16 Tips for Defining and Implementing Core Company Values
Navigating the intricacies of corporate culture can be a complex endeavor, but defining and implementing core company values doesn't have to be. This article demystifies the process with practical tips drawn from seasoned industry experts, ensuring that values become more than just words on a wall. Discover how to weave the essence of your company's identity into the fabric of everyday operations, unlocking the full potential of a value-driven organization.
- Run Simple Exercise to Identify Core Values
- Embed Values in Daily Business Practices
- Use Anonymous Surveys to Gather Employee Feedback
- Lead by Example in Demonstrating Core Values
- Align Core Values with Long-Term Vision
- Identify Existing Values Within Organization
- Reflect Founding Principles in Core Values
- Define Values Based on Reality, Not Aspiration
- Incorporate Core Values into Hiring Process
- Ensure Values Are Reflected in Company Operations
- Start From Within to Define Core Values
- Ensure Employees Are Motivated and Energized
- Revamp Generic Values to Be Clearer
- Lead by Example to Reinforce Core Values
- Embrace Exploration for Professional Growth
- Make Values Actionable and Integrated
Run Simple Exercise to Identify Core Values
I have a really simple exercise I run clients through when it comes to developing their core values. Even for an organization with 3-4 people, this process works. First - have your leadership team gather and come prepared to talk about employees they would like to clone if they could. When you get together, have each leader think of 1 employee (I know we don't play 'favorites' BUT, if we did, think of their favorite employee). Give them around 5 minutes to write down the traits, behaviors, and skills of that person that are top-notch. Then, as a group, either use a word cloud or an Excel doc to capture all of the words written about these A players. Look for key themes, and ideally, land on 3-5 key themes that become your core values. Because it's 2025, don't forget to engage AI in the process. You can take your top key themes, throw them into AI, and ask it to give you 3-5 core values based on the identified traits. And voila - it's simple, but more than just words on a wall because these values encapsulate the behaviors of your actual employees, so you've got specific examples you can share to motivate and inspire your team.
Embed Values in Daily Business Practices
Defining and implementing core values is about making them a natural part of your business, not just words on a website. From my experience running Ozzie Mowing & Gardening, I've found that core values need to be reflected in every customer interaction and business decision. When I started my company, I knew I wanted integrity, reliability, and expert knowledge to be at the heart of everything we did. But those values only became real when I made them part of our daily work. For example, I won a customer service award because I prioritized clear communication, honest pricing, and showing up on time, simple but powerful ways to build trust. My qualifications in horticulture and years of hands-on experience allowed me to not only provide expert service but also educate clients on their gardens, reinforcing the value of expertise in my business. By making sure my team shares these values and acts on them, they have become more than just ideas, they define the way we operate.
If a company is struggling with core values, my advice is to focus on action, not just words. Identify what truly matters to you and embed those values into your processes and customer interactions. For instance, if quality service is a value, make sure every employee understands what that looks like in practice and holds themselves accountable to it. In my case, I personally train my team to ensure they meet the high standards I've set based on my experience. Consistency is key, if you commit to certain values, live by them every day, and make sure your customers notice the difference. Over time, these values will become second nature and a strong foundation for your company's reputation.
Use Anonymous Surveys to Gather Employee Feedback
Highlighting company values on corporate websites, plaques, signs and even founder table books are often just window-dressing. With AI, automation and the complexities of the global market, it's important to understand how your employees feel in this new working environment. After all, they're also the company's ambassadors.
A tactic I've used is creating anonymous surveys for employees who are asked about the company, its principles, culture, leadership, their feelings about work, salary, work-life balance and more. This exercise helps the company understand how it's perceived and whether its purpose and mission are aligned with what its employees value. Whether you agree or not, it's valuable data to continue the discussion.
Lead by Example in Demonstrating Core Values
Defining and implementing core values starts with understanding what truly matters to your business and ensuring those values guide every decision. In my over 20 years of experience running Ponce Tree Services, I've learned that core values aren't just words on paper, they need to be reflected in daily operations. One key piece of advice is to lead by example. If integrity, customer service, and quality are your core values, you have to demonstrate them consistently. For instance, we prioritize customer relationships by offering honest assessments rather than upselling unnecessary services. That commitment to transparency has not only built trust but also led to long-term customer loyalty and word-of-mouth referrals, which are critical for small businesses.
A great example of how core values shaped our success was during a major storm cleanup in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Many companies rushed in to take advantage of the situation, charging inflated prices and cutting corners. We stuck to our values, fair pricing, safety, and reliability. As a certified arborist with TRAQ certification, I ensured our team assessed tree risks properly and educated homeowners rather than just removing trees for profit. This approach earned us repeat business and referrals, reinforcing the importance of staying true to our principles even in high demand situations. When your core values align with your actions, customers recognize it, and that builds a strong, sustainable business.
