Let me guess what's hanging in your conference room right now:
"Integrity." "Excellence." "Innovation." "Teamwork."
Maybe you got fancy and added "Customer Focus" or "Collaboration."
Or perhaps you went for the "edgy" approach: "Get Shit Done." "Work Hard, Play Hard." "Family First."
Congratulations. You've just told the world absolutely nothing about how to actually work at your company.
The Generic Company Values Starter Pack
Here's the thing that drives me insane: You could swap your values with your biggest competitor and nobody would notice.
"We value honesty." (As opposed to what, fraud?)
"We get shit done." (What workplace doesn't need things done?)
"We're like family here." (Which family? The Kardashians? The Mansons?)
"Innovation is our core strength." (Along with every other company founded after 1990?)
These aren't values. These are the business equivalent of saying "I like nice things and good weather."
Why Your Values Are Actually Useless
I've been designing and implementing functional values for over 18 years, and I can tell you exactly why your values don't work: They're describing what you should already be doing, not what addresses the specific idiosyncrasies of your business.
Real values answer the question: "When my team doesn't know what to do and I'm not there, what guides their decision?"
If your values can't do that, they're just expensive motivational posters.
The Values That Actually Work
Let me tell you about one of our values: "We are passionate, and in tough times, we fight."
Sounds different from "Excellence," doesn't it?
Here's why we created it: I run a small business. People who work for me are working for an entrepreneur (bless them). When you're in a small company, it's stressful. Too much work? Everyone's stressed. Not enough work? Everyone's stressed. One person calls in sick? The whole machine wobbles.
That's the reality of our business.
I also want to work with passionate people - that's just me. I want to be around people who are inspired by life. But I understand that we can't be passionate every day because sometimes it sucks and sometimes, I don't want to be there either. But what we do in those times is we fight.
So instead of pretending it's not stressful, we built a value around it.
When things get tough (and they will), I can (and have) pull my team together and say, "Hey, it’s times like this that we fight! Here’s a chance to really use our value”.
Values Should Come From Your Weaknesses
Here's what nobody tells you: Build your values from where you're most weak or what makes your industry particularly difficult.
Not from what sounds good in a LinkedIn post.
Ask yourself:
- What specific challenges does our industry create?
- What behaviors do we need more of when pressure hits?
- What decisions do people struggle with when I'm not around?
- What makes our environment different from other jobs?
Those answers become your values.
Stop Making Values Everyone Can Love
The biggest mistake I see? Leaders trying to create values that sound impressive but don't actually help anyone do their job better.
Values aren't marketing copy. They're not meant to look good on your website or make everyone feel warm and fuzzy.
They're tools. And like any tool, they should solve specific problems your business faces.
Good values should give your team clear guidance when they're stuck. They should make decisions easier, not harder.
If your values can't do that - if they're just inspirational words that everyone nods along with but never actually uses - then they're not tools. They're decorations. And decorations don't help anyone get work done.
The Values Audit You Need
Right now, look at your current values and ask:
- Could our competitor post these exact same values? (If yes, they're worthless)
- Do they help people make specific decisions? (If no, they're fluff)
- Do they reflect the actual challenges of working here? (If no, they're fantasy)
- Can I tell stories about using them in real situations? (If no, they're unused)
Your Values Renovation
Stop asking "What do we want to be known for?"
Start asking "What specific behaviors do we need more of?"
Stop thinking "What sounds impressive?"
Start thinking "What actually helps people navigate our reality?"
Stop creating values for your website.
Start creating tools for your team.
Because at the end of the day, values aren't about looking good to outsiders. They're about helping your people make good decisions when you're not around.
And if your current values can't do that, they're just expensive wall art that everyone politely ignores.
P.S. - If you just read your values and thought "but ours really ARE different," try this test: Can you tell me a specific story about a time when your values helped someone on your team make a decision or move forward when they were stuck? If you can't think of one, your values aren't working tools - they're just nice words that sit unused.
