In the famous French story “The Little Prince,” a fox becomes the best friend of a young royal on a fictitious planet. When the fox must depart from the prince forever, he offers to tell him the world’s most wonderful secret if the prince meets certain conditions. The little prince agrees, does what is expected and then asks to be told the greatest secret.

“Only that which is invisible is essential,” the fox replies.

The most valuable things in life cannot be seen with the naked eye: love, friendship, hope, integrity, trust, compassion and values.

You can’t see values, touch them, taste them or smell them. Yet they are critical, intangible essentials that bring continuity and meaning to life.

And they are every bit as important for organizations as they are for individuals.

“It’s not hard to make decisions, once you know what your values are,” said Roy E. Disney.

The Walt Disney Company is the epitome of a values-driven organization. While it may be overshadowed by its retail prowess, its primary product is happiness. Its “Disney courtesy” concept is based on four key values: safety, courtesy, show and efficiency. Every one of its performance standards is based on these encompassing beliefs.

Defining your values is not just an academic exercise. “Clarifying your values is the essential first step toward a richer, fuller, more productive life,” said Carl Rogers, an American psychologist. Rogers is widely considered to be one of the founding fathers of psychotherapy research and was widely honored for his pioneering work.

If you want to clarify your own values, ask yourself these questions:

-- What do I believe in?

-- In what guiding principles can I become constructively obsessed?

-- What governs my life?

-- What do I stand for?

-- What puts meaning in my life?

-- What qualities are important for my life to be complete?

Hey, I never said this was easy! This is not a quick and dirty exercise. Values are not a spur-of-the-moment action. They are non-negotiable principles that guide our everyday lives. Your personal convictions, not those of others, determine how you live. You cannot separate personal value from personally held values.

Nor can you separate corporate value from corporate values. Customers and competitors should be able to see your values in action every day. Honesty, fairness, respect and trustworthiness are among values that should be front and center with every transaction.

The often-quoted Chinese philosopher Confucius wrote: “The rule of life is to be found within yourself. Ask yourself constantly, ‘What is the right thing to do?’ Beware of doing that which you are likely, sooner or later, to repent of having done.”

When you are in a position of having to repent, do it quickly and sincerely. That is another value that is essential to a good life: being able to admit mistakes and correcting them.

I will never forget when my good friend Lou Holtz was coaching Notre Dame in the 1989 Fiesta Bowl against West Virginia. His players learned a valuable lesson about their coach’s values that day, which resulted in a national championship.

Notre Dame was penalized on two consecutive plays for “taunting” the opposition. Despite knowing that his actions would bring another penalty, Holtz ran out on the field and asked the referee which of his players were doing the taunting, since this was before referees identified players by numbers. Then Holtz -- with a national TV audience watching -- grabbed the player and told him what was expected of him.

Holtz has always believed strongly in his players, but he demands that they follow his three simple values:

1. Do what is right. Be on time, polite, honest, remain free from drugs, and if you have any questions, get out your Bible.

2. Do everything to the best of your ability in the time allotted. Mediocrity is unacceptable when you are capable of doing better.

3. Show people you care.

Mackay’s Moral: Decide what you will stand for or you won’t have a leg to stand on.

Mark Twain once said, “I could live for two months on one good compliment.”

We all love to receive compliments. They make everyone feel better. It turns out studies show that compliments can also help people perform better.

In a study published in the journal PLOS One, researchers at Japan's National Institute for Physiological Sciences recruited 48 adults to perform a task that required them to tap items on a keyboard in a specific pattern. Then the adults were split into three groups. One group received personalized, individual compliments from one of the administrators of the study. Another group was forced to watch as other people received compliments. The third group was simply meant to evaluate how they did, as participants, on the test.

When the participants returned to the testing facility the next day, all the participants were asked to perform the keyboard test once again. The group that received personalized compliments performed better on the test that day than either of the other groups. Researchers believe that the compliments made them perform better.

According to the study, compliments activate the same region of the brain -- the striatum -- as cash does, and both encourage people to perform better. In other words, compliments may not buy your groceries, but they sure help.

Norihiro Sadato, one of the study authors, said, “To the brain, receiving a compliment is as much a social reward as being rewarded money. We've been able to find scientific proof that a person performs better when they receive a social reward after completing an exercise. There seems to be scientific validity behind the message ‘praise to encourage improvement.’”

Compliments are a powerful social and work-related tool. If you want to make a positive impression at work, be generous with compliments. Show appreciation to co-workers (and even your boss) for their good work. When giving compliments, the more specific you are, the better. This shows you notice the little things.

Compliments not only reassure people, they create positive energy, strengthen relationships and build trust. They are a sign of respect.

You don’t need to be an expert at giving compliments. You just need to be sincere and genuine. Many people know how to flatter, but few know how to praise. Sincere praise reassures individuals. It helps them neutralize doubts they have about themselves. Just remember, the sweetest of all sounds is praise. Silent gratitude isn’t of very much use to anyone.

