MIAMI, FL / ACCESSWIRE / March 28, 2022 / When we think of the most common company values, we oftentimes reflect on predictable standards such as integrity, teamwork, accountability, innovation, speed, and fairness. Jozef Opdeweegh, a seasoned C-suite executive and author, echoes the predictability of the most common company values and phrases.

Opdeweegh states that conveying and fostering employee and customer-centric standards have come to typify modern organizations. Nevertheless, Opdeweegh recognizes a particular value that has resurfaced more recently in this world where countless points of view a shared and widely reflect the echo of political and moral adversaries, make humanity aware of a word that has been conspicuously absent from every search he made regarding this topic: resolve.

More particularly, resolve when used as a noun rather than as a verb can refer to something of the opposite, implying compromise or reconciliation of conflicting positions. The distinction is not a bad thing in itself, but one mustn't conflate the two meanings. Thankfully, most recognize resolute people when encountering them, just as they do in steadfast organizations or even nation-states.

Indeed, Joef Opdeweegh's idea of nation-states has rarely been more appropriate. The newfound unity of the West in the face of Russia's evil invasion of Ukraine has been described as a wake-up call for values, reminding people of the criticality of the commitment to liberty, freedom, and the rule of law. In many ways, these principles are the societal equivalent to the company and organizational values that are now so commonplace. And yet, as recent events are showing, they are nothing, without the determination to see them through when tested.

Often in Jozef Opdeweegh's career, he has seen companies with well-formulated values seek their adjustment-temporary or otherwise-most usually in the name of pragmatism or expedience. He speaks on this idea and says "I know from first-hand experience that the temptation to do so can be great, especially when the markets or shareholders are exerting pressure." He continues by saying "I've learned too that sticking to your guns can be lonely and personally costly, which is why periods of crisis carry the archetypal risk of seeking a resolution by abandoning our resolve!"

Jozef Opdeweegh is not such an idealist as to deny that there may genuinely be occasions for pragmatism. His hard-won observation is that compromising values typically amounts to short-term convenience at significant long-term cost. This is why great brands protect their quality and reputation above all else, knowing that customer trust which takes years to build can be lost in an instant. And it's also why Boards (and Governments) have a special responsibility to live by the ethics they espouse, guarding them jealously with a determination that can weather the inevitable economic and political storms.

In this respect, resolve is like stamina to convictions; without it, one may appear fit for purpose, but no sooner does the pace quicken and fatigue will begin to show. To acquire resilience, Jozef Opdeweegh believes someone must practice and persevere and must be committed to meeting the challenges they know will come; and perhaps most of all, one must be prepared for some pain in the process. The alternative is that people are paper tigers, deluded by posturing, yet inwardly weak and ineffective.

"The times we are living through are, I believe, a bellwether, not only of all that we have stood for since the dawn of democracy but of our courage to defend those values when the prospect of a pragmatic alternative might appear more tempting," Opdeweegh, says. He continues on this thought by saying, "If we fail as nations, as companies and individuals to take and bear the consequences of the actions that are necessary, then we will pay a much greater price in the long run-not just in freedom or in economic dependency, but in our dignity and ultimately, our destiny too."

This is the critical role of resolve as a noun; the point where steadfastness meets the sense of who someone is and who someone wants to be. More than ever people need to find it not in Google searches or company websites, but deep in their DNA. For it applies to everyone, not just those who lead, but those whose frontline actions make a difference every day. Jozef Opdeweegh ends his thoughts on this topic by saying, "The streets of Ukraine are testament to this fact; so too I hope will be the way we judge our leaders and those businesses we wish to work within future." On that matter, he is resolved.

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SOURCE: Jozef Opdeweegh