“Positive culture comes from being mindful, and respecting your co-workers, and being empathetic.” – Biz Stone
Having a clear set of core values will guarantee that all your employees(regardless of the level) are invested in and working towards the same goal. You cannot do business without establishing what you stand for.
Your core company values embody your company’s culture and will undoubtedly impact your business strategy. They are also a factor that helps in employee collaboration and improves motivation and engagement.
In the following article, we will discuss this topic by ensuring we give you all the relevant information, such as the definition of company values, the importance of establishing them, and tips on how to define them. We will also offer and develop some great examples from other companies and the top company values words list.
Contents:
Company core values are the principles that govern the way you do business. They summarize what your organization stands for and greatly impact the organizational culture.
A clear set of core values will differentiate you from the competition.
Moreover, they enhance the cohesion among the organization and generate a better level of engagement for your employees.
Your business plans and strategy may change over time. Still, the company values will remain the same, and you need to consider them when making strategic decisions for your business.
Company values are not just words, nice to have on your website and internal documents. These statements can drive change and innovation, so make sure you focus on them.
Remember that the company values work closely with the mission and vision as part of the strategic action plan.
If you don’t have company values, it’s very difficult to know what you want to achieve and what steps you should be taken. Let’s see how can a set of core values make your company successful:
All in all, it’s pretty obvious that the company values impact all areas involved in your business, from the development of your product/service, to the sales strategies, the employer branding aspect, and the customer experience your end up offering.
"Values are like fingerprints. Nobody's are the same, but you leave 'em all over everything you do." – Elvis Presley
Every company must have well-defined core values to establish a strong, purpose-driven culture. Here are the key steps that you can follow to design your company's core values:
Begin by assessing your company's culture, mission, vision to understand the starting point. The analysis will help you identify the gaps that need to be addressed and the areas that need improvement.
Involve employees and stakeholders to gather diverse perspectives and ensure collective buy-in. Analyze feedback for prevalent themes of attributes needed. With our goals set, this shows qualities important for how we'll work together and behave.
Align core values with your company's purpose and vision to create a meaningful foundation. Fit themes into precise values statements aligned with our strategic direction. We translate qualities into 2-4 high-level, memorable values directly tied to accomplishing our mission.
Identify specific behaviors and beliefs that exemplify your desired culture and reflect the company's identity. Socialize draft values with leadership for assessment. Get feedback from executives on how the values exemplify our culture and how attainable they'll be.
Prioritize and articulate the most important values clearly to ensure understanding and alignment across the organization. Communicate the core values consistently to reinforce their importance. Incorporate any adjustments and finalize the values. After carefully considering all input, we lock in values written in a way that inspires people.
Roll out values training enterprise-wide. Educate all employees on the values of how we operate as one team united around our shared purpose. Recognize and reward demonstrated behaviors. Spotlighting those modeling the values reinforces their importance in driving our long-term success.
Following these five steps, you can design core values that reflect your company's identity, guide decision-making, and foster a positive and purpose-driven culture. Identifying your core values will help you attract and retain top talent and enable you to achieve your business objectives easily.
The legendary founder of Apple, Steve Jobs, has a great way of speaking about values. Check it out.
Not many companies have identical core values, but sometimes it’s easy to spot similar aspects since having a good set of values comes down to the same principle: doing the right thing. Nevertheless, some values are found in many companies simply because they focus on the employee or the customer. It’s basically the same concept everyone wants to concentrate on. Some of the most common core values include:
There are so many impressive companies that can be a true inspiration and should be a point of start when creating a set of values. We will check several of the best examples, and we encourage you to find the others you believe are great at this!
Update: Since the examples core company values started to be popular, we introduced new ones: within categories technology, pharma, education, fashion, energy, entertainment, consulting, advertising, fintech, insurance and more. Check them out below.
Let’s start with the core values of the top 10 Technology companies by market cap as of 2024:Apple Inc. is best known for developing the iPhone, iPad, and Mac computers. The company founded by Steve Jobs has a strong cult-like following, however, its shared values are not very much advertised. If you look at the list below, you will discover some are very well-crafted and super-inspiring values.
The corporate values of Microsoft align to it's mission, are supported its culture, and serve as a declaration of how Microsofts treat each other, customers, and partners.
Nevertheless, if we look at a separate page, the values are a bit different and maybe more distinctive.
Google (also known as Alphabet) has 9 products with more than 1 billion users: Search, Android, Chrome, Gmail, Drive, Maps, Play Store, YouTube, and Photos. As part of Google’s philosophy, 10 things that are true to their values, as advertised on their website:
Amazon’s core values are known as leadership principles, describing how the leading e-commerce business operates, and thrives:
The business, focused on solving the world’s visual computing challenges, shares the following core values:
If you want to know more about the core values of the company culture of the leading semiconductor business, check this video:
Tesla is one of the most valuable corporations in the world and, as of 2024, the most valuable automaker. Altrough the core values details are not very easy to find, they include "doing the best, taking risks, respect, constant learning, and environmental consciousness."
