Should Your Personal Values Guide Your Brand Values: A Word of Caution

Hello Friend, 

Here’s a question that I have been thinking a bit about lately! 

“Should your personal values play a crucial role in shaping your brand’s values? If so, to what extent?” 

As a business owner or entrepreneur, you too may be thinking about the relationship between your personal values and your company’s values. 

Your personal values are the beliefs, principles, and ideals that guide your behavior and decision-making. They reflect who you are as an individual and what you stand for. 

Your brand's values, on the other hand, are the beliefs, principles, and ideals that guide your business operations and shape your brand identity. The relationship between your personal values and your brand’s values are important. If the two are aligned, it’s easier for you to achieve a state of flow and to feel like your company is doing purposeful work. 

However, I want you to consider that there is a potential danger that you should look out for! 

You may have personal values that are harmful.

Ok… hear me out, friend! 

While personal values are generally seen as positive, it's important to recognize that they can also be harmful to other people, the environment, or society in some instances. For example:

If you value greed and prioritize greed over other values such as compassion or fairness, it can lead to unethical business practices, exploitation of workers, and environmental degradation.

When individualism is prioritized over community and collective action, it can lead to a lack of social responsibility and an unwillingness to take action on key social or environmental issues.

If you hold values that foster bigotry, ignorance, or intolerance,  you may fail to be empathetic and understanding. This may lead you to foster a work culture  that facilitates discrimination and oppression. When the desire for power is prioritized over ethical considerations, it can lead to abuses of power, corruption, the glorification of misinformation, and harm to others.

Therefore, it’s always important to hold yourself accountable so that your personal values can evolve when needed! As you grow as an individual, put systems in place to make sure that your brand’s values aren’t overly determined by any harmful personal values that are held by you or your employees.

This kind of work can be tough but I believe in you and your team!

Need help growing your conscious, purpose-driven brand? Schedule a call with me! I’m Dr. Hadiya Sewer, a decolonial philosopher, serial entrepreneur, and social impact advisor. I offer 1:1 Conscious Business Coaching to entrepreneurs and leaders who want to build 6 & 7 figure purpose-driven brands. Together, we’ll work on defining your values, scaling profits, and maximizing your social impact. Apply to join here!