Choosing Our Company’s Core Value: Gastfreundschaft vs. Miteinander

All things wood or Holz is what we do but not why we do it! When the eyes of our men light up as they finally understand the tricks and strategies behind complex, long German words or learn how to work with the big machines, reminds us daily why we work here. The laughter of our men as they practice their new vocabulary and make all kinds of mistakes at first, is truly a joy. 

Being so value-driven like we are, I thought choosing our main Company Core Value would be easy. Boy, was I wrong. 

When I first started here at [p3], one of my first tasks was to name our Serie-Products. (the ones you find here) And this is why I wanted us to narrow down our values to our Company Core Values, in order for me to highlight them as I would start to write Copy for us, not only for product descriptions but all things social media. I loved the heart of [p3], but how can I narrow down what was most important, so the world would also know how we operate: From a place of respect, community, fun-perspective towards learning and future-focused sustainable strategies. Our company culture has always been unique and definitely a reason to smile on our way to work. 

One of my first ideas, which was highly valued and encouraged by a few other cooperations we had at the time, was the value of Gastfreundschaft or Hospitality. They also loved the idea that yes, we are the perfect definition of being hospitable. We have this guests from far away lands and we have opened up our “homes” for them, since we have started a company to make sure they are well-taken care of here, so that they can provide for their families. 

A home is something private, personal and a place to feel secure. So when you open your home to someone else, friends, is something truly special. You don’t know exactly how the guests will like your home, if they will take their shoes off or not when they enter the door, or if they will go straight to your refrigerator or maybe not air the bathroom after they leave it. Whatever your fear or pet-peeve with guests, a few partners at the time recommending us ideas for our soon-to-be-launched Advertising Campaign, definitely loved my idea and told us to run with it. 

After a few days, we met as a team and discussed further on this topic. We decided it was actually the worst idea. And i absolutely love to think back to that moment, because we put down into words what we stand up for and what we not stand up for. We realized that the definition of a guest suggests that they will eventually leave your house. They don’t have a say in the decoration or which furniture piece you order. If worst comes to worst, it will last a bit too long than you would like, but that is it. And this is exactly why, my friends, the idea of Hospitality as a Core Value is not something we do here at [p3]. 

We have decided our friends from the countries, where their future and homes has been taken away from them, are not just mere guests in the city where we live. We strongly believe their taste for life and the way they live and think is chance for us all! They are a plus in our society. Yes, they might need a different type of Education to get a stable job in Germany, but a lot of them are already fit in what they do. They might need some help with the language and transitioning to their new home, but their story of courage is inspiring and has taught them resilience. This is why we want them to be a part of our team, build furniture with us, tell us what they would like on our Menu when we eat together every day. We want to learn alongside them and from them.

But which value is exactly that? which value stands for all of this things? 

We have chosen Miteinander or WithEachOtherness, which is my personal favorite translation (haha!). We have amplified the original definition to fit what we are living out here at [p3]. And with our definition, my friends, I say, until next time :)

~Cynthia

Mit diesem Wert im Fokus möchten wir darauf aufmerksam machen, dass berufliche Integration Geflüchteter eine Chance für Alle ist.