Creating Core Values for Your Business

It will never cease to surprise me the number of businesses that don’t know their core values. This step of business strategizing is often overlooked as a fluffy side project; however, understanding and expressing these values across all of your content is absolutely crucial! These values are why your customer chooses you, they’re used to create a cohesive brand voice across all of your platforms, and they are integral to your hiring process.??

So, whether you’re a new business owner or seasoned leader, I wanted to outline several steps you can take to pinpoint, and effectively use, your core values. Here are five simple questions to ask yourselves and your team members:?

What is Our Mission??

• Often, your business’s goals reveal your values. For example, if you offer IT support for government organizations, one value will be dependability.??

What are some core values that the leaders of this organization are exemplary models of???

• Some examples are positivity, environmental regard, and honesty. Once you establish a list of these, you’ll have a great idea of what your core values are.??

What do I mean when I say we stand by this value???

• After you’ve listed out the nouns that are your values, describe what you mean by these. For example, if you’ve chosen positivity, you may write, “We prioritize optimism in all of our client and coworker interactions.”?

What does this value dedication lead us to do???

• So, you have these values. How does that lend itself to everyday business? Continuing with positivity, you may write, “When offering feedback, we always begin with affirmation before providing any critique.”?

How are we living up to these core values???

• After defining your core values, what they mean, and how you implement them daily, reassess whether you’re remaining true to these dedications. Are there any tensions with some of the values? What actions are your team members taking monthly to bring true meaning to these standards?

Once you’ve travelled this entire journey and created concrete core values, remember to share these with every member of your organization. You want every employee to be able to recite what your business stands for quickly and easily; this is effective marketing in itself!??

To aid in your brainstorming session, I’ve linked our “Creating Core Values” infographic in the comments. You can view all of these points there – share with any business owner you think may find this resource valuable!?