Previously known as Facebook, Meta, the social media leader has six values that guide their people's work:
TSMC, or Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited, one of the leading fabless companies, has four very well-crafted core values:
These core values and their business philosophy is described in detail on their company info page.
Tencent is a global internet and technology firm that creates innovative goods and services to better people's lives all around the world.
Their values are very clear and inspiring for any technology founder:
Samsung has created a vast ecosystem that spans beyond smartphones. The core values that define the ethos of the multinational are the following:
We continue the following section with well known brands, with popular company cultures that can inspire you to write your the values statement for your business.
A well-known brand, created in 2007, a global community of hosts and travelers, is definitely an example to observe. Here are their core values:
The innovative tech company has very clear and short values, a great plus for keeping employees engaged.
Salesforce is one of the most appreciated customer relationship management (CRM) platform. Their core values are extremely focused on the customer and employee experience on the company story page.
Canva is an online design and publishing tool launched in 2013, which is gaining more and more popularity in the present day. Here are the values they believe in:
Known as the largest coffee company in the world, the Starbucks business stands for these values:
Discover these values and much more about the Starbucks culture.
Known for Jira and Trello, Atlassian is a leading provider of collaboration, development, and issue-tracking software for teams. These are the values that highlight what they do, how they create, and who they hire:
Learn more about these and the meaning of each one.
Merck & Co., Inc. is a global health care company. The Company offers health solutions through its prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies, and animal health products.
These are clearly articulated on their culture and values page.
AKQA is a digital design and communications agency owned by WPP.
Learn much more about how this well-known advertising agency works and the shared purpose, aspiration, and approach to sustainability.
Accenture has core values that shape its culture: Client Value Creation, One Global Network, Respect for the Individual, Best People, Integrity, and Stewardship. These values form the magic word CORBIS:
Four Corners Montessori Academy will use the proven effectiveness of the Montessori educational model to teach a broad spectrum of students, successfully nurturing each child on their journey towards knowledge. Their core values are:
Nintendo's mission is to put smiles on the faces of everyone we touch. As a video game and entertainment industry leader, they share four core values:
As one of the largest and most respected logistics and transportation companies, DB Schenker has a very well-articulated company culture from which six company values underpin the longstanding successful partnerships they have developed and the long-term goals for the future. To put it shortly, DB Schenker's core values are:
The core values of the American multinational oil and gas corporation are:
Wise (formerly TransferWise) is a UK-based foreign exchange financial technology company. Their share these four core values:
This lovely quote on their job page links well with the values of the revolutionary fintech business: "We're human beings, and none of us are perfect. But we are in this together. So if you feel that someone has room to improve, speak up. None of us can get better without feedback."
Known as the world's largest advertising and marketing services enterprise, they are currently positioning themselves as a creative transformation company. The multinational communications, advertising, public relations, technology, and commerce holding company stands for these core values:
Roblox is an innovative company that reimagines how people play, connect and work. Five core values drive the creators of the online game platform and game creation system:
Although these core values are not very visible, they were shared by the CEO of Roblox, David Baszucki, in an HBR article on Scaling Community-Sourced Innovation.
Nike's core values are at the heart of all they do and have been fundamental to the company's success since its founding. These values are also known as Nike Maxims. Here they are:
Patagonia is a clothing company that is completely different from others. They are focusing on protecting the planet through all that they do. Even their mission statement is aimed toward a worthy cause "We're in business to conserve our home planet." The company stands for the following core values:
The yoga-inspired, technical athletic apparel company for women and men has invested heavily in its identity and culture. The core values of Lululemon are very well articulated as follows: personal responsibility, entrepreneurship, honesty, courage, connection, fun, and inclusion. On some hiring websites, we can find the core values with a bit more description:
Personal Responsibility
We act with honesty and integrity, taking full accountability for our choices and their impact.
The Prada Group's grand purpose is to be "DRIVERS OF CHANGE" for the PLANET, PEOPLE, and CULTURE. Within their yearly report, they have expanded into their six core values:
The British luxury fashion house known for its ready-to-wear, including trench coats, leather accessories, and footwear, aims to delight customers by harnessing creativity to deliver unique products of the highest quality and exceptional shopping experiences.
The four core values of Burberry are hallmarks of the brand since the company was founded in 1856:
The core values of this Italian fashion house are also known as ideals at the heart of Versace. They are the following:
Important
And in case you're looking for some examples of mission, vision statements, we share a long list with 25 examples that you can get inspired from.
Key takeaway
Remember that setting your core values is not the end of your job. Once you have done this, you need to make sure your employees understand them and are invested in them. Communication is key in every matter related to the organization, so make sure everyone knows what your company stands for.
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