A couple years ago, Scott Martineau and I were talking about how excited we were with the growth of the company. At the time, we had a couple thousand people using the software and we had about 50 employees. On the other hand, we started to become concerned about our ability to grow the organization and maintain the feel and the culture of our business.
Then we came across Michael Gerber’s Dreaming Room and Jim Collins’ books Built to Last and Good to Great. In short, we learned how to capture and preserve the vibe of our business that we knew was special. It’s all about having a Core Philosophy, which contains Core Values and a Core Purpose.
When you articulate, preach and practice the Core Philosophy, you build a company that will be around for the long haul. (I can also say that it can help you grow to a company that’s worth a lot of money.) The reason is that you establish the brand, the vibe, the culture of the business and then you force yourself to stay true to that brand. I like to think of it as the DNA of the business.
Naturally, you might ask us what our Core Philosophy is at Infusionsoft. Here it is:
Core Purpose
- Dream: Revolutionize the way small businesses grow
- Vision: Be the standard in marketing automation software that small businesses use to grow quickly and profitably
- Purpose: Liberate and empower entrepreneurs so they can enjoy doing business, wow their customers and better serve their families and communities
- Mission: Create the leading marketing automation software for small businesses that’s easy to use and powerful enough to make them grow fast
Core Values
- Entrepreneurship
- Authenticity
- Integrity
- Passion
- Compassion
I could go into detail about each one of these things; the important thing is we live the Core Purpose and Core Values every day for every customer. It’s the DNA of our company. It’s the reason behind why I love this company so much. It’s also the reason why we will be successful in accomplishing our Dream.
What core values do you have in your organization? Share them in the comments.
