The last two weeks I wrote about our Mission and our Vision.  This blog is about our Values.

1. Mission
2. Vision
3. Values
4. Goals
5. Guiding Principals
6. Strategies

We have five Core Values at ‘The Tree’.  Here they are, and a little about each one.  What’s important for us to remember is that our Core Values are the primary standards for doing business.  These values direct our judgements and the decision for what is important for us to do if we are to fulfill our Vision.  These are different from our principles that I will write about in a couple weeks.

1. Passion for our purpose:  There may be no stronger emotion than passion. Passion is that barely controllable emotion we have all had, create by a very strong desire for something. Often the something is our partner, a sport, our kids, or to just flat achieve a goal. But at Solution Tree our passion is for our purpose, or our mission.  Advance the work of our authors.  If we do not have passion for our purpose/mission, then we can NEVER EVER accomplish our Vision of Transforming education worldwide to ensure learning for all.
2. Dedication to quality: I would put our quality up against anybody’s!  And I mean that with all sincerity.  Product Development: Nobody in our sector of education does more developmental work with an author to make certain their work is articulated in the most productive way possible.  Professional Development:  There is not a better more monitored system in education than the one Shannon Ritz and her team have built in PD.  Our software is customized and intense!  We screen and educate all of our presenters on best practice.  We evaluate each and every PD event (3,000+ annually), and share the evals with the presenters.  We live the phrase continuous improvement.  Events:  There is not a better run event business than Solution Tree’s.  We have a STEM (Solution Tree Event Management) tool that walks us step by step through everything that needs to be done for an event.  When it needs to happen, who is responsible, who is the process handed off to next, and so on.  It beginning with the event concept approval to the AAR (After Action Review).   Evaluations are collected at every session and shared with the presenters within an hour of their last presentation.  No that is immediate feedback.
3. Develop individual potential: This not only means helping our Authors and Associates reach their potential, but also our staff.  We challenge, encourage and help them reach their goals.  This is something that can not be perfected, because I don’t believe that very many of us really know what our potential truly is, but I do know that none of us can reach it without help.
4. Profitable growth:  We can easily have growth at the expense of profits.  But then we would be looking for jobs as Solution Tree.  We can Increase profits by cutting expenses to dangerous levels, by not caring about all the quality measures we have establish and enforce, but then our priorities would be out of order and we would not be taking care of our duties to advance the work of our Authors, and also ignoring Value #2.
5. Integrity – period:  The period says it all.

So those are our Values.  They were identified and articulated with great thought and care, and they can never be forgotten or neglected.