The Encouragement Manifesto
This article is our first expression of the values which underpinned our small business for nearly 5 years. We finally wrote them down and created The Encouragement Manifesto. We then asked some folk who we respect, and who live and work in the same way, to select one of the principles that strikes a chord with them and to write for us about it. We are gathering the articles here, in a Medium publication called ‘The Encouragement Manifesto’
We have been asked — a lot — what it is that we do.
People seem to like knowing that sort of stuff. It was easy when we had jobs with titles, or when we created a high street delicatessen. They are the ‘things’, the reference points.
What if what you do is more about a style; a way of behaving? How do you describe the nature of what you want to be rather than the ‘thing’ that you are? Well, that got us thinking. In our post-delicatessen days, who is it that we want to be? Who have we been in our small business life and does it translate into the kind of approach we want to take going forward? Is it something that folk are even interested in?
We had some values.
We never wrote them down, but without thinking too much about it, these values became the code we worked to; there was an underlying manifesto. Nothing revolutionary. Nothing to startle the horses. Probably, statements of the obvious really. But they are the principles that our customers grew to trust and they were the basis upon which folk tuned in to the recommendations we made or the signposts we gave them.
So, perhaps we do have a list after all.
Let’s call it ‘The Encouragement Manifesto’.
- Stay Optimistic.
- Focus on Positives.
- Be Kind.
- Celebrate Others.
- Create Community.
- Be Consistent.
- Value not Price.
- Share Inspiration.
- Be Generous.
- Be the Pebble in the Pond.
