Title: Creating Shared Meaning of Organization and Personal Values
Headings: Nailing Down The Meaning of Values - Personal AND Corporate (Part 1)
Nailing Down The Meaning of Values - Personal AND Corporate (Part 1)
Why Espoused Values Are Rarely The Same As Enacted Values
Fuzzy Meanings of Values and Poor Communication of Meaning
Testing The Bounds Of Values and Beliefs

Content: This causes huge problems internally, which we'll leave for another discussion, but apart from the vagaries of humans, with which we are stuck, there's another reason for the lack of consistency. Fuzzy Meanings of Values and Poor Communication of Meaning
Typically we talk about personal values in a kind of mental vacuum, as if we live in an ideal and rational world, and where we believe we, ourselves, are rational and consistent. But neither is true. We have our "talk" and our "walk", and circumstances often dictate where we end up walking, despite the fact that we may still espouse the same values and beliefs. Also organizations and individuals almost NEVER go through a process that makes clear what their espoused values mean in the real world, and that is the critical link between our values and behavior. What results is a kind of schizoid situation that often breeds cynicism in organizations, as employees see the company violating their "core values" on a daily basis. The problem, though, is not that the values or wrong, but that the values have not been clarified so they can turn into guidance for walking the talk. What does honesty mean? What about respect? Both these are often mentioned as part of value statements for organizations, or as core elements in someone's personal philosophy.