Recently, RedShift Strategists held our annual production meeting, where we delivered our speech on our company’s core values.
As messaging strategists, we have consistently supported other companies in defining and describing their own core values. After pinpointing their values, we similarly encourage our clients to develop a core values speech of their own so they can get everyone on their team on the same page.
As an example to our clients and to companies everywhere, we have released the full transcript of our core values speech.
“When we write collaboratively, or when a Director and Writer work together to finalize direction, we seek to find a balance in our creative tension. Too much tension, and the pair will pushback at one another and won’t be able to develop a piece. Not enough tension and the piece will fall flat, as both collaborators will allow every part of the draft to stay standing, even areas that could and should have been improved before reaching the editing phase of the project.The purpose of this creative tension is to be constructive, to always consider one another’s ideas and edits before pushing back, and trying to find ways to say yes or include elements of an idea that were positive and fitting for the piece. We notice when something can be improved, but also consider the outcomes of our actions and words, and how we might make a change.Years ago, we picked up a saying from one of our clients:
“Blame destroys accountability.”Blame makes folks defensive, and it’s just plain ugly as a way to solve problems. Instead of blame, we hold ourselves and one another accountable by getting to the bottom of challenges, identifying causes, and coming up with solutions through honest feedback and the knowledge that our fellow writers are there to support us in our goals. As a result, we are grateful for one another’s feedback, making hard conversations and transitions just a little bit easier. We value one another, listen to each other, and learn lessons from one another. We maintain regular touchpoints and intentional conversations. If we need to make a change, we talk about it. Every Wednesday, we meet to surface and address ongoing challenges in the company related to both accounts and other day-to-day activities. We take a constructive approach to conferences and processes. RedShift Strategists is more organized than it ever has been, and our team’s individual growth is the main reason why. We solve issues quickly with templates and checklists, as well as a strong meeting pulse. We see constructive improvement as an ongoing effort, and our systems, information governance, and workflow undergo continuous yet measured changes as we construct a company that grows more and more dynamic by the day. Seeing opportunities to construct a better company means seeing things differently and materializing ideas that others may not think of. Fortunately, our team lives up to our third core value: we are nothing if not creative. We are makers, artists, crafters, dreamers, musicians, and last but not least, writers! We like to create, and have a deep appreciation for the meaning behind the things that other people create. We could have been bankers or insurance agents, but we chose to make the timeless craft of writing a key part of our lives. We’re curious, unafraid to experiment. We like to try new things! We value different perspectives and experiences. There is always more to learn from the world; we know that we don’t know everything, and find beauty in discovering whatever we can. Whether it’s the particular rhythm, diction, connotation, or reference of a specific passage, sentence, or even a single word, or something entirely different from writing, such as a movie scene or a musical riff, we are fascinated with the artful nuances that are responsible for so much of the beauty around us. We share those details with one another regularly, in passing and as part of projects. And we play games! Every Monday, we spend one of the first parts of our week creating together. We ideate and build fantasy worlds for brands and projects: a frog band, a Dog boot company, and the fictional town of RedVille Shiftland. We grow our understanding of theories, models, strategies, and tactics while expanding our own mentalities and those that are external to our company. We work together to create solutions across all aspects of what we do: in our client work, our internal work, across all departmental functions, and how we make a positive impact. Our creativity opens up opportunities because we can see more solutions to the challenges before us, and the challenges faced by the entire world. We live our fourth core value by using our creativity strategically. We’re dynamic and are always considerate of dynamics: the intricacies and ongoing changes of our team, the industry we are working with, the situation, and our history. When we run into a writing challenge, we think of the audience in all of its nuance and find ways to structure our writing to fulfill their wishes and achieve the business objectives of our partners and clients. We outline every project with a RACI to ensure accountability, and track time, deadlines, steps, communication preferences, and a host of other details and considerations that keep us oriented toward our goal and informed of complexities. We’re willing to follow a path, but we’re not afraid to pave our own path, too. If a strategy or tactic isn’t working, we try something else. All of us keep our eyes naturally open to spot tools, tips, insights, and snippets of information that might be helpful for us in our work. We know that nothing is static, so we consider different approaches and strive to implement what is maximal. When we discuss challenges, we discuss not just the surface level issues, but also how best to approach the discussion itself, tailoring our approach to the scenario at hand. We think forward and reason backwards by considering the end goal and figuring out the best way for things to play out. All of our strategy is backed by a principle of connections, the idea that there are relationships between almost everything in the universe. We are mindful of cause and effect, and how multiple causes can lead to single effects or ripple into much larger consequences. RedShift may be a space-related term, but nothing we do is completed in a vacuum.
We think about how our actions affect the whole:
How will this impact the client?
The client’s end customers?
Partners on the project?
We ask:
How will this make the other person in the conversation feel?
What is the best way to communicate this idea?
What will be their response? Are we achieving what we set out to do in this situation?
We think of the relationship between the company’s business plan, the marketing tasks we have been asked to execute, and different team business functions. We think of the need: of the reader, the clients, and ourselves.
These values are not the only values we exemplify, individually, or as a team. And much of what we do exemplifies more than one of these values, as each tends to reinforce and bolster the others. But what is for certain is that the RedShift Strategists’ team is universally mindful, constructive, creative, and strategic, and by living our core values, we can continue to reach for the stars and expand our universe in ways that are positive for every person we encounter, and every endeavor we embark upon.
Each and every one of us lives and works by these core values. We are mindful. We are constructive. We are creative. We are strategic. We are RedShift Strategists, and I am grateful to work with you as we embrace the next chapter of our adventure, together.