… until it costs you money.

Of course, it’s easy to say, “Just this once.”
Or, “Normally I wouldn’t.”
Or, “Let’s turn a blind eye.”

But, if you find yourself doing that, then it’s not a value, it’s just a “nice to say.”
That’s the delicious irony for a writer like me.
When it comes to values, it’s not about what you can have, but what you decide you can’t have.
As soon as you sell a value, or swap it for a favour, it’s no longer a value.
It’s worth everything. Or it’s worth nothing.

Don’t get me wrong.
I’ve been guilty, more than once, of having my cake and eating it too.
Like climbing on my high horse and saying how much I hate road-ragers when I’ve been known to have more than one yelly moment in traffic.
Maybe I recognise myself in them more than I care to acknowledge.

I have tried to stay true to the values I set out when we started the business.
The values we thought we started out with are largely the ones we have today.
Largely.
And it’s hard to stay true to them.
But I do love it when values collide.
It lets me know what’s really important.

I just need to remember to redraw my values map when it happens.

Values. They cost you nothing until you try and swap them for money.

Values. They cost you nothing until you try and swap them for money.