I had just finished a three day leadership seminar with about 40 clients in Chicago that included a section on values and the critical need to consistently practice our values with real integrity. Now 4 clients and I spilled out the door to the curbside to await our transportation to Chicago's O Hare (O Hairy!) airport. Another man soon came out the door, standing nearby, and immediately began berating the taxi dispatcher for not having "his" taxi there waiting for him as soon as he came outside. His tone, volume, and words were very damaging to say the least. I felt compassion for the dispatcher. Within a few minutes the limo pulled up, and all six of us climbed in, the four clients, the angry stuffed shirt, and myself.

Once in I asked the man what his business was and what company he worked for. He responded with pride that he was a consultant and worked for (name), a top five US firm. I then asked if his firm had defined a set of values for the organization. "Oh yes", he said, "we have five values!" I pressed, "do any of the values suggest that people matter?" I did notice at this point that the four clients had these strange smiles on their faces; they could smell the kill that was about to happen. "Yes, indeed", the man said, "in fact, our top value is people matter." I questioned, "do all people matter?" "Yes", he retorted. "Everyone!" I asked, "even limo dispatchers?" The man turned red and responded, "not limo dispatchers!" The rest of the drive to O Hare was pretty quiet. Yet I know that my clients and I were fortunate to get a real life lesson on the priority of actually putting real legs on our values.

Jim Collins, author of "Built to Last", states that true values are "the organization's essential and enduring tenets--a small set of timeless guiding principles that require no exernal justification; they have intrinsic value and importance to those inside the organization." Ralph Larson, CEO of Johnson and Johnson, states "the core values embodied in our Credo might become a competive advantage, but that is not why we have them. We have them because they define for us what we stand for, and we would hold them even if they became a competitive disadvantage in certain situations."

Questions: what are your company's values? When was the last time a significant decision was made based on a value? When was the last time senior leadership stepped up to an employee to challenge a value violation? Are the values embedded in the culture, the real practice of your company? Do you have any team members harrassing limo dispatchers at hotel curbsides or trashing a cherished value in the presence of key stakeholders?  Finally, and most important, how well are you living out and embodying your core values?