Big companies start off with verve and energy and aspiration and incredible values that fuel their growth, then grow to the point that they’re no longer in tune with what really moved the enterprise forward in the first place.

It happened to McDonald’s, it happened to IBM, and it even happened to Apple and Nokia.

For long Nokia was considered one of the most innovative companies in the world. But now they are in trouble: Pride, complacency, timing, mismanagement – or a combination?

No company symbolizes precipitous growth better than Starbucks. But what happened to their culture? What went wrong? Watch the video:

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Social media has forced openness and transparency in businesses that was not possible before.

The power has shifted to the customer who can, if dissatisfied with the business, impact the business and brand very publically.

According to new research by Sage 22% of UK consumers would  complain to a company using social media when they receive a disappointing customer experience. However, only 40% had received an acknowledgement as a result. Maybe that’s because many businesses simply aren’t listening.

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There have been countless examples of businesses not understanding the power and speed that social media can turn something from minor irritation into full scale PR disaster.

Here’s an excellent example of the importance of responding to a social media crisis before it is too late.

A YouTube user uploaded a video of a FedEx delivery person throwing a video monitor into his/her yard.

“Here is a video of my monitor being “delivered”. The sad part is that I was home at the time with the front door wide open. All he would have had to do was ring the bell on the gate. Now I have to return my monitor since it is broken”

This YouTube video has created a social media storm of sorts and has been viewed over 6 million times for this one YouTube post alone.

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Corporate values shape the culture and define the character of our company. They guide how we behave and make decisions.

They represent the guiding principles of the organization’s culture, including what guides members’ priorities and actions within the organization. Values are an increasingly important component in strategic planning because they drive the intent and direction of the organization’s leadership.

You first need to define a set of values that are clear, realistic, and hopefully not copied from someone else.

Then, you need to develop a metric to measure the culture and see if the real values are consistent with your stated values:

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