Leaning Into Our Core Values

With everything going on in our community right now, starting with the pandemic, and leading us to this moment as we acknowledge the death of George Floyd, finding our fit has really challenged us. Where do we belong in the big picture, and more so, what can we do to help? How can we be part of healing our community, and where can we be the hands and feet of hope? As an agency that was founded on our Christian faith and the values we hold to be true, how do we put that faith into action today?

Figuring this out has been a process over the last few months, made more critical in the last two weeks. We found ourselves called at this moment to lean into our core values, the things that guide our culture and drive our work. Fortunately, when we looked at the things we claim on our walls, we found them to be perfectly aligned with what’s expected of us all during these times…

Seek to Serve
Over the last months, there have been many opportunities to be there for clients who have had their businesses and organizations impacted by COVID-19. We’ve worked hard to serve them as best we could. This week, we’ve found new opportunities to serve in South Minneapolis alongside our non-profit clients who have been impacting these communities for years. Our challenge to each of you: You can’t serve from the sidelines. Do something today, get uncomfortable, stretch yourselves.

Positive on Purpose
Now more than ever, with everything we’re facing, positivity matters. We felt called, along with so many of our clients, to be a voice of positivity. Being that voice is a choice – it’s something we need to be intentional about, and to do on purpose, or else the negativity can slide in. Our challenge to each of you: Be a voice of positivity wherever you are. Choose positivity, and be loud about it to help drown out the negative noise.

Simple Done Well
It can be easy to look around and see the need for massive work to be done. In reality, the real work starts simply, with each one of us doing something small to help those around us. Yes, there are big, complicated things in our communities and through this pandemic that we need to address, but the small, simple things will begin the movement we need to create some momentum. Our challenge to each of you: Do one small, simple thing today that will help someone else.

Ask to Listen
Today, right now, we need to lead with curiosity and start asking each other questions. And then, we need to get very quiet and listen. In those moments, we need to hear deeply, and instead of preparing the next thing we want to say, we need to soak in every word. Our challenge to each of you: Find someone who is different than you, ask them how they’re doing, and be there to listen to their response.

Push to Elevate
We can all do better right now. We should expect more from ourselves, from the people in our circles, and from the communities we call home. Embracing that, it’s our time to push each other to get better, to expect more from one another, and to work together to create the world we all want. Our challenge to each of you: When you see injustice, speak up. When you see someone not reaching their potential, help them get there. Lift someone else up today.

Right Not Easy
It can be easy to stay quiet. It can be easy to stay at home. It can be easy to remain in your comfort zone. Please don’t. Doing what’s right, and not easy, can be the most difficult of all these core values we hold to. But that’s the point – now is the time for all of us to do difficult things. Our challenge to each of you: Stretch yourself. Wherever the lines of your comfort zone lie, leap past them. When you feel the urge to be quiet, scream instead. Easy is the enemy of every good thing in our lives. Bury it.

Call-to-Action

Do something. Within your circles, look for those places where you can make an impact. Get outside your circles and step slowly and respectfully into someone else’s. Feed the hungry, give a drink to the thirsty, welcome the stranger, clothe the naked, visit the sick. Above all, love one another.

Ready for more?
OrangeBall Insights has always been a place to share ideas, explore our purpose and leadership, and chat a little bit about marketing. If this resonated and you’d like to receive weekly ways to bounce higher every day, subscribe here.