Quick quiz: Can you recite your organization’s values from memory? More importantly, can your team? And even more crucially – do those values actually influence how decisions get made around here?
If you’re squirming a bit in your seat, you’re not alone. Most organizational values are about as inspiring as a grocery list and about as useful as a chocolate teapot.
But here’s the thing: when done right, values become the invisible force that guides every decision, attracts the right people, and creates the kind of culture where extraordinary things happen naturally.
So why do most values statements fail so spectacularly? And more importantly, how do you create ones that actually work?
Buckle up – we’re about to dive into the art and science of crafting values that matter.
What Values Actually Are (And Why They Matter)
Your organizational values aren’t just nice words to put on posters. They’re the fundamental beliefs and principles that shape your company’s culture, inform decision-making, and drive behavior.
Think of them as your organization’s DNA – the essential characteristics that make you distinctly you.
When crafted authentically and lived consistently, strong values:
- Guide decision-making at every level of your organization
- Attract and retain people who share your approach to work
- Differentiate you from competitors in meaningful ways
- Create consistency in how your team interacts with customers and each other
- Provide a framework for handling challenges and opportunities
But here’s the key: they must be authentic to your organization, not borrowed from a generic business template.
The Pattern Behind Authentic Values
Through facilitating hundreds of strategic planning workshops across diverse industries, I’ve discovered something fascinating: while every organization’s values are unique, they tend to cluster around 15 core themes.
These aren’t generic categories – they’re the authentic drivers I’ve seen teams repeatedly identify as essential to who they are and how they operate:
Most successful organizations I’ve worked with embrace 4-5 of these themes, typically including CUSTOMER SERVICE and TEAMWORK, plus 2-3 others that reflect their unique character and industry.
But here’s where it gets interesting: the magic isn’t in selecting these themes – it’s in how you express them in your own voice.
The Secret to Values That Actually Work
The difference between powerful values and corporate wallpaper isn’t the concepts themselves – it’s the creativity and authenticity with which you express them.
Let me show you what I mean with a real example from an organization that got it right:
E2M Environmental Consultants aligned their values with natural elements:
- PRISTINE (High Quality)
- FLOCK (Teamwork)
- STRAIGHT AND TALL (Honesty and Integrity)
- RELIABLE AS THE SUN (Customer Service)
- LIGHT-HEARTED (Fun)
These aren’t generic buzzwords – they’re creative expressions that reflect E2M’s unique character while addressing universal business needs.
From Values to Behaviors: Making It Real
Values without specific behaviors are like a GPS without turn-by-turn directions. You know where you want to go, but you have no idea how to get there.
This is where most organizations fall down. They create beautiful value statements and then… nothing. No guidance on what these values actually look like in action.
Let’s see how those creative values translate into specific behaviors:
E2M’s “PRISTINE” Value
- Who we are shines brightly
- Attention to detail matters
- Being consistent counts
- Near enough is never enough
- Innovation drives improvement
Notice how specific these behaviors are? They provide clear guidance on how team members should act, make decisions, and interact with each other.
Why Authentic Values Create Competitive Advantage
When your values are genuinely authentic and consistently lived, something remarkable happens: they become nearly impossible for competitors to replicate.
Anyone can copy your products, services, or even your strategy. But they can’t copy your culture. They can’t replicate the unique way your team thinks, decides, and acts together.
Your authentic values become your “secret sauce” – the differentiating factor that makes your organization distinctive in the marketplace and attractive to both customers and team members who share your approach.
The Values Integration Challenge
Creating great values is only half the battle. The real challenge is weaving them into the fabric of your organization so they guide actual behavior rather than just decorating your walls.
Successful integration requires embedding values into:
- Recruitment and hiring processes
- Onboarding and induction experiences
- Performance reviews and feedback
- Recognition and reward systems
- Decision-making frameworks
- Day-to-day operations and interactions
Remember: values that live only on posters are just expensive wall decorations.
Your Values Journey Starts Now
Most organizations settle for generic values that could belong to anyone. But you’re not most organizations. You have a unique culture, a distinctive approach, and specific strengths that deserve to be celebrated and leveraged.
The question isn’t whether you need strong values – you absolutely do. The question is whether you’re brave enough to create authentic ones that truly reflect who you are and who you aspire to be.
Your competitors can copy your strategy, replicate your services, and even poach your people. But they can’t copy your authentic culture expressed through genuinely meaningful values.
That’s your sustainable competitive advantage, waiting to be unlocked.
Ready to Craft Values That Actually Matter?
Creating authentic, powerful values requires more than brainstorming – it needs a systematic approach that uncovers what already drives your team and translates that into clear, memorable principles.