate governance. This is a response by government, investors and corporations to the shift in values in society from profit maximisation to sustainability. Many employers recognise that "values" and "purpose" are the most important motivator for the youngest generations in the workforce. 

Many leaders have good intentions but struggle to move beyond the virtue signaling stage of adapting to changes in values. Many leaders genuinely want to reorganise to create a different balance of values. 

What if you could harness the collective good will of teams of people to enable this change?

Edward de Bono is widely regarded as an expert on the importance of perception in thinking. His course on the Six Value Medals™ is designed to help participants to recognise different values and work out how to manage them holistically. 

How you use these values is up to you. How you choose the values is up to you. How you give priority to values is up to you. All these things are possible once you recognise that there are multiple values. None of these things is possible without a clear view of the values that are to be found in any situation. Once the different values are recognised then people can relate more effectively in creating further values.

Any objective is a value package. Everything we do is directed towards obtaining some value or delivering some value. Every decision we make involves values. Since values are so very central to our thinking and actions, it is surprising that we have not done more about managing and designing for values. 

Values are about perception but we are poor at discussing and understanding perception.

Research by Professor David Perkins at Harvard University has shown that 90 percent of the errors in thinking are errors of perception. If perception is wrong or limited, then no amount of excellence in logic will put that right or produce a useful outcome. There are some free challenges on LateralThinking.com for you to experience this yourself.

The Six Value Medals™ provide a simple and practical framework to help teams seek out and address values more clearly. We can lay out the values we see alongside those seen by others to get a more complete view of any situation. Using a simple Value Scan, we can then map and score the values for better decision-making. 

Too often organizations are blind to different values and fail to address conflicts in values. This can have devasting impact on employees, customers, investors, the environment,  community relationships, and more. Many organisations are now responding to the consequences of the unreserved drive for profit at the expense of the environment. We need a mechanism to ensure we continue to optimise for and manage the different values that make up the whole.

A practical, enabling framework 

The Six Value Medals™ are a simple and constructive way for a team to recognise different values and design approaches that find balance as we seek to create and protect different values. When your team can scan, identify and prioritise values, they become vital partners in growing your organisation. The skills taught in Six Value Medals™ helps you understand and create values with more balance and sustainability.

Please contact the training partner closest to you to discuss how we can help you.

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