OK, this is not going to be a mushy post about emotions, feelings, selling and commercialization. It’s straight talk about who you are as a Person of Worth. Each one of us has a structural underpinning grounded on our core personal values.
When’s the last time you were in touch with your core personal values?
The answer to my question should be: Daily. Consistently. How did you answer my question?
Core personal values involve our ethics and the value system which reinforce our ability to scrutinize situations and guide ourselves through our business and personal lives. Core personal values are not like a set of clothing that you chose to wear sometimes, and leave in your closet for other situations.
Core personal values are your second skin. Your personal mantra. What are yours?
Mine are: Trustworthiness, Professional Integrity, Ethical Behavior and Respect. My customers know that from the 
get-go. They can expect these values from me.
I, in turn, expect the same from them.
When you align with people whose value systems are harmonious with your own, you don’t have to remember what you said to everyone. It’s always the same thing. No shape-shifting allowed in your core value system.
When you consistently deliver on your value system across your personal and professional experiences, you build a network that is engaged, mentoring, and protective. You have their backs; they in turn have yours. There should be no opportunity for betrayal.
When you cultivate new relationships, both professionally and personally, you trust your gut and intuition – founded on the breadth and depth of your experiences – to guide your decision to accept or decline the invitation. To walk away from the business table or to stay. To run – or not – with the pack regarding the latest industry trend, social app, or venture investment.
Perhaps you struggle with determining, let alone adhering, to your value system. There are so many temptations in the marketplace. So many quotas to meet, appointments to set, output to deliver, work to get off your desk so you can reload the next day.
There are so many distractions that keep you from firmly, definitely, and consistently setting your course, focused on your core personal value system.
Defining your core personal values is not something you can keep putting off until tomorrow.
Deep dive into the sum total of all of your life experiences. Identify the common themes, personae, and scenarios, that you keep becoming involved in. That endless loop of spinning your wheels, hoping for traction this time and a different outcome. Except there won’t be a different outcome until you take that 10,000 foot eagle’s eye view of your own situation.
Choose to extricate yourself by creating your compass point focusing on your core personal values.
Once you make this decision, once you define your value system, everything changes. You have made your personal pivot. How can any of the old stuff align with the new personal course you have identified?
You got it. You are the person who realigns. Everyone and everything else has their own stuff to distract them. Not your problem.
You will notice the difference immediately. People are more attentive to what you have to say. Your input-throughput-output looks and sounds different, because you express yourself – you communicate – differently. Because you are aligning yourself, constantly, daily, along your core personal values. Your core personal values, not theirs – whatever they may be.
What are your core personal values? Something to think about this week.
Babette N. Ten Haken, Founder & President of Sales Aerobics for Engineers, LLC, brings entrepreneurial mojo back into small and mid-sized businesses, particularly in the manufacturing sector. She builds vibrant revenue-producing business strategies for technical start-ups seeking investors and early customers.
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