Honest, Humble, Genuine and Trustworthy

We are Honest, Humble, Genuine and Trustworthy.

We believe these values speak for themselves; it’s up to you to decide.

Our culture came from a study of what customers wanted us to be. I went out and asked hundreds of relationships what behaviors they preferred in their favorite service provider. I asked them to think of their favorite mailman, server, repairman, or salesperson. What qualities did you most admire? Which ones were the most useful to you as the buyer/customer? Being honest was repeated over and over again. There is nothing we value more in any relationship than honesty!

The second most commonly talked about trait was humility. Being humble is a way of keeping ego in check. Being humble makes you…well, likeable. People like folks that are well grounded. Customers (all of them) prefer humility to know-it-alls. Think about it, do you keep the company of know-it-alls around? I know I don’t. I always have something to learn. Besides, I want to respect the opinions of others, and that is hard to do when I am bragging!

Trust-01Finally, customers said I want to know that my service provider and contact is genuine. This authenticity is hard to live and harder to teach. However, the power of being viewed as genuine gives you real credibility in the eyes of your customer. Perhaps it is easier to think about being genuine by brainstorming disingenuous behaviors? This is when you don’t follow through on your actions. This is when you don’t remember details or names. Or when you create an environment around you where people can’t or don’t trust your motives or actions. Sometimes this is just a feeling. But trust is gained or lost every day based on perception.

So now imagine a company that works hard at teaching all to focus on being honest and telling the truth in a world where humility is valued. Where being yourself (genuine) is more important than being corporate. I am convinced that this needs to be an ongoing conversation. That we need to study how to make these traits more institutionalized. That the better we get at these, the better the customer’s overall experience as an employee and as a customer.

Being Honest, Humble, Genuine, and Trustworthy starts with trusting. I always wanted an environment that gave employees the room and freedom to do what is right. I hire and promote leaders who understand how to encourage the heart, delegate effectively, and still keep our intrapreneurial spirit alive and thriving! We need to be willing to give trust and count on people in order to get trust back!