Defining a company or creative vision’s culture is one of the most important things you can to do to set yourself on the path to success, but it can be a challenge without real-world examples to draw from. Looking for a core values list to make it easier to write your own core values?
This post contains over 100 core values from 18 different companies, with the associated core value area identified for each. By the time you finish reading this post, you’ll be ready to download my free Core Values Worksheet and start writing your own core values today!
Why You Need Core Values
Research suggests an overlap between core values and business strategy, with the strongest correlation between core values and the following strategy areas:
Reputation – how do people inside and outside of your industry feel about your company or creative vision? Are you respected?
Recruitment / Retention – do people want to work with you?
Customer Loyalty – how do your customers feel about you? A sense of trustworthiness and a positive public image are what it takes to move dubious customers towards becoming committed customers.
Read about ten reasons you need core values for your startup or creative vision here!
For each company below, I have noted the area of each core value as identified by Booz and Allen and the Aspen Institute. Most companies include core values around ethical behavior / integrity, their commitment to customers, and their commitment to employees.
Below are the prevalence of core value areas identified by senior executives of 365 companies across 30 countries:
The Core Values List
For each company in the core values list, review their overall core values and identify how they resonate with you. See which areas each company focuses on. Do the core values help you identify with that company? Or do they make you wonder why the company thought it was a good idea to highlight these values and beliefs?
Please note: If you are in the process of drafting your own core values, I do not suggest you simply skim through the list below and try to cherry-pick those values you think are the “best” for your own creative vision or startup. Instead, really think about what is meaningful to you and your stakeholders!
If you would like to write your own core values, download my free Core Values Worksheet to walk you through identifying what is important to you and your stakeholders so you can draft powerful, authentic core values of your own.
According to Stephanie Vardavas, former Assistant General Counsel at Nike, “Nike’s core values are performance, authenticity, innovation, and sustainability. These are the drivers of substantially every business decision the company makes.”
Patagonia’s values “reflect those of a business started by a band of climbers and surfers, and the minimalist style they promoted. The approach we take toward product design demonstrates a bias for simplicity and utility.”
Zappos’ 10 core values “are more than just words, they’re a way of life.”
Core Value
Area
Deliver WOW Through Service
Commitment to customers
Embrace and Drive Change
Innovativeness
Create Fun and A Little Weirdness
Teamwork and trust
Be Adventurous, Creative, and Open-Minded
Teamwork and trust
Pursue Growth and Learning
Adaptability
Build Open and Honest Relationships With Communication
Honesty
Build a Positive Team and Family Spirit
Teamwork and trust
Do More With Less
Commitment to shareholders
Be Passionate and Determined
Drive to succeed
Be Humble
Teamwork and trust
Want to see the above list organized by core value area? Sign up below to get my free downloadable Core Values PDF delivered straight to your mailbox!
Is there a company whose core values you particularly appreciate? Or did I forget a company whose values you respect? Leave me a comment and let me know! – Lindsay
Core values are the fundamental beliefs of a person or organization. These guiding principles dictate behavior and can help people understand the difference between right and wrong. Core values also help companies to determine if they are on the right path and fulfilling their goals by creating an unwavering guide.
Universalism: broadmindedness; wisdom; social justice; equality; a world at peace; a world of beauty; unity with nature; protecting the environment; inner harmony. Benevolence: helpfulness; honesty; forgiveness; loyalty; responsibility; friendship.
Accountability: Each of us is responsible for our words, our actions, and our results. Respect: We value everyone and treat people with dignity and professionalism. Integrity: We build trust through responsible actions and honest relationships. Teamwork: We achieve more when we collaborate and all work together.
Excellence is striving to do more and be great even if that means making errors along the way. Great execution is certainly paramount, but when a person is learning, growing and evolving, mistakes will be made. The effort, will and desire to learn is excellence.
The universal values theory has identified 10 basic, motivationally distinct values that people in virtually all cultures implicitly recognize. The ten universal values are power, achievement, hedonism, stimulation, self-direction, universalism, benevolence, tradition, conformity and security.
Schwartz and colleagues have theorized and shown empirical support for the existence of 10 basic individual values (Schwartz, 1992; Schwartz and Boehnke, 2004). These are: Conformity, Tradition, Security, Power, Achievement, Hedonism, Stimulation, Self-Direction, Universalism, and Benevolence.
The four types of value include: functional value, monetary value, social value, and psychological value. The sources of value are not equally important to all consumers. How important a value is, depends on the consumer and the purchase. Values should always be defined through the "eyes" of the consumer.
Functional value is defined as the perceived utility derived from an alternative's capacity for functional, utilitarian, or physical performance, and emotional value is defined as the perceived utility derived from an alternative's capacity to arouse feelings or affective states (Sheth, Newman & Gross, 1991).
It's what allows us to learn, and from it, we iterate, adapt and generate new ideas. Success is equally important, and while it can lead to change which may be scary, our success is what will drive us forward, enabling us to deliver the energy of the future.”
That brings us to the three core values that are critical for developing great relationships: Wisdom, Performance and Love. ... The three steps were to:
Identify your core values.
Develop an ethos to practice your core values to create your culture.
Continually improve your core values, ethos and culture.
Core values are personal ethics or ideals that guide you when making decisions, building relationships and solving problems. Identifying the values that are meaningful to you can help you develop and achieve personal and professional goals.
Intimacy: to open up, reveal, and share myself- emotionally or physically in my close personal relationships. Justice: to uphold justice and fairness. Kindness: to be kind, compassionate, considerate, nurturing, or caring towards myself or others. Love: to act lovingly or affectionately towards myself or others.
There is no set rule on how many personal core values you should have. Ideally, you'll have enough to cover all the facets of your complex self, but not too many. You don't want to feel torn in too many directions. Most people settle on about five.
Core values inform your thoughts, decisions, and actions and help you align your career or life path to what's important to you. They're the essential foundation in finding your life purpose, because they remind us – and others – who we truly are.
Our core values make us who we are. As we change and grow, the beliefs that are most important to us stay the same—putting people first, pursuing excellence, embracing change, acting with integrity and serving our world. Being part of Marriott International means being part of a proud history and a thriving culture.
These are called our deepest values — the guiding principles that are largely responsible for the decisions that we make each and every day. Our deepest values are the core building blocks of who we are. They embody the type of person we believe ourselves to be and determine how we interact with the world around us.
The Value of Success. Success is relative to the person who has succeeded. It may mean different things to different people, but the way we earn success all requires the same amount of hard work. Success happens when you have achieved what you set out to achieve.
Core values are personal ethics or ideals that guide you when making decisions, building relationships and solving problems. Identifying the values that are meaningful to you can help you develop and achieve personal and professional goals.
They help to determine what a person prioritizes, who they want to be, how they live their lives and how they interact with their community. Understanding more about values can help you identify what's most important to you in your future career and help employers to determine whether your values align with theirs.
A values statement should be memorable, actionable and timeless. The format of the values statement depends on the organizations; some organizations use one, two or three words to describe their core values while others provide a short phrase.
Introduction: My name is Duane Harber, I am a modern, clever, handsome, fair, agreeable, inexpensive, beautiful person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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