The Importance of Business Philosophy

Setting yourself apart from business competitors is accomplished in different ways. Ideally, a company has a unique product or service that’s better than products or services that its competitors offer. But what happens when all things are equal? Your core values as a company are what set you apart. These core values become the business philosophy that your team and your clients experience. As a business leader, business core values start with your core values. When you integrate your values into the business philosophy, your values become part of the company culture. A company that has a positive culture tends to be more efficient and productive.

Business Philosophy Definition

Every business leader knows to make certain that the company mission and vision statement are clear and well-defined. It is the business philosophy that defines why you are doing things the way you are doing them. Your philosophy of business could be an unwritten attitude or a specifically-written philosophy that defines how your people will act and interact with each other and the general public.

For example, a business leader could impart a “Whatever it takes” philosophy by putting in additional hours, constantly asking employees to do more in terms of performance, and expressing absolutist ideas such as, “We’re closing this sale, no matter what.” Even though this isn’t defined in any mission statement or core value in the employee handbook, it clearly becomes part of the set expectations that leaders have regarding employees’ performance.

A written policy becomes what is referred to as a “codified policy.” This could be part of the mission statement, part of the code of ethics found in the employee handbook or found in a memo, which states the direction of the company and how leaders lay out the plan for success. Philosophies can be a positive thing or a negative thing, and they can directly affect employee morale, performance and productivity. By thinking through and writing out the company’s philosophies, business leaders can reduce the chances that negative habits will become part of the company culture.

Philosophy, Mission or Code of Ethics?

Unless you were a philosophy major in college, most people don’t spend a lot of time thinking about the ultimate value of philosophy as a general practice. Aristotle’s sayings are tossed around in quotes as motivational reminders. However, business philosophy can be left for chance development of an entire company culture. This is a dangerous variable when left unplanned. Business leaders focused on building a positive corporate culture build their philosophy from the mission statement and on the company’s code of ethics.

Philosophy refers to a basic or core belief that starts with an individual and then expands to a group that is working together. Without being clearly defined, the group could take on the philosophies of dominant personalities in the group, which might not align with the company’s desired dynamic. Imagine a department leader and mentor to younger employees, who is cutting corners not only for his benefit but also to show others how to do so. The effect could be a drop in the quality provided to consumers.

The opposite end of the spectrum is when a business leader explicitly defines that craftsmanship is a core value. It starts with the mission of providing the best products that last. The code of ethics could state not just about treating employees with respect and inclusiveness but to also approach customer relations with integrity. By building on the mission and the code of ethics, the employer could define the business philosophy as “Creating products your grandfather would be proud to use with quality craftsmanship unmatched anywhere else and standing behind every product with an iron-clad guarantee.” This philosophy of a business clearly doesn’t leave room for cutting corners and providing poorly made products to consumers.

Philosophy of Business Importance

When you stop and think about it, you see just how important a well-defined business philosophy is. Think about the companies you choose to deal with personally. Most likely, you prefer to deal with a company that has representatives who greet you at the door and that give you the best of the best, with a smile on their faces. Your customers are no different. Many customers are willing to pay more for a product or service with companies that provide a better customer experience.

It is important that your business philosophy be genuine. Your employees will know if you write a business philosophy merely because it makes a good sound bite and a talking point with customers. Your customers will see through a company touting strong values but that has no respect for consumers’ needs. For example, if the code of ethics has a clearly stated policy of inclusiveness, but the manager of a department divides his team into groups because of favoritism, it becomes clear that inclusiveness is not a value he embraces. If those above him on the corporate structure allow it to occur, then the inclusive philosophy is seen as disingenuous and can hurt team morale.

Being honest, standing behind your product and being an active, positive member in the community are all positive philosophies a business might adopt. Cutting corners, putting profits first and embracing exclusivity can negatively affect a company’s ability to produce the desired results. As a leader, it is imperative that you understand how to position a philosophy. Being innovative could be seen as cutting corners where, in fact, it represents seeking out better ways to do things.

The latter is a positive business philosophy, where the former tends to lead to negative results. Look for areas in which your company can embody personal values and philosophies. Think about how you feel about customer service, quality, honesty and cooperation. These are usually the foundation for any business philosophy and core value statement.

