Our Values

Commitment to the Organization
While we strive to address the needs of each customer we serve, we do so in the context of the interests of the larger organization. We always take actions, and make recommendations and decisions, that are in the best interest of the University of Missouri as an organization. We recognize that we must constantly balance the need to be flexible with the need to be consistent, and we are guided in each decision by a commitment to do the right thing.

Innovation & Leadership
We are innovators. We constantly challenge our own assumptions and practices. We are always in an opportunistic mode. We look outside ourselves for good ideas and ways to add value to the University. We are proactive in helping our customers recognize and anticipate their own needs. We are generous with our talent and our time. We recognize that "...where there is no leadership, society stands still. Progress occurs when courageous, skillful leaders seize the opportunity to change things for the better."*

Continuous Improvement
We are committed, in our philosophy and methods, to continuously improving the quality of the services we provide to our customers and to the organization. We recognize that our success will be measured in the accomplishment of that goal.

Unquestioned Integrity
We observe the highest standards of professional ethics. We respect the confidence of our customers and the confidentiality of the information with which we are entrusted. We exercise unimpeachable stewardship of the University's resources. We recognize that the credibility of our organization hinges on our integrity.

Synergy
We recognize that the whole is more than the sum of its parts -- that as a team, we are collectively smarter, wiser, more creative, more productive, and more interesting than any of us is individually. Therefore, we value and take advantage of the diversity of background, knowledge, culture, and experience that each individual brings to the table of our organization. Further, we see ourselves as facilitators of collective strength and partnership -- within our organization, within the University, and within the larger community in which we exist. We recognize that we grow and find reward -- personally and professionally -- in the achievement of collective excellence.

Grace Under Pressure
We enter every interaction with grace and respect for others. We listen openly and sincerely. We exhibit composure, courtesy, professionalism, and concern. We aim always to exceed expectations. When we fall short of our customers' -- or our own -- expectations, we have a recovery strategy that not only restores, but strengthens, our relationships. We recognize that perceptions are reality in the eyes of others, and that we are judged on their perceptions.

*Harry Truman, 1959