The essence of human life is the effort of our minds and hearts to create a judgement of what is important in life. The history of humanity is full of people, who have been known for their ability to choose a path of righteousness. Each day, each of us chooses to respond to situations in a specific way. These lamp holders of response are our values.
Value-based decision making is vital for success that is pristine in nature. The belief on an entity – be it an individual or an organization depends on the values they demonstrate in their transactions with the world. Hence organizations dive deep into their legacy, ambitions and beliefs to define a set of values that become the cornerstones of their existence.
Let’s take a closer look at our first value and the most basic emotion of all living or non-living interaction – Trust. It is the base of all transactions, many times latent in nature but ever-present. As our dispatch trucks are loaded, a commitment is fulfilled. When a new policy is rolled out, a belief that it is in the goodwill of all is pervaded. Instructions of work are passed on the sublime belief that they will be carried out. Requests to reporting managers are made on the premise that they would be heard.
But how does this value manifest itself in the organisation?
M Kumar, Vice President – Commercial and Head, believes that while trust is a two-way process, it begins from the top. The management has this inherent belief that everyone will do their best to fulfil their commitments. This deep-rooted belief then leads them to enable and promote an open and interactive culture where employees express themselves freely. Haja, Head of Corporate Operations, adds that trust brings in the all-important emotion of appreciation in a relationship and when this extends to a company – customer experience, it stands to transform the brand value of the organisation in its market.
But is trust a unilateral value? The Head of IT, Gopal Dass says that trust is inspired when an employee is allowed the room to make and admit mistakes while working towards a common goal. It manifests itself when an agreed deadline is pushed ahead on the reason that by pushing it we are delivering better on our commitment.
Any behaviour requires an instrument that expresses it. Our diligently framed policies, SOP’s and their provisions enable us to achieve our targets within given timelines. Says Haja, “The experience of a customer receiving their orders as committed has an entire set of instructions behind it. In the perceived waiting time, the customer is thinking that we will follow those instructions to the T.” He adds, “Our efforts to achieve globally important quality certifications, is a proof of our value system, that right through the raw material to finished product, we adhere to the highest standards.”
It takes years to build a reputation of reliability and a minute to manifest it. MK experienced it when a vendor, in spite of his immense push and pull capabilities decided to adhere to our empanelment process on MK’s one line that we stick to processes and if found in merit, the vendor would get the contract. The vendor told MK that his reputation was such that there was all reason to believe him and not exercise his ‘push and pulls’
When you read this, rest back on your seat and think about our value of Trust for a moment. Think of it in your daily work life or perhaps life in general too. Think how it is ever-present, how latent is it. And how are we experiencing or exhibiting it in our daily lives?
Kartikaya Nagar 