Our Core Values Are More Than Words

Core values – most companies have them, or something similar at least, that they use to describe the way in which their business will operate. Unfortunately, for many businesses their core values are just words on the wall or on the About page of the website, and they don’t do much beyond that.

Here at Unified, our core values are more than just statements on a wall, they are words engrained in our company culture and highlighted in our day-to-day work. Scott Diamond, our CEO, champions our core values. He was inspired by EOS, the Entrepreneurial Operating System, which is a set of principles and tools that businesses can use to strengthen their Vision, Traction, and Health.

The overarching concept of EOS ties together those three principles to propel your company forward:

• Vision helps your entire company get on the same page
• Traction instills focus and disciple so that everyone executes your Vision
• Health enables your leadership team to become more cohesive in leading the company.

From the EOS model and working from a place of focus, Scott and the leadership team defined the mission our company is on – resulting in our core values.

Our Core Values

We’ve got six core values, and they are so important we want to make sure you know them too. Monthly, someone from our leadership team will write about our core values and how they affect our everyday operation. You can expect to hear from Scott, as well as others such as Brian Borgman our COO, Michael Gabhart our VP of Sales, or Teri U’sellis our Director of Marketing.

Without further ado, here are our core values:

1. Build memorable relationships
2. Act with a sense of urgency
3. Educate to elevate
4. Do the right thing
5. Relentless problem solvers
6. No touchdown dancing

Of course, these words could have different meanings to different people. Under the EOS model, defining our core values is crucial to enabling our company to operate through them. We can’t expect our team to exemplify these core values without knowing how they play out in our everyday work.

What Our Core Values Mean

We could go on to tell a long story about where our core values came from (and maybe that is one of the posts Scott will write) and why we’ve adopted them as our core values, but we want to start our core values series by telling you what they mean.

Build memorable relationships

We are in the business of serving people. Sure, we provide telecommunications solutions for a variety of business needs, but our ultimate goal is to enable your team to communicate better and more efficiently with one another and your customers. We don’t stop at the equipment and technology, we continue to provide ongoing support for your team – real people. To us this means:

• Be helpful & kind
• Under promise & over deliver
• Be family-oriented
• Exceed expectations

Act with a sense of urgency

Efficient and clear communication is key to any business operation, so when you are having communication issues we know time is of the essence. Your concerns are our concerns and we want to help you fix the problem as soon as possible. Whether you need a new phone system with a quick turn around time or you are having issues with your existing system, our team is dedicated to addressing the problem with urgency. To us this means:

• Customers first, co-workers second, then you (the team member)

Educate to Elevate

We believe that education can empower our team to achieve more. That is why we encourage our team to be continual learners, always reaching for something higher. We also believe that through educating our customers, we aid them in getting the most out of their telecommunication system. One way we do that is by hosting frequent workshops and lunch and learns. To us this means:

• 212°
• Grab the next rung
• Self-motivation

Do the right thing

Too often, companies are focused on the bottom line and will do anything to get ahead. At Unified Technologies, we believe that doing the right thing should always come first. Our partners trust us to do the right thing and serve them well, and we are dedicated to doing that, even when it’s difficult. To us this means:

• Open & honest, 100% of the time… even when it hurts
• Be accountable

Relentless problem solvers

In the telecommunications and technology industry, problems do happen and often it’s not a simple “unplug and restart” situation. Additionally, every business is unique and therefore requires a unique solution to their telecommunication needs. From sales to technical service, our team is disciplined to be relentless problem solvers, to never give up, and to always find the best solution for our customers. To us this means:

• Right attitude
• Always find a solution
• Include key personnel
• Clear communication

No touchdown dancing

At Unified, we are a team with over 400 years of combined experience, but we strive to never take that for granted and to always stay humble. Every day presents a new challenge, and we have to solve it as a team. We use our expertise to tackle any problem with confidence so we can find a solution while remembering that it is never a one-man show. To us this means:

• Confident yet humble
• Exhibit class & respect
• Act like you’ve been there before
• Team first

In the following months, we want to delve further into the heart of our core values, where they came from, and examples of when they’ve really shown through on our team. Expect to hear stories and to read about the mission of Unified Technologies. It is our hope that our core values permeate everything we do, and we hope that you see that too.