Company Values Development Framework

VALUES PHILOSOPHY

Company Values Fundamentals

VALUES DEVELOPMENT PHILOSOPHY

WHY VALUES MATTER:
☐ Guide decision-making at scale
☐ Attract like-minded talent
☐ Create cultural consistency
☐ Enable distributed leadership
☐ Define who you are
☐ Differentiate from competitors

VALUES PRINCIPLES:

1. DISCOVERED, NOT INVENTED
   ☐ Values reflect who you already are
   ☐ Best values come from within
   ☐ Based on actual behaviors
   ☐ Authentic to founders and culture

2. BEHAVIORS OVER WORDS
   ☐ Values are verbs