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Unlock the Secret to Crafting Compelling Core Values with This Step-by-Step Guide

Core values are vital to a company's identity, going beyond generic terms to embody unique, actionable principles. Here's how to craft the best ones.

BY BARRY RABER EDITED BY KARA MCINTYRE DEC 15, 2023

Key Takeaways

A strategic and inclusive approach with input from diverse company representatives can lead to authentic and meaningful values.

The process of establishing core values involves brainstorming, refining and integrating them into all aspects of the business for long-term success.

A man writing on sticky notes on a glass wall surrounded by colleagues in a modern office.

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ore values are the deeply ingrained principles that guide all of a company's actions; they serve as its cultural cornerstones. Creating core values is akin to sculpting the essence of a company's identity. It's a vitally important step in defining who your company is.

A large gray letter C on a plain background.

Your company's core values should be authentic and unique to your company — not something you'd find on a Hallmark card. No cookie-cutter values like trust or integrity (of course, you must be those things, but they don't differentiate your company).

As one of the most powerful parts of your business and the engine that drives it, taking the time to get core values right is critical.

Here are a few examples of core values done right:

We inspire five-star reviews
Dedicated (x1 million)
Foster happiness
Collaborate and share the credit
Clients rule and deserve awesomeness
Practice "wowism"

And, some that could use some work:

Authenticity

Balance
Fun
Liberation
Diversity
Graceful
Sincere

Part 1: Brainstorm individual-centric values

During these exercises, it is important to think in a broad sense, reaching beyond what you might traditionally think of as a personal value such as trust or respect. Values can be statements like, "We find the creative solution." So, think larger in scope as you answer the two sets of questions.

Start by forming an ad hoc core values committee of four to eight people. Include the top leaders and maybe a rep from each primary level or department. Choose people you think would represent the company culture if they were asked to travel on a delegation to Mars. Meet offsite for half a day to brainstorm a set of possible core value choices.

Each person gets a stack of Post-Its to jot down answers and post on the wall. Working individually, answer each of the following questions with as many good ideas as you can:

What values do the people in the room have in common?
What existing values and desirable behaviors do you see in the company and its current culture?
What shared attitudes and behaviors exist that you want to preserve?

Now that the wall is covered with good ideas, combine the concepts that are very similar in meaning. You don't have to pick one over the other — just put all related ideas on one Post-It.

Divide 100 total votes among you (so if there are five of you, 20 votes each), and hashmark your votes for the values you see as most important to the company. You can use all of your votes on one value or spread them around. Tally the votes to find the top 10 choices.

Part 2: Brainstorm business-centric values

Next, take a look at the company's tenets in previously created documents. These may include your vision or mission statement, strategic plan, core purpose or focus, "big hairy audacious goal" and brand promise.

Keeping the company's tenets top-of-mind, ask these questions:

What key non-negotiables are critical to the success of these things? If we are going to do or be that, we definitely have to _____________ all the time.
What guiding principles are core to how we need to operate to match these?
What behaviors must prevail to make it all happen?
What are the No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 things we need to consistently do or be to make this happen for our customers and team? And to deliver the value we are known for delivering to that customer?

Once again, group similar answers on one Post-it, vote and winnow down to the 10 best ideas.

You have arrived at a list of 20. Create a document with the list that the committee can access. Ask them to continue pondering which ones are the priority, plus next steps for defining each value and making them actionable.

Wait two weeks, then hold another half-day offsite where you will define, refine and select.

