JPMA's Board of Directors has proposed a set of industry-wide Core Values. Adhering to them can benefit not only the industry  as a whole but your company as well.

The importance of core values is that they drive a company's culture. Culture guides employee performance and performance determines results. 

The industry values created by the Board are described in this JPMA Special Announcement. As it explains, member company conformance to these values coupled with the established product certification program are intended to "ensure customers know that JPMA member products are made by the most trustworthy and reputable brands in the marketplace." But the benefits aren't just for the industry. Companies that embrace these values will also enjoy many benefits of their own. 

For each JPMA Core Value, here are some thoughts about the culture it should inspire and some of the benefits your company could experience by virtue of that culture. 

Customer Care

Culture:

A Customer Care culture would make it clear to everyone that your company's primary purpose is increasing the happiness of parents and caregivers (which requires making their children happier & healthier too). This means recognizing that the most important tasks on an ongoing basis are, (1) thoroughly understanding how your customers think, (2) knowing what problems they have, and (3) helping them solve these problems. This should be done through products but also all other points of contact. 

Benefits: 

If as Peter Drucker said, the purpose of a business is to create and keep customers, there is nothing more fundamental than Customer Care. It is the means by which you make your company and products important to parents and other caregivers. 

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Culture:

This requires appreciating the value of differences and respecting everyone's right to be different. Much conflict would be diminished if people accepted that there's no one right way to think or act and took time to understand how others perceive things. 

Creating a successful "melting pot" also means having a shared perception of fairness. Few things create more animosity between people as perceived unfair or unequal treatment. 

It also takes an atmosphere of trust. Integrity and transparency are the lubricants of personal interaction. 

Benefits:

When people with different backgrounds and different points of view work together in an open atmosphere, it stimulates creative thinking and leverages collective knowledge and skills. It also creates a much larger talent pool to choose from. 

Integrity in Manufacturing Processes

Culture:

This starts with understanding the importance of diligence and good, open relationships with suppliers. Sound supply chain management requires thorough pre-selection screening, detailed specifications, monitoring, and contingency planning. It can't be all about just buying from the lowest cost source. That's often not the lowest total cost source in the long run if you include quality costs and out of stocks. 

Benefits:

As has recently become even clearer in the post-pandemic period, continuity of product supply is the lifeblood of a business. Having reliable, ethical suppliers you can trust makes that much more attainable. It also makes it easier to consistently produce quality products. 

Philanthropy

Culture:

While the primary duty of a company is to improve the lives of its customers, it can't do that successfully without improving the lives of the community at large as well. This can be particularly true during crises. Employees should feel that the company's responsibilities don't stop at the building's walls and take pride in helping those in need. 

Benefits:

Philanthropy identifies your company as being a responsible public citizen and an important part of the community and market within which you operate. It can help define your brand and increase your competitive advantage. And it also can improve company morale. 

Safety

Culture:

If Customer Care requires a culture of improving the lives of caregivers and the children they care for, product safety is essential. Nothing alienates customers more than feeling that a company has disregarded the safety of their children. Cutting corners with regard to design or inspection to save money should be unthinkable. 

But no company is perfect. No matter how thorough your quality processes are, something eventually is likely to slip through. When that happens, your actions should reflect the fact that the needs of your customer come first.

Benefits:

The benefits of product safety are obvious. Not only does your brand's reputation depend on it, but the real costs of poor quality in recall-related expenses including lost sales can be substantial. 

Sustainability

Culture:

A culture of sustainability is one where the focus is on long-term success not short-term results. It's also one where everyone thinks of themselves as having an opportunity to have a broad positive effect on the outside world today and in the future

Benefits: 

In my 2012 blog post called Is it Time to Fully Embrace Sustainability? https://www.jpma.org/blogpost/1280302/222461/Is-it-Time-to-Fully-Embrace-Sustainability?hhSearchTerms=%22time+and+fully+and+embrace+and+sustainability%22&terms= , I described three benefits from adopting sustainability as a company value. First, consumers - especially today's moms and dads - see sustainability as critical to the world they and especially their children will live in. Second, sustainability is just basic business common sense. It's a way to reduce costs and improve efficiency. And finally, operating sustainably with sensitivity to how your actions affect the community and the world around you is fulfilling a civic responsibility. 

Next Steps

The JPMA Core Values are not meant to be and shouldn't be your company's only values. Every company also needs values that help set it apart from competitors. Examples might be superior aesthetic design or superior understanding of child development. Or it might be values related to the organizational structure or treatment of employees. You'll need to determine what's best for your company.

As always, if you'd like more information or assistance regarding achieving your business and life goals or you just want someone to brainstorm, vent, or commiserate with, consider taking advantage of JPMA's Executive Mentor Program by scheduling a free videoconference session with me. I'd enjoy meeting you and helping you any way I can. Check the JPMA website fore more information or contact Reta Adler at radler@jpma.org.

Ron Sidman was the founder and CEO of The First Years, Inc. and former Vice Chairman of the JPMA Board of Directors. He is currently a business consulting resource for JPMA members and serves on the Advisory Board of the School of Entrepreneurship at Florida Gulf Coast University where he also mentors students.  Ron is also the founder and CEO of Evolutionary Success, LLC, a life and business coaching company.