Core Values

Respect and Empathy

At DeskMakers, we show respect and empathy towards our customers, our suppliers, and our fellow employees. This means we listen intently to the points of view of others, and always show these points of view the utmost of respect, particularly at times of disagreement.

In his bestselling 1989 book “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People”, Stephen Covey’s 5th habit was “Seek First to Understand, then be Understood.” This means that if somebody states a concern or makes a complaint, we should first seek to understand and empathize with their point of view, without being defensive. Only after we’ve demonstrated our respect and empathy toward the other person’s point of view should we seek to make our point of view understood as well.

Honesty and Forthrightness

Honesty and forthrightness are necessary for effective communication. Only by sharing facts, thoughts, and opinions can we make optimal decisions.

Being honest reduces the likelihood that DeskMakers will over-promise and under-deliver. We do not say “we’ll try” when we know the likelihood of success is low. In such situations it’s better to give a firm promise that we know we can fulfill rather than say “we’ll try” and set ourselves and our customers up for failure. When dealing with customers, our mantra should be “no surprises”.

Often it’s difficult to be honest and forthright as we are scared of the reactions of others, but if we first practice showing respect and empathy (see value #1), being honest and forthright become much easier.

Teamwork

We seek to work closely with others in a spirit of partnership and with a win-win attitude. We also pitch in to help fellow employees even when the work doesn’t fall under our job description.

By working together as a team, we can make our work more gratifying and accomplish far more than we ever can as individuals.

Accountability (Own It)

Each of us can make a difference by holding ourselves accountable for the company’s successes and failures. When we see a problem, we don’t meekly wait for someone else to fix it. We speak up. We “own it”, by raising our concerns to fellow employees and working with others to develop a solution.

Innovation

Business is like a shark – it’s either moving forward or it’s dying. We can never be complacent and should always be seeking new and better ways to get things done.

DeskMakers’ employees are encouraged to innovate, even though not all innovations are successful. In fact, we believe that occasionally making mistakes is a key part of innovation, and we can use mistakes as opportunities to learn and grow. Finally, it’s important that many innovations come from the bottom up and not just from the top-down.

Laughter

Being able to laugh at ourselves and not take our work too seriously makes the day fly by faster. It also makes us better at all the other core values listed above.

And remember, it’s only office furniture!