Align Core Values with Long-Term Vision
A company struggling to define or implement its core values needs to start by aligning them with its long-term vision and the behavior it wants to see in its team. One key piece of advice I would offer is to make core values actionable rather than just aspirational. Many companies list values like "integrity" or "innovation," but if they are not embedded into daily decision-making, they become meaningless words on a website.
I once worked with a business that had strong values on paper but struggled with implementation. The breakthrough came when leadership started tying those values to hiring, performance reviews, and company-wide recognition. Employees who demonstrated the values were highlighted in meetings, and decision-making processes were filtered through them. This made them real and part of the culture. Companies should consistently reinforce values through communication, leadership behavior, and real-world applications to ensure they are more than just empty statements.
Identify Existing Values Within Organization
When a company struggles with defining or implementing its core values, it's often a signal of deeper disconnects within leadership or between leadership and employees. From my experience, one critical piece of guidance is to focus on uncovering values that already exist within your organization's DNA, rather than inventing aspirational ones. This means actively engaging stakeholders at all levels to discuss and identify moments when teams felt aligned with the mission and proud of their contributions. These stories will reveal the inherent values that should form the backbone of your cultural framework.
Once you've identified these values, the challenge is embedding them into the daily operations. Values must guide everyday decisions, be evident in leadership conduct, and be reinforced with recognition and rewards. They're not just ideals; they need to be reflected in every interaction and decision, fostering an environment where everyone is aligned around the same principles.
From what I've observed, a recurring issue in organizations is the disconnect between strategic planning and leadership execution. Executives may reach consensus on values and strategy "in the room," but fail to embody and communicate these consistently across the organization. This inconsistency can cause significant disconnects among employees who are struggling with mixed messages about goals and priorities. Even small differences in messaging can reverberate down the org chart to create significant conflict for employees who must collaborate on cross-functional initiatives. To help prevent this, leadership must visibly practice and champion these core values, ensuring they resonate authentically and are naturally woven into the fabric of daily work. This consistent embodiment strengthens alignment and fosters effective collaboration, bridging the gap between strategy and execution, and ensuring that values are not just words on a wall but a lived reality.
Reflect Founding Principles in Core Values
One key piece of advice I would offer to a company struggling to define or implement its core values is to start by looking inward at the company's founding principles and the behaviors that have contributed to its success. Core values are not just words on a wall—they should reflect the company's culture and purpose. As a founder myself, I've always ensured that Level Up PR's core values resonate deeply with our team's actions and the outcomes we deliver to clients.
I recommend holding open, honest discussions with your team to gather their input on what truly defines your company's mission. You'll often find that the values have already emerged organically through the work and relationships you've built. Once those values are identified, ensure they are communicated clearly and consistently across all levels of the organization. They should guide not only your internal culture but also the way you engage with customers, partners, and prospects.
The most important thing is to lead by example. When leadership consistently embodies these values, they naturally become ingrained in the company's daily operations, making them more authentic and impactful.
Define Values Based on Reality, Not Aspiration
If a company is struggling to define or implement its core values, my first question is always: are these values actually real, or just words on a wall? Because if they don't mean anything in practice, they're pointless!
In my experience, the biggest mistake businesses make is picking values they think sound good rather than ones that truly reflect how they work. You don't need to force "integrity" or "excellence" if that's not what actually drives your business. Instead, look at what already exists - how decisions get made, how people interact, what behaviors are rewarded (or tolerated). Your values should describe what's already true at your best, not what you wish was true.
Once you've got real, meaningful values, the next challenge is embedding them. And this is where most companies fall flat. You can't just whack them on a PowerPoint slide and expect everyone to care!!
Values have to be lived; baked into hiring, performance reviews, decision making, and even how you handle tough conversations. If "collaboration" is a value, but senior leaders make every decision in a vacuum, it's meaningless. If "innovation" is a value, but people get shot down for trying something new, it's a joke.
So, my key piece of guidance? Be brutally honest! Define values based on reality, not aspiration. Then, hold yourself accountable for making sure they show up in everyday business decisions. Because if leadership isn't walking the talk, don't expect anyone else to either.
Incorporate Core Values into Hiring Process
I'll never forget our first "bad" hire as a small business. It happened right around the time when we would need two cars to take our whole company to lunch, and the hire had a significant impact on dividing our company culture. The new hire ended up committing a fireable offense, for which we did decide to proceed with employment termination.
The key learning lesson? We didn't have any company core values identified to help guide our hiring decisions! After the employee's departure, our team created five core values, and they've remained central to our culture and how we evaluate talent ever since.