At MackayMitchell Envelope Company, we are intensely grateful for customer referrals, which we consider to be the ultimate compliment. When customers are happy with our service and products, there is no better validation than for them to tell their friends.

Everyone likes a pat on the back and a hearty “well done.” But making praise a truly effective motivational tool requires a little planning. Like anything else, praise loses its effectiveness if it’s overused. On the other hand, ITS power is diminished if it’s underused.

The purpose of workplace praise is to improve productivity and reinforce positive behavior. Try to offer some sort of praise or positive feedback at least once a month. Give extra attention to new employees, those who seem to lack confidence or team members testing the waters with new assignments. Otherwise, focus on those making an extra effort, accomplishing a difficult task or exhibiting behavior you want others to emulate.

Don’t ignore the flip side of giving compliments. The givers benefit through improved moods, enhanced positivity and awareness.

Nearly 100 years ago, Charles M. Schwab was one of the first men to earn a million dollars a year working for someone else. Schwab was paid such a handsome amount largely because of his ability to deal with people.

Schwab described his secret: “I consider my ability to arouse enthusiasm among the men the greatest asset I possess, and the way to develop the best that is in a man is by appreciation and encouragement. There is nothing else that so kills the ambitions of man as criticisms from his superiors. I never criticize anyone. I believe in giving a man incentive to work. So, I am anxious to praise but loath to find fault. If I like anything, I am hearty in my approbation and lavish in my praise.”

A hundred years later, his advice still works for men and women alike.

Mackay’s Moral: As I’ve said a million times, little things don’t mean a lot -- they mean everything.

Life is funny, the saying goes. And when it isn’t funny, sometimes a sense of humor is what gets us through the tough periods.

Humor plays a special role at work. As critical as it is to take your work seriously, it is equally important to NOT take yourself too seriously.

Many years ago, a Fortune Magazine article talked about how executives should be funnier. I remember it well, because one of my biggest pet peeves is people who cannot laugh at themselves. The wonderful example the magazine used involved auto executive Eugene Cafiero.

When he was president of Chrysler, Cafiero went to England to meet with troubled employees at the company’s plant there. Conflict between management and union employees was tense. As Cafiero entered the plant he was confronted by a man who loudly said, “I’m Eddie McClusky, and I’m a communist.”

The composed Chrysler executive extended his hand and replied, “How do you do? I’m Eugene Cafiero, and I’m a Presbyterian.” The subsequent laughter squelched this potentially explosive confrontation.

“A sense of humor is the one thing no one will admit not having,” said Mark Twain. A good sense of humor helps to overlook the unbecoming, understand the unconventional, tolerate the unpleasant, overcome the unexpected and outlast the unbearable.

I like to say if you can’t take a joke, then you’ll have to take the medicine. That can be a bitter pill to swallow.

Think about the co-workers who you most enjoy working with: They typically have a good perspective on the importance of specific projects, get work finished on time, offer help when it’s crunch time, and keep a smile on their faces through it all. And they often manage to put a smile on your face too.

Humor can make unpleasant tasks more palatable. It can defuse difficult situations and improve already good relations.

I have a friend in a business that you would usually not associate with humor -- he’s a funeral director. He doesn’t joke around about the seriousness of his work, but he does encourage his clients to allow themselves to laugh and share humorous memories about their loved ones. He says it helps break the tension and brings comfort to a trying situation.

There is plenty of evidence to support the benefits of humor at work. In a new study, researchers from Harvard's Business School found that cracking jokes at work shows your employer an increased perception of confidence and competence.

The study shows that the most effective joke-tellers are more likely to be chosen as group leaders. Just make sure the jokes in the office are appropriate. Researchers found inappropriate jokes lead to a perception of low competence. In other words, avoid locker-room banter and personal insults. Those are never funny anyway.

The most difficult part of using humor at work is knowing where to draw the line. You can joke with a customer, but never about a customer. You can tease your co-workers, or even your boss, but when it gets personal or hurtful, you are in dangerous territory. Refer to the Golden Rule if you are wondering if your remarks are appropriate: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. If you have to ask someone, you already have your answer. No joke is funny if you are the only one laughing.

Here’s a great take on how one company used humor, as an April Fools' joke, to deal with requests for taking a day off:

-- There are 365 days per year available for work.

-- There are 52 weeks per year in which you already have two days off per week, leaving 261 days available for work.

-- Since you spend 16 hours each day away from work, you have used up 170 days, leaving only 91 days available.

-- You spend 30 minutes each day on coffee breaks; that accounts for 23 days each year, leaving only 68 days available.

-- With a one-hour lunch period each day, you have used up another 46 days, leaving only 22 days available for work.

-- You normally spend two days per year on sick leave. This leaves you only 20 days available for work.

-- We offer five holidays per year, so your available working time is down to 15 days.

-- We generously give you 14 days of vacation per year which leaves one day available for work and no way are you going to take it.

Mackay’s Moral: Humor is more than funny business.