In January of 2012 it will be 3 years since Circuit City went out of business?
This was a consumer-electronics retailer that had been in business for 60 years. I’ve been informed that sales had declined over the preceding years before the business finally closed its doors. At the time of the closing this retailer had over 30,000 people on staff.
What can we learn from Circuit City’s demise? I believe that the first indication of the challenges the company was experiencing could come from their Mission/Vision Statement. It stated; "To make sure that we are all working in the same direction, each of us must live and breathe Circuit City's values and use them as a guidepost for our actions and decisions."
Circuit City’s Mission/Vision statement said nothing. When I read ‘working in the same direction’ all that I can think about is - what nonsense.
Recently I was researching about how important virtues are to people. Would it make sense to have a virtues statement in business? That way you could outline and define the virtues that all staff members agree on and can follow.
When all staff members follow the same virtues, I believe that a company will have a much more secure business model. Let me give you an example. Let’s say that creativity was a company virtue. It would be wonderful to have staff contributing creative ideas to solve problems, wouldn’t it? Can you imagine how good the staff would feel about you accepting these ideas?
What virtues do you and your fellow employees need to put forward and follow to establish a more secure business model?
