Company Values: Define Culture and Drive Behavior

Mission statement on wall. Nobody reads it. Values listed on website. Nobody lives them. Generic platitudes—integrity, innovation, respect. Every company claims same values. Meaningless words creating no impact. Real Company Values drive behavior, shape culture, and guide decisions when stakes are high.

Consider Patagonia's environmental commitment. "We're in business to save our home planet." Not empty slogan. They donate 1% of sales to environmental causes. They encourage customers to buy less and repair products. They sued Trump administration over public lands policy. Values manifested through actions, not just words. This authenticity attracts employees and customers who share values, creating self-reinforcing culture.

Or examine Netflix's famous culture deck. "We are a team, not a family." Values include freedom and responsibility, context not control, highly aligned and loosely coupled. These values drive hiring, firing, and operational decisions. Netflix doesn't want people seeking job security—they want people seeking impact. Values filter for cultural fit before hiring, reducing misalignment.

For leaders, values define what organization rewards and punishes. Say you value innovation but punish failures? Nobody innovates. Say you value customer focus but reward internal politics? Nobody prioritizes customers. Real values align words with incentive systems, ensuring behaviors match aspirations.

🔍 Defining Authentic Values

Start with truth not aspiration. What behaviors actually drive success in your organization? Amazon's "Customer Obsession" is first leadership principle because customer focus truly drives decisions. If you claim to value work-life balance but heroes are those working weekends, real value is work intensity, not balance. Acknowledge reality.

Make them specific and actionable. "Integrity" is vague. "We admit mistakes quickly and take responsibility" is specific behavioral guidance. Netflix value "Judgment" describes specific behaviors—making wise decisions despite ambiguity, thinking strategically, making appropriate trade-offs.

Ensure they differentiate. If every company claims same values, they provide zero guidance. Apple doesn't say "innovation"—everyone says that. They talk about obsessive attention to detail and vertical integration enabling control over user experience. These values explain specific strategic choices differentiating Apple from competitors.

Test with hard decisions. Real values emerge when choices are difficult. Easy to value both growth and profitability when both possible. What when they conflict? Basecamp chose profitability and sustainability over growth, accepting smaller company size for less stress. That tradeoff reveals true values.

💡 Living Your Values

Hiring and firing are critical enforcement mechanisms. Zappos offers new hires $2,000 to quit after training if they don't fit culture—filtering for value alignment. Netflix terminates adequate performers who don't exemplify values, reinforcing that values matter more than just meeting objectives.

Recognition systems should celebrate value-aligned behavior. Awards for living values. Promotions for those embodying culture. Stories sharing examples of values in action. What gets celebrated gets repeated. If you reward behaviors conflicting with stated values, employees learn real values differ from stated values.

Performance evaluations must assess values adherence alongside results. Did they achieve numbers through shortcuts violating values? Achievement without values alignment deserves no reward. This principle requires courage—sometimes star performers violate values. Tolerating violations destroys value credibility.

Resource allocation demonstrates real priorities. Patagonia commits 1% of sales to environmental causes—putting money behind environmental values. If you value innovation, innovation must get budget, not just lip service. Employees watch where resources flow, learning what truly matters.

🚀 Case Study: Zappos and Customer Service Values

Zappos built billion-dollar business on culture rooted in values. Customer service isn't department—it's defining value. How did values drive success?

Customer service without scripts: Call center reps have no scripts or time limits. Longest call lasted 10+ hours. Reps empowered to resolve issues however necessary—overnight expensive shoes at no charge, send flowers, order pizza. This freedom stems from "Deliver WOW Through Service" value. Trust replaces control.

Holacracy experiment: Zappos eliminated traditional hierarchy, implementing self-management system called holacracy. While controversial and later moderated, experiment showed willingness to radically restructure organization to live "Embrace and Drive Change" value. Not all values experiments succeed, but attempting them demonstrates commitment.

Cultural fit over skills: Zappos interviews assess cultural fit rigorously. Two sets of interviews—one for skills, one for culture. HR can veto hiring manager's choice if cultural fit lacking. They'd rather leave position open than compromise culture. This commitment to values over expediency builds strong culture.

Result: Zappos achieved extraordinary customer loyalty and employee engagement. Amazon acquired Zappos for $1.2B, largely purchasing culture and brand built on authentic values. Values weren't expense—they were competitive advantage generating financial returns.

📚 References

📚 References

• Qualtrics: Company Core Values
• Achievers: Core Value Examples
• Firstup: Communicating Values
• Netflix Culture
• Harvard Business Review: Culture