Jim Green, CEO of Kemps, Inc., spoke at an MBA Executive Session on April 16 to encourage attenders to incorporate values into the corporate cultures of their organizations.

It’s important to get the "whats" and the "hows" right, Green explained. Doing so retains the best and the brightest, retains people from Generation X, and attracts those from Generation Y. Values-based organizations also help to create a competitive advantage and resilience in a tough economy.

“Companies that stand up best are the ones with values-based cultures,” Green asserted.

He gave three main factors for creating a values-based culture: have a set of shared beliefs and common understandings, create a positive environment for growth, and define what excellence in leadership really means. Kemps, he said, grows through innovation and “utilizes strong brands to win in the marketplace.” People at his organization “sweat the small stuff, treat every penny as if it were their own, and act as owners of the business,” Green said.

Green believes businesses can do more than just make money. “There is a truly human desire to do something bigger than yourself,” he said. “Our jobs need to go beyond our job description…It’s not about the end product but about the process.”

He also encouraged the listeners in their levels of leadership. “Every one of us is a leader at some level of impact,” he said. Leaders need to “spread the values-based organization as a positive virus in your daily world. Reject the failed leadership model of greed and excess.”

In the end, a values-based culture is “about bringing light to a cloudy business world even in the small stuff,” he concluded.