What is a core value? Every decision you make in your life and in your business is governed by your values. As business owners we sometimes forget that people buy from people – not from businesses.

Customers and prospects are attracted to businesses and people within those businesses that have clear values that they identify with. Even more importantly, or at least as importantly, your values make up the foundation for your goals.

Sometimes our goals, or what we think our goals are, may not be congruent with our values. When you go against your values, the incongruence causes you stress, anxiety, and unhappiness. However, often our values are hidden deep beneath the surface.

The goal of this article is to help you clarify your values. Once you clarify them, you can recalibrate your goals and the way you run your life and your business. I recommend doing this on a regular basis, as the sheer pace at which we run our lives means it’s very easy to get off track. Before you know it a lot of time has passed with you heading in the wrong direction.

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‍What are core values and why should you care?‍

You get personal core values and professional ones. Core values aren’t just fluffy words you slap on a website and forget about. They’re the non-negotiable principles that drive your business. They guide your decisions, shape your team culture, and determine how customers experience your brand.

Get them right, and they’ll help you attract the right people—both employees and customers. Get them wrong (or ignore them), and you’ll end up with a company that feels directionless and disconnected.

Examples of core values

Here are some rock-solid core value examples successful businesses live by:

• Integrity – Do what’s right, even when no one’s watching.
• Customer Obsession – Give customers an experience so good they can’t help but rave about you.
• Innovation – Keep improving. Stagnation is the first step toward irrelevance.
• Excellence – Be the best at what you do. Period.
• Accountability – Own your results. No excuses.
• Speed & Execution – Get things done. Action beats perfection every time.
• Adaptability – The market shifts fast. Stay ahead or get left behind.

Your core values should be clear, actionable, and brutally honest. If they don’t influence how you hire, fire, and operate, they’re just empty words.‍

‍Clarify your personal core values

To help you clarify your values, complete the following exercise. Make sure you set time aside to do this properly – it will help you build your own compass and help you find your way.

Step 1: How would family describe you?

Take yourself a long way forward in time; a very long way forward – to your own funeral. Imagine a coffin with your body in it and a group of people who have assembled to pay their last respects. There’s quite a large crowd. Four people who have known you move to the front of the audience and speak about you.

Firstly, a family member stands up and talks about having known you on an intimate basis.

What would you like this person to say? Not what you think they feel about you – what would you truly like them to say?

Write down the key elements of their speech. Don’t worry about sentences – just catch the important words.

Step 2: How would an affiliation describe you?

Now think about a person who has known you through a club or organization such as the local church or sports team.  moves to the front of the gathering and speaks of their experience with you.

What would you like them to say? Once again, not what you think they would say – what would you like to hear?

Write down the essence of their words.

Step 3: How would a close friend describe you?

A friend describes the nature of their friendship with you and how you have affected their life. What would you like to hear said by this person? Catch the key words or phrases on paper now.

Step 4: How would a work colleague describe you?

Lastly, someone who has worked with you speaks, recollecting working with you under pressure and during less urgent times. What would you like to hear come from this person’s mouth? Get the keywords on paper now.

Take a look at what you have just written down about the way you would like to be remembered. You will have in front of you a description of your highest values, the things you treasure most as a human being. Whether they are kindness, compassion, strength or intelligence, these qualities and attributes will form the basis of your goals (and your time management strategy) – after all, they are the things you cherish most about who you are.

Houses and holidays, cars and careers all lose their importance when compared with these values. After all, did anyone at your imagined funeral say people “he had a nice car”?

Now apply them to your company

So you've identified personal values that are important to you. Now use this simple approach for identifying your organization's values. It helps to answer these important questions.

• What kind of company culture do you want to create for people? What work life works for you?
• What qualities do you believe are necessary to build strong relationships?
• What qualities do you admire in other people or companies?
• What motivates you?
• What work environment do you thrive in? Can you create something similar for your employees?
• What habits do you believe create success in a work environment?
• How do you want to be perceived by others?
• What belief guide your decisions?

How to communicate your core values

Your core values signify how your organization operates. It's something that needs to be part of each and every new employee's onboarding process. 

Even in the developmental phase of identifying your core values, you should be engaging with staff members. Ask them what they believe your values are and why they say that. 

Here are a few ways to share your core values:

• Over email
• During a Zoom call or work meeting
• In a performance review
• On your website about page (usually under your mission and vision section)
• In your sales assets
• In a job description
• In a client presentation
• Or saved in your internal documents folder
• During interviews with prospective team members and new clients.

