I was reading another post by Michael Hyatt this morning, and it struck a cord with what we do at Dialect and why I wanted to start the company.  Michael was asked a simple question in an interview: “Which is most important – mission, core values, or vision?”

Michael answered that they are all equally important and interconnected.  They are distinguishable but inseparable.  You can read the post here.

Then the comments came rolling in.  One comment on Michael’s post says that he has heard that values are defined first.  Another person was more animated about the need for values to come first.

In my experience, leaders start from many places.  We’ve done work with companies were the leader sees purpose as being the glue for everything else.  In other situations, we’ve had leaders emphasize shared values and the strategy.  In other situations we’ve seen leaders who start with strategy and return later to what it will look like when they get there (vision) and what beliefs and behaviors will be necessary to accomplish it (values).

What do you start with at your company?

This story illustrates why great people often leave companies who need them.  I’ve heard the same idea described in different ways.  For instance, another senior person who left a great company said “I just didn’t see a future I could get excited about.”I know that many CEOs are very concerned with the viability of their business.  They are trying to stem the bleeding, right-size their headcount, and assess their markets.  But their employees are still looking for signs of who the company is and where it is going in order to decide if they want to stay.  Especially the best employees.

I was talking with another very talented guy yesterday, Joey Reiman.  He has a clip on his website that talks about how if you’re not being nurtured, you’re being abused (you’ll have to click on a firefly to see the video). “Abuse is no words; a wall of silence is abuse,” Joey says.  Now I don’t know if this executive felt as though he was being abused, but I do know he is talking to investment bankers about the possibility of buying the very company that he left!  How’s that for talent?

Think about your company.  Where are you going?  Have you talked about it lately?  How connected do your best and brightest feel to what you stand for?