This month I am focusing on the things that are important to you.  I am thinking about values: your values and other people’s values. Acknowledging what is important to you, your values, can help you get a handle on what you really want from life and your business.

As you use your new self-knowledge to design a business that works for you, keep in mind you will also have customers. Do you know their values?

In his book The Lion Sleeps Tonight, South African journalist, Rian Malan tells this story about the editor of a popular newspaper in Johannesburg. The editor of this newspaper understands the values of his market.

A woman’s home in the Eastern Cape was invaded by a swarm of bees. As a native South African, the woman called on the services of a sangoma (a traditional healer) to diagnose the cause of the problem. The sangoma concluded the bees were sent by the family’s angry ancestors who were upset because the family had failed to perform required rituals.

The solution involved the slaughter of a cow.

When the ritual sacrifice of a cow failed to eradicate the bees, the family requested a refund of the money they paid for the sangoma’s advice. When she failed to comply, because she had spent the money, the family poured buckets of cold water on her head.

This is a story of community values.

The editor understood this as he presided over the editorial meeting where the staff struggled to identify a suitably compelling headline for this story.

One staffer suggests: “Evil Ancestors Sends Bees”.

The editor thunders, “This is Africa! Ancestors are never evil.”

Cursed by Evil Bees

The final headline blamed the bees.

Your personal values are not the only values you will need to understand. Your business should reflect both your personal values and those of your larger community; the community of your customers and employees.

Photo by James Wainscoat on Unsplash