Core Values

I’ve sat in more “core values” sessions than I can count.

Whiteboards full of words and phrases. Great discussions where participants feel engaged. Everyone aligned.

The words and phrases - Integrity - Accountability - Teamwork - Customer first.

Heads would not in agreement. Slides would get printed. Posters go up and slides added to screens.

And then - nothing! Nothing changes. Just the wall paper.

Why? Because core values aren’t proven in workshops. They’re proven in decisions. They show daily and their tested frequently. You see misalignment when a high performer violates a standard, a deadline is at risk, revenue is on the line, or a tough decision has to be made. If the values disappear under pressure then they were never values. They were decorations.

Establishing core values isn’t the hard part. Operationalizing them is. It means hiring against them, promoting against them, and letting people go when they violate them. It means allowing the values to have meaningful impact to the organization. Really believing in your values means measuring behavior and not just outcomes.

Values that aren’t executed on create cynicism. Values that are lived create culture.

It’s better to have three real values than ten laminated ones. Because people don’t read the poster. They read the behavior.