Core Ideology

1. The enduring character of an organization

2. It is more important to know who you are than
where you are going, for where you are going will
change as the world around you changes.
3. Source of guidance and inspiration
ii. Core Values
1. A small set of timeless guiding principles, core
values require no external justification; they have
intrinsic value and importance to those inside the
organization.
2. A great company decides for itself what values it
holds to be core, independent of external factors.
3. Companies tend to have only a few core values,
usually between three and five.
4. To identify core values of your own organization,
push with relentless honesty to define what values
are truly central.
a. Test: If the circumstances changed and
penalized us for holding this core value,
would we still keep it?
b. Use a nominated mars group of 5-7 people
to build these core values
iii. Core Purpose
1. Organizations reason for being
2. Idealistic motivations for doing the companys work
3. Goes beyond monetary gain- companies exist so
they can accomplish something collectively that
they could not accomplish separately.
4. SHOULD NOT BE simply descriptive, more
aspirational and qualitative.
a. E.g. 3M- They dont talk about adhesives,
they talk about solving unsolved problems
innovatively
5. 5 whys
a. start with the descriptive statement, We
make X products or we deliver X services,
and then ask, Why is it important? 5 times.
b. The effect of your product or service on the
world
6. A primary tole of core purpose is to guide and
inspire
7. Questions:
a. What would be lost if your company ceased
to exist?
b. Why is it important that you continue to
exist?

c. How could we frame the purpose of this

organization so that if you woke up tomorrow
morning with enough money in the bank to
retire, you would nevertheless continue
working ehre?
8. Confronted with an increasingly mobile society,
cynicism about corporate life, and an expanding
entrepreneurial segment of the economy,
companies more than ever need to have a clear
understanding of their purpose in order to make
work meaningful and thereby attract, motivate and
retain outstanding people.
iv. Discovering Core Ideology:
1. Idealogy has to be authentic- it is not created, it is
discovered.
2. NOT what core values SHOULD we have
a. To do so would create cynicism throughout
the organization
i. whore they trying to kid? We all
know that isnt a core value around
here!
b. the role of core ideology is to guide and
inspire, not to differentiate.
c. The authenticity, the discipline, and the
consistency with which the ideology is livednot the content of the ideology- differentiate
visionatry companies from the rest of the
pack.
3. Needs to be internally inspirational, doesnt need to
have an effect externally
a. Attracts certain people to the company
4. Allow your core ideology to grow, dont let it restrict
you
5.
b. Envisioned future