04 Lisa Gralnek on brand-based, values-led strategy and growth

Lisa Gralnek is Founder and CEO of LVG & Co, a values-driven growth strategy firm. In this conversation Lisa explores brand-based, values-led strategy considerations for businesses seeking growth.

• Why getting back to your values and your customers' values is the most important thing, especially in times of change and uncertainty, and how values-led brands are better positioned to stay relevant in times of change,
• The difference between business decisions and values-led brand decisions
• The emphasis on growth over the past 10-20 years and the impact that prioritizing growth has on how you do business, and how it has led to toxic cultures for many companies
• How different organizations set goals and KPIs and why they're critical
• Why values are not just a feel good story to tell, they're an effective lens for innovation
• Why a company's values should not just parrot what they think customers want, and how context helps you make your values applied to be relevant
• How large brands like Walmart have stayed nimble in order to stay true to their core commitments and values
• How you measure success against you goals and your KPIs are not black and white, and they reflect what you value

References and Resources:

• LVG & Co
• The Gap Between Medium article by Lisa
• Consumer Goods Forum articles:
  • The Value of Values: Setting the Course
  • The Value of Values: Walking the Talk
• Quarantine Book Club - Mule Design Studio
• UN Sustainable Development Goals 2030
• BLab
• Thrive Global
• Let My People Go Surfing: The Education of a Reluctant Businessman--Including 10 More Years of Business Unusual by Yves Chouinard
• From Green to Gold by Harold Enrico
• Ishmael by Daniel Quinn
• Futerra Honest Generation

Select Highlights:

• "How do you measure success against your goals? That's why KPIs are critical. As they say what you measure grows."

• "Leadership is really where values come in. Values in themselves are leading principles and leadership needs to own them and infuse them through the organization in order for any of the other stuff to happen."

• "If we say values are our guardrails for decision making, values are also then our guide for action taking."