Values AT Work Ezine November 2006
Edition # 3

Here is our latest November 2006 ezine and we would like to extend a special greeting and thank you to all our new ezine subscribers.

 

We have had an exciting development since the release of our September Ezine and are now launching our Values AT Work Academy, which is a series of accreditations designed to help you use our unique values approaches in your organisation. 

 

For newcomers to our work, we have also released a new 'Introduction to Values' flyer, outlining in more detail our work with values and the accreditation process for the Academy.

 

We also have a Christmas special this year, which gives you an option to evaluate your personal values, at a special price. You will find the benefits of this process rewarding and life-changing in how you view yourself and your relationships.

 

Thanks for your continuing feedback & further questions. These are posted and updated on the 'Frequently Asked Questions' (FAQ's on Values) section of the Ezine.

 

We hope you enjoy this edition.

 

Merry Christmas & kind regards

from the team at Values AT Work

 
 
In this edition:
 
 
 
 1. Whats New - The Values AT Work Academy
We have now launched our Values AT Work Academy offering people the opportunity to learn and be accredited in how to use our unique values approaches in their own organisation. This offers you the opportunity to learn everything we know about working effectively with values and company culture. The benefits are:
 

-     cost savings
-     quicker & easy access to leading values methodology
-     greater flexibility in working with people & their values within the organisation
-     convenient online access to your values reports

The Academy is designed to offer accreditations in a number of levels that advance the specific needs and degree of complexity you may require from your values project.
See diagram & explanations below.

The first step in becoming a Values Aligned Organisation is to attend a 2 day Culture  & Values Education Workshop. To view the brochure for this click here.

Dates for upcoming 2 day Culture & Values Workshops early next year are as follows:

11 & 12 December 2006
30 & 31 January 2007
26 & 27 February 2007
26 & 27 March 2007

* Pay in full two weeks prior to the workshop and receive the 'early bird' special discount saving you $250.00!

2. Christmas Special
Traditionally people like to attempt to use the New Year as a chance for a new beginning. As most of us know from years of attempts, New Years resolutions rarely work. Clarifying your personal values first and then setting goals based on those values is far more effective. To assist you to do this at a time of year when dollars are tight we are offering a Christmas special for you, a family member or friend, to clarify your values. The fee is $150.00 (normally $350.00) for a CRD Report, which lists your high priority control, relational & developmental values. This fee also includes a workbook for you to work through at your leisure. Please email us at info@valuesatwork.org to register your interest.

3. Personal Values Tip
Using your top five personal values as a check list, look at how you typically spend your money. Many people find that they are spending alot of their hard earnt money on things that just aren't important to them anymore. You can also do a stock take based on the 80/20 principle. For example to through your CD collection and see if you can select the 20% of the CD's that you listen to 80% of the time. Then go through the 80% that you rarely listen to and see which you are quite comfortable with selling and re-investing the money made into something more aligned with your values .

4. Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best thing to do when I find two of my highest priority values are in conflict with one another?

 The trick is to break each value down from the interpretation of the value as a noun (naming word) into a verb (doing words) i.e. if your two top values in conflict are 'family & work', what are you doing when you are at work? (communicating, planning, budgeting, listening, presenting etc). What are you doing when you are with the family? (communicating, laughing, cooking, playing games, gardening, eating etc). It is through breaking down the values that we then begin to see how each of the separate values may overlap, align with or support each other, rather than be in conflict.

 

To elaborate on this example further, planning (one of the features of working) may be useful to practice and share with your family when cooking together i.e. choosing the ingredients, cooking, & timing the meal. Likewise having fun and laughing may be useful to practice more in the workplace to help reduce stress levels.

If it is time that is conflicting with two values such as too much time at work and not enough time with your family, it is not necessarily a values conflict, rather than a time allocation conflict or quality of time conflict. Again breaking down your values in relationship to your time together will help i.e. what do you and your family want to achieve during your time together? i.e. learning, fun, conversation, play, planning, contributing. Working on these values together enhances your time together which means less time is wasted on the negative ways that you may relate i.e. arguing, withholding, talking over the top of each other.

 
5.  Latest Values News and Research  
Click here to view the recent McKinsey report titled 'Managing your organisation by the evidence'.