Recently, I wrote a blog post about how the core factor at the heart of every business has little to do with its products and services and everything to do with its people. As someone who has owned and operated a managed services provider for many years, that’s an ideaI try to live by every day.

But after the post went up, I continued to think about it – which is when I realized that even though I was talking about “people” in a literal sense, the real conversation was about something far more important in the grand scheme of things.

That blog post was really about core values.

Ultimately, your core values are the key that unlocks every door you need to go through as an entrepreneur. For us, they’ve helped us build a reputation as an industry leader in IT. Our own core values not only help guide us towards the right employees, but they also help us choose the right clients, as well.

If You Don’t Have Core Values, You Really Don’t Have Anything at All

To help illustrate this, let’s take a closer look at our own core values here at Frontier Solutions. From the moment we first opened our doors until now, the five pillars that our business was built on have remained the same.

First, we believe that one should always accept accountability in every situation. That means being responsible not only for your own actions, but the impact those actions have on others. We don’t make excuses. We don’t make promises we can’t keep. If a commitment cannot be met, we don’t hide it. We proactively communicate with you to tell you why, what happened, and what we’re going to do about it.

Second, we value care and compassion above almost everything else. If we’re unwilling to make time to help others, why should you give us your business? If we’re not able to listen, how can we truly understand what you need and why it’s important?

Third, we always choose positivity. We’ll never criticize or condemn team members or users. We approach every situation with the most positive outlook and intentions. By focusing on great results, we create an environment where others actually like being around us. That means the world not only to clients, but also when it comes to attracting and retaining the top talent we need to better serve those clients.

We also make it a priority to always deliver with detail whenever possible. Checklists are made that are to be followed. If anything, we over communicate – there’s no such thing as “too much detail.” This helps us set and manage client expectations in a way that helps illustrate what we’re doing, what you’re paying for and, most importantly, what you’re going to get in return.

When taken together, all of these things add up to our final core value: in every circumstance, do the right thing. That’s as true in our personal lives as it is in the world of business.

If there’s a problem, it doesn’t matter who caused it. We need to go above and beyond to make it right. Even if there’s a mistake that literally nobody will ever notice, it’s still a mistake – which means it still needs to be corrected.

Every interaction we have – whether it’s with a client, a colleague or a vendor – will be conducted with honesty. As the old saying goes, “sometimes the truth hurts.” But in my mind, that’s more than okay – because honesty will never lead you astray.

These are the core values that make our business the way it is. Without them, I can guarantee beyond the shadow of a doubt that we wouldn’t have made it this far – nor would we probably be around today.

Services Come and Go. Values Are Forever

The technology business is changing rapidly. Those things that are flashy, new and state-of-the-art today won’t stay that way forever. Trends come and go, so if they’re the only thing at the center of your business, you’ll soon come to realize that they haven’t taken you as far as you originally thought.

But those core values are unwavering. They’re not written in pencil, they’re written in ink. They’re the true engine at the heart of your business, regardless of what type of organization you’re running or even what those core values happen to be.

Once you have those, you have everything you need to forge the type of enterprise you always hoped you’d one day be running. Without them, you have nothing.

Chantale Benoit

Chantale Benoit is the CEO of Frontier Solutions, a Calgary IT support company that has been helping small businesses get the most from IT in a way that allows it to drive their business forward for the past 23 years. Learn more about Chantale and Frontier Solutions here.