To avoid hiring nightmares, get clear on company core values and incorporate them into the interview process. By sticking to company core values, organizations can attract and retain the best talent to accomplish key objectives.
Ensure Values Are Reflected in Company Operations
It's easy to come up with a list of ideal values, but if those values don't show up in how the company works, interacts with customers, or treats its employees, then they're just words on paper. Think of it like a person claiming to value honesty but always cutting corners. People notice when there's a gap between what's said and what's done. A core value needs to be more than a slogan, it should be reflected in every part of the company's operations. If you want your employees to embody these values, they need to see leadership actively practicing them, not just talking about them. When defining or implementing core values, the biggest mistake companies often make is trying to do it all at once. Trying to force values into every department or project can feel rushed and artificial. Instead, focus on one or two values, and implement them deeply within a specific area first. When defining core values isn't a quick fix, it's a continuous effort. When values are truly embedded in our culture, we build stronger relationships with customers and employees, and our company stands out for all the right reasons.
Start From Within to Define Core Values
Personally, I believe that core values are intrinsic to a company's identity. I recall working with a women's fashion retail client who was struggling with this. My advice? Start from within. Understand your team, your products, and what you truly stand for. This introspection is often the first step to clearly defining and implementing core values that resonate with your brand's identity.
Ensure Employees Are Motivated and Energized
If demotivation is an issue among your people, it will be challenging to help them align with company values. Demotivated employees are essentially "fighting" for enough energy to get through the day--much like driving a car with the gas tank near empty. You might have been focused on the journey, but suddenly, your priority shifts to finding the nearest gas station. This is exactly how demotivated employees feel.
To foster alignment with company values, we need to ensure that our employees' "tanks" are full--that they have enough motivation and energy to spare. Companies with thriving, aligned cultures are those where employees have the energy and drive to contribute meaningfully.
Revamp Generic Values to Be Clearer
If your company is struggling to implement its goals, ask yourself if they're defined explicitly and well enough. Too many organizations have 'core values' that are pretty generic and easily forgotten. Try revamping what's already been put in place to be clearer or maybe go back to the drawing board. Measurable values would be beneficial but make it something that you and your staff genuinely believe. This makes your values easy to implement subconsciously. If you have generic values, your customers will have a generic experience.
Lead by Example to Reinforce Core Values
Defining and implementing core values starts with clarity and consistency. A company must first understand what truly matters to its mission, employees, and customers. Core values shouldn't just be words on a wall, they need to be actionable, guiding every decision and interaction within the business. My key piece of guidance is to lead by example. If leadership doesn't embody the values daily, employees won't either. Values should be woven into hiring, training, and performance reviews to ensure they are not only understood but lived. Transparency and communication are also crucial. Regularly reinforcing these values through meetings, recognition programs, and internal storytelling helps keep them alive within the company culture. At The Alignment Studio, I saw firsthand how defining strong values could transform a business. When I took over Collins Place Physio, I realized the clinic needed a clearer identity. I used my 30 years of experience in physical therapy and business leadership to redefine the culture, placing patient centered care, collaboration, and continuous learning at the heart of everything we did. This wasn't just about writing down values; we embedded them into our daily operations. We revamped our hiring process to ensure new team members aligned with our principles, implemented ongoing professional development, and fostered a supportive team environment. This shift created a more engaged workforce and significantly improved patient outcomes. When we transitioned to The Alignment Studio, these values became the foundation for a truly integrated, multidisciplinary approach to health, setting us apart in the industry.
Embrace Exploration for Professional Growth
There's a natural urge early in our careers to define ourselves professionally as quickly as possible. However, it's crucial to remember that professional growth is a journey, not a destination. It's a time to build experience, forge connections, and continuously learn.
I can certainly relate to the pressure to excel from the get-go. In my early days, I spread myself too thin across various roles and ventures. Focusing on my strengths and finding what truly empowered me ultimately led to a greater impact in each position.
My advice? Embrace exploration. Don't let the fear of failure paralyze you. Take initiative, learn from experience, and celebrate both wins and setbacks. Explore roles that align with your passions, even if they seem less practical, alongside those that provide a career boost. This proactive approach, with its fair share of early failures, will ultimately guide you to your ideal career path more efficiently than staying stagnant.
Make Values Actionable and Integrated
In my experience, core values must reflect the true culture of the company, not just aspirational ideals. I involved employees at all levels in defining our values, ensuring they resonated with the team. One key piece of guidance: make sure the values are actionable and integrated into daily operations. They should guide decision-making, not just be displayed on a wall. When values are lived, not just stated, they become a powerful tool for aligning teams and driving success.