Keep Business Philosophy Simple

Because a business often has a diverse workforce and serves a diverse demographic, it is best to keep business philosophies simple. You don’t want to state your business philosophy in a way that leads to confusion or misinterpretation. When people are confused, either they ignore the directive or they get it wrong. Either scenario doesn’t fulfill the purpose of the business philosophy.

Whether you have your business philosophies written out or they are part of your everyday practices, make sure they are consistent. Of course, everyone can have a bad day, so the morning positivity huddle might not be as effective; but own up to when you don’t meet the standards of your philosophies. That goes a long way to winning over your team and customers. Outside of the bad day, make sure you and all the leaders in your company follow the philosophy of the company. If someone disagrees with a practice, discuss things in private to avoid dissension with two separate company cultural groups doing things differently.

Hire the Right Fit 

When you have a clear business philosophy, it becomes easier to recruit talent that already holds the same philosophies personally. It is much easier to integrate someone who already believes in what you are doing than to try to convince someone who doesn’t. Think about a major company like Apple. People are attracted to work for Apple because they seek to be innovators in the technology industry in a way that helps people’s lives become simpler.

Similarly, Google has created a corporate culture where people enjoy coming to work because Google embraces the philosophy of happy employees means higher levels of productivity and creativity. You might think it is easy for these large companies to attract top talent but every company has the same capability to build a philosophy that attracts the right talent. As a local pet store competing with major box store brands, you could build a company philosophy of service. Becoming involved with local shelters as a company is one way to stand behind your philosophy and this becomes part of your reputation. It’s great customer relations, branding and helps attract employees passionate about helping animals in need.

When hiring, design interview questions designed to gain insight into a person’s natural tendencies. These are called behavioral interview techniques and are usually open-ended questions asking a candidate about how they would act in specific situations. These questions may revolve around honesty and integrity such as returning money to a client who overpaid. Questions could stem around competitiveness and drive as well as being able to work independently to solve problems. For example, “What would you do if a new product is being launched and you were scheduled to work the day the team was training on it?”

Set a rubric on how you will score answers. Someone willing to come in without pay to learn a new product to improve his sales might rate higher in competitiveness and drive compared to someone who asks his supervisor to put him on the schedule for the meeting. Both candidates express answers demonstrating a desire for success but the first candidate has a stronger drive to succeed.

Changing Company Business Philosophy 

There are times when the philosophy of a business needs to be changed. This could be the result of new leadership entering the company, such as the changes seen in Uber when Dara Khosrowshahi became the new CEO. Uber had become subject to national scandals, and an entirely new marketing campaign was launched to discuss the new business philosophy that Khosrowshahi was developing, based on philosophies that had been passed on to him as a kid by his father. The company became much more customer-focused, and it made listening to its customers, drivers and other stakeholders a priority, so as to make the experience of Uber better for all.

Sometimes, leadership doesn’t change, but a business leader might realize that minor bad habits have crept into daily operations and are having a major impact on performance. Regardless of why a company is changing its business philosophy, leaders must realize that change requires patience and doesn’t happen overnight. Employees develop habits and must not only buy into the new philosophy but must make an effort to integrate changes.

To accomplish a change in a fundamental component of business philosophy, a business leader should analyze exactly what is happening that caused the problem in the first place. Then he needs to establish a strategy to roll out the new philosophy and business practices. Training must be consistent and may take several training sessions over extended periods of time to fully change the dynamic. Think about a hypothetical assembly line, in which everyone became comfortable overlooking one or two cosmetic problems with a product. The employees have developed a habit to not see problems. It will take time to undo this habit that’s based on a philosophy of “Our customers deserve the best we can deliver. We can do better.”

Don’t simply roll out changes. Explain to employees the importance of new policies, and how the policies affect not only customer experience but also the other employees. Employees who buy into the company philosophy tend to work harder to meet standards that are set in core values and mission statements. Ultimately, better work is done, customers have a better experience, the company generates more revenues, and, ultimately, the company grows. This is the ultimate goal of business, and having a corporate business philosophy helps companies achieve this goal.