Part 3: The final cut

In this second session, put the list of 20 ideas up on the dry-erase board or wall. Follow these steps:

Narrow your list. This is the challenging part. Review your list, prioritizing values that are most essential and unique to your organization. Use the 100-point voting system for several rounds, discussion and re-votes if necessary — but get it down to six to 10.
Define each value. Write a clear, concise definition that explains what it means in practical terms. Use simple language anyone would understand.
Verb each value. Values should be actionable and behavioral, not vague statements or single words. For example, "Wow the client" or "We collaborate and share credit." Add verbs to inject action and wordsmith them a little to inspire and motivate.
Select the top four or five. Decide which ones stand out as stalwarts for the next 10 years. Values should be a balance between who your people are and how they act toward one another and actions that drive company growth while consistently delivering on your unique value proposition. It's a best practice to check your values for alignment with your other company tenets again during these final selections. Consider that you should be so committed to these values that you would fire people based on them and use them for all major company decisions. That may help you narrow the field.
Share the list with your whole team. Compile your "proposed values" and ruminate on them as a committee for a month. Include the definitions you created when you share them. Ask team members to share any tweaks or improvements, but make sure their suggestions resonate with the committee's intent. Remember: This is not consensus decision-making. It's ultimately about imposing a set of fundamental and strategic beliefs on the group.
Meet again in a month. This is the time to incorporate any adjustments to arrive at a set of values the committee feels strongly about. If you're not quite there, don't force it. Give it more time and meet again. You want to nail it.
Create a unique, branded document that showcases your new values and their definitions.

Congratulations: You've done it. The next step is deploying these dynamic core values into every part of your business.

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Barry Raber, is an Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) Member, CEO of Business Property Trust, a Portland, Oregon, company that owns and manages RV storage through Carefree Covered RV Storage and self-storage through Bargain Storage. He is also a thought leader who shares experiences for businesses at Real Simple Business.

FAQ: How to Create Compelling Company Core Values — A Step-by-Step Guide

What are company core values and why do they matter?

Core values are the deeply ingrained principles that guide every action a company takes. They serve as its cultural cornerstones — defining who the company is, how it behaves, and what it stands for in ways that go far beyond a mission statement or tagline. When core values are authentic and well-crafted, they become the engine that drives the business: shaping hiring decisions, informing strategic choices, setting the tone for customer interactions, and giving every team member a shared framework for how to act. Getting them right is one of the most important things a company can do.

What makes a core value "compelling" versus generic?

Compelling core values are specific, authentic, and unique to your company — things you wouldn't find on a generic list or a Hallmark card. They describe real behaviors and attitudes that exist (or that you want to exist) in your organization, and they're written in a way that's actionable and memorable. Generic values like "trust," "integrity," or "authenticity" fail this test — not because those qualities don't matter, but because every company claims them, which means they differentiate no one.

Examples of compelling core values:

"We inspire five-star reviews"
"Dedicated (x1 million)"
"Foster happiness"
"Collaborate and share the credit"
"Clients rule and deserve awesomeness"
"Practice 'wowism'"

Examples of weak core values:

"Authenticity"
"Balance"
"Fun"
"Sincere"

The difference is specificity, action, and personality. The good ones tell you something real about how the company operates. The weak ones could belong to anyone.

What is the step-by-step process for creating core values?

Barry Raber's process unfolds in three parts across two half-day offsite sessions and a month-long team review:

Part 1 — Brainstorm individual-centric values:

Gather a committee of four to eight people, meet offsite, and use Post-It notes to capture answers to questions about the shared values, existing behaviors, and attitudes you want to preserve. Vote using a 100-point system to identify the top 10.

Part 2 — Brainstorm business-centric values:

Using your existing company documents (vision, mission, strategic plan, brand promise, BHAG), ask what non-negotiables are required to achieve those things. Use the same voting process to identify another top 10. You now have a list of 20.

Part 3 — The final cut:

In a second offsite session two weeks later, use multiple rounds of voting and discussion to narrow from 20 to six to ten, then down to your final four or five. Define each value, verb it up to make it actionable, share with the full team for a month of feedback, meet one more time to finalize, and create a branded document.

Who should be on the core values committee?

A group of four to eight people works best. Include your top leaders and at least one representative from each primary level or department in the company. Raber offers a vivid filter for choosing members: pick the people you'd send on a delegation to Mars — those who most authentically represent the company's culture and what it stands for at its best. You want diverse perspectives, but you want them all to be credible ambassadors of what the company genuinely is.

Why should the core values process happen offsite?

The change of environment matters. When you meet in your regular workplace, the pressures and habits of the day-to-day creep in. People answer their phones, think about the afternoon's meetings, and default to the way things have always been done. An offsite location signals that this is different — it's dedicated, intentional time to think at a higher level about who the company is and wants to be. The quality of thinking that comes out of offsite sessions is consistently stronger than what happens in a conference room down the hall.

What is the 100-point voting system for core values?

The 100-point voting system is a structured way to build consensus without letting the loudest voice in the room win. The group divides 100 total votes equally among participants — so if there are five people, each gets 20 votes. Each person then distributes their votes among the options on the wall, putting all of them on one value if they feel strongly, or spreading them across several. After everyone votes, tally the hash marks to identify the top choices. The system surfaces genuine group priorities rather than manufactured agreement, and it works for multiple rounds of narrowing throughout the process.

What does it mean to "verb" your core values?

Verbing a core value means turning it from a passive noun or adjective into an active, behavioral statement. Single-word values like "excellence" or "collaboration" are easy to claim but hard to act on — they don't tell anyone what to actually do. Adding a verb transforms them: "We collaborate and share the credit" tells someone exactly what behavior is expected. "Wow the client" is a directive, not just an aspiration. Raber emphasizes that values should be actionable and behavioral — written in a way that inspires and motivates people to do something specific, not just be something vague.

How many core values should a company have?

The target is four to five final core values, selected from a narrowed list of six to ten. Fewer is better — a list of twelve values is a list no one will remember. Four to five carefully chosen, well-defined, actionable values are far more powerful than ten generic ones. They should represent a balance between who your people are and how they treat one another, and the actions that drive company growth and consistently deliver on your unique value to customers. These should be values you expect to stand for the next ten years.

What questions help brainstorm individual-centric core values?

During the first brainstorm, each committee member answers three questions using Post-It notes:

What values do the people in this room have in common?
What existing values and desirable behaviors do you see in the company and its current culture?
What shared attitudes and behaviors exist that you want to preserve?

The goal is to surface what's already true and good about the organization — the authentic behaviors and beliefs that already exist and that you want to codify and protect as the company grows.

What questions help brainstorm business-centric core values?

In the second brainstorm, the committee reviews existing company documents — vision and mission statements, strategic plan, core purpose, BHAG, brand promise — and then answers:

What key non-negotiables are critical to achieving these things?
What guiding principles are core to how we need to operate?
What behaviors must prevail to make it all happen?
What are the top three things we need to consistently do or be to deliver value to our customers?

This set of questions grounds the values in business strategy, not just personal preferences — ensuring the final values connect to how the company actually needs to operate to succeed.

How do you know when your core values are strong enough to keep?

Raber offers a powerful gut-check: you should be so committed to your core values that you would fire someone for consistently violating them, and use them as a lens for all major company decisions. If a value doesn't meet that standard — if it's more of a nice-to-have than a non-negotiable — it probably shouldn't make the final list. The best core values are the ones that would actually change a hiring decision, inform a strategic pivot, or resolve a conflict about how to handle a difficult customer situation.

How long does the core values creation process take?

Plan for approximately two months from start to finish. The first half-day offsite session covers Parts 1 and 2, resulting in a list of 20 candidate values. After two weeks of individual reflection, the committee meets for a second half-day to narrow, define, verb, and finalize. The proposed values are then shared with the full team for a month of input and feedback. A final meeting incorporates any adjustments and arrives at the finished set. Taking the time matters — rushing produces values that feel forced and don't stick.

What happens after core values are created?

The next step is deploying them into every part of the business. This means incorporating them into hiring and onboarding so new team members understand them from day one, using them in performance reviews and recognition programs to reinforce the behaviors they describe, referencing them in strategic decisions and all-hands meetings, and creating a unique branded document that showcases the values and their definitions in a way the whole team can rally around. Core values that live only in a slide deck are just words. Core values embedded into culture are a competitive advantage.