A deeply apologetic Akio Toyoda, CEO of the Toyota Motor Corporation, appeared before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee in February 2010 to address growing concerns regarding the safety of Toyota’s products. In his statement, Mr. Toyoda indicated that the company’s priorities “became confused”, with growth taking precedence over safety and employee training and development.

While many have sought to vilify Toyota as just another greedy automobile manufacturer, “confused priorities” seems to be a problem plaguing many other organizations, families and individuals as well.

Perhaps the problem isn’t so much that our priorities are confused but rather that they are misrepresented. The old adage that “actions speak louder than words” never really goes out of style. 

Much of the damage we see in today’s society is tied to the fact that while many of us verbalize one set of priorities and values, our actions are not consistent with what we say our priorities are.

For example, consider the mission statement of the scandal ridden Enron Corporation: Respect, Integrity, Communication and Excellence. While those priorities look good on paper, it is evident now that they did not represent Enron’s true priorities. 

While not as severe as the issues at Enron, my own experience with a disconnection between stated priorities and actual procedures at a large, Illinois based property and casualty insurance company is somewhat similar. 

Part of this insurer’s mission statement indicates that, “Our customers’ needs will determine our path,” which again looks great on marketing material and office plaques but doesn’t mesh with the endless discussions of how to “manage expenses,” “grow with profit” and “avoid litigation”, that slow the progress of every project to a snail’s pace and lead to stress, frustration and job dissatisfaction among the agency and employee groups.

“Family first” and “work-life balance” represent qualities touted as major priorities in the American workplace and yet stay-at-home moms and especially the even rarer stay-at-home dads, often describe being viewed by society in the suspicious and condescending manner previously reserved for ethnic minorities at the height of Jim Crow. 

In the United States, the 40 hour workweek is considered the gold standard, although in many industries and organization, there seems to be an unspoken expectation that employees will regularly work far longer hours in order to “get the job done.” 

By contrast, workers in many European enjoy significantly shorter work weeks. As a result, these employees suffer far less stress over the amount of “face time” they are scoring with their employers than their American counterparts.

The lack of paid vacation time in the United States is yet another example of the contradiction between Americans’ stated and actual priorities. Although we talk about the value of family togetherness, American workers average a dismal 13 days of paid vacation time per year which is half as many as our Canadian neighbors and only a third that of workers in European countries such as Germany, Italy and France.

We often hear America described as a “Christian nation.” Yet, a survey by the Muslims in the United States in the aftermath of 9-11 are truly shocking.

These examples seem to suggest that the problem is not connected to what we believe that we value but rather in our lack of follow through when it comes to the behaviors that support those values. 

Leandro Herrero, author of the book Disruptive Ideas perhaps puts it best, “Do more, talk less (and only talk after you do). Start with action, follow-up with words. People will see you doing something and then they will hear the rationale or the philosophy behind it.”