Don't be afraid to align with your team once or twice a year on your core values. Ask them, do you still agree that we're upholding these values? Are there new values you've identified that we need to consider adding. 

Lean Marketing values

To help you flesh out your core values, I thought I'd share Lean Marketing's. We don’t just put our values on a wall. We use them to hire, fire, and make decisions every single day. Our employees know that if you’re not aligned with our company values, you won’t last here (and that’s a good thing for both of us).

Not only does it ensure we deliver top-notch service to our clients. It also guarantees that we build an A-team. 

1. Speed Beats Perfection

We move fast and get things done. Perfectionism kills progress. Make the best decision you can with the info you have, then adjust as needed.

2. Own It (No Excuses, No Blame)

If you mess up, take responsibility and fix it. If you see a problem, solve it. No finger-pointing, no passing the buck.

3. Customers Pay Our Salaries

Without happy customers, we don’t have a business. So, we over deliver, keep things simple, and make sure they love doing business with us.

4. Be a Problem-Solver, Not a Problem-Finder

Anyone can point out what’s wrong. We value people who bring solutions and take action.

5. Simplicity Wins

Complexity slows everything down. Whether it’s marketing, operations, or product design—if it’s complicated, we simplify it.

6. Think Like an Entrepreneur

Take initiative. Make smart bets. Don’t just follow orders—own your results and act like you’re running the business.

7. No Jerks Allowed

We work with smart, ambitious people—but if you’re an arrogant know-it-all, this isn’t the place for you. We value respect, collaboration, and lifting each other up.

So those are Lean Marketing's core values. We keep these top of mind whenever we make important decisions, and you should too. 

Can your core values change with time?

Absolutely. The values I placed at the core for my company when I first began in the coaching business are very different to the ones I stand by now. Every year I'm refining processes, improving customer experiences, expanding our offering, the list is endless. While my mission for my organization stays the same, how I achieve that for my company has changed. 

That's why it's vital you continually reassess your company core values, and adjust as needed.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do core values differ from mission and vision statements?

• Core values define beliefs and principles.
• Mission statements describe what an organization does.
• Vision statements describe what an organization aspires to become.

How many core values should a company have?

Typically, businesses have 3-7 core values to keep them clear, meaningful, and actionable.

What happens when a company’s actions don’t align with its core values?

When a company’s actions don’t match its core values, trust takes a hit, employees disengage, and the brand’s reputation suffers. Smart leaders don’t ignore the problem—they step up, take ownership, and fix it with clear, decisive action.

How to identify a company’s core values before applying for a job?

• Check the company’s website, careers page, and social media.
• Read employee reviews on Glassdoor or LinkedIn.
• Observe how leadership communicates and makes decisions.

Why should core values be part of the hiring process?

Employees who align with company values perform better, stay longer, and contribute to a strong culture.

How can we assess if a candidate aligns with our core values?

Ask behavioral interview questions (e.g., “Tell me about a time you had to make a tough decision based on your values.”) And look for alignment in their past experiences and work style. This will give you a good sense of whether someone fits your business.

What are the risks of hiring someone who doesn’t align with our values?

When hiring someone who doesn't fit your company culture you run the risk of personality clashes, lower engagement, and potential turnover. To keep team members motivated focus on hiring A-players.

Don't Sell Out

One of the greatest causes of unhappiness in a person’s life is when they sell out – when they trade in their values for something they thought would give them happiness. To quote Jim Rohn:

“Judas got the money – a small fortune at the time – was this a success story? No it wasn’t. Why? because he wasn’t happy with himself. He had got his hot little hands on the money but he wasn’t happy with himself because he had sold out. He tried to take the money back but they just through him out and he hanged his worthless self because of the betrayer he had become.”

Consider the words of eighteenth-century writer and philosopher, Joseph Addison:

“When I look upon the tombs of the great, every emotion of envy dies in me…when I see kings lying by those who deposed them, when I consider rival wits placed side by side, or the holy men that divided the world with their contests and disputes, I reflect with sorrow and astonishment on the little competitions, factions, and debates of mankind.”

If you consider carefully your definition of success and design your own compass and roadmap for the future, you will avoid much of the misery. Joseph Addison describes fame, achievement, or money may not even be on the horizon anymore. As one man asked another on the death of a mutual friend, “How much did he leave?” His friend replied, “He left it all.”

Remember, crafting your core values means you're making a commitment to yourself, your team and your clients. It's a personal promise to run every decision you make alongside your values. Every interaction you have both internally and externally must be guided by your core values. 

So choose wisely.