How to Write Your Company’s Core Values
For core values to work your team needs to read them and say "that's me".
Core values should be clear, detailed, actionable, and something that the whole team feels they were involved in.
Whether you’re starting from zero or revisiting your existing values, it can feel like a branding exercise or a philosophical debate. It shouldn’t be. Core values are an operating tool, not marketing copy. The goal isn’t to sound impressive or boastful, it’s to define what behaviors and beliefs will shape how your team works every day.
Here’s how to find and write good core values while involving the entire team in the process.
1. Look at What’s Already Working
Your values are probably already showing up in how you hire, how you communicate. how you solve problems, and what kind of behavior gets rewarded.
Ask your leaders and team:
Who are our top performers? What makes them great?
Who are our best teammates? Why do we love working with them?
What kinds of decisions do we consistently feel are right?
What are we unwilling to do, even if it helps us hit our goals?
This helps you extract real examples of behaviors instead of fluff or buzzwords.
2. Choose What to Keep, Amplify, or Change
Startups evolve fast. Some early values will no longer fit or you might need to introduce new ones to support where you’re headed.
Use this moment to decide:
What values do we want to scale as we grow?
What do we need to unlearn or move away from?
What kind of team do we want to become?
What do prospective hires, partners, or investors expect from us?
Values are directional and aspirational. You’re defining the kind of company you want to be, not just describing where you are today.
3. Write Clear, Simple, Actionable Statements
Your values should pass three tests:
Anyone on the team can understand them, use them, and remember them
They guide daily decisions
You’d be willing to fire someone who consistently breaks them
Write values that sound like how you actually talk. You want these statements to be something you could imagine hearing in a meeting or being typed in a slack message.
I will expand upon each value in future posts but these were the core values of Proletariat before we were acquired by Blizzard Entertainment.
“Understand Why”
“Decide Fast and Iterate”
“Take Responsibility”
“Exceed Expectations”
“Be Respectful”
4. Follow Each Statement With a Detailed Paragraph
A core value statement is important because it is easy to remember and use in conversation. However, it is often not enough to fully articulate the specifics on how and when to use the value. A well-written paragraph should provide the additional details that make it easier to embody the value and cover any nuances that simply don’t fit into a single statement.
Here is an example from Proletariat’s core values:
Decide Fast and Iterate
Good decisions are hard, but fast decisions are good. Quickly agree and commit to a well-reasoned direction, even without consensus. The tradeoff is worth it. Act, gather feedback, measure against expectations, and adjust accordingly. It’s okay to be wrong, work to learn from it quickly. Nothing’s sacred and we should always question the status quo.
5. Iterate with the Team
Share a draft with your team. Give everyone a chance to read, digest, and comment on how the values make them feel.
Ask the following:
Do you identify with these values?
Is there a value or behavior missing?
Are any of these values confusing or ambiguous?
You’re not looking for consensus, but you want buy-in and belief. The entire team should feel enrolled in the process and that their voice is being heard, even if you do not make the changes they want. If your team feels the values are fake or forced upon them, they won’t stick.
6. Evaluate Regularly
At Proletariat we would review our values once a year but also after any major event like a major launch, funding round, or other strategic shift.
I would send out a survey to the leadership team to have them fill out ahead of the discussion. These are the questions I would ask:
Do we embody [this core value] as a leadership team? (Consistently/Sometimes/Almost Never)
Do we embody [this core value] across the entire team? (Consistently/Sometimes/Almost Never)
Should we keep [this core value]? (Yes/No)
This was a good way to frame the discussion and we would use it to start back at the beginning of this process.
Final Thoughts
Writing your company’s core values isn’t about crafting the perfect words, it’s about building a shared understanding of what matters most. Your first draft won’t be perfect, and that is intended. Crafting shared core values is a process that requires investment and time.
As your company evolves, your values will evolve too. That’s not a problem, it’s a sign that your culture is changing which is required to grow. Revisit your core values regularly. Use them. Talk about them often. Make them part of how you hire, lead, work, communicate and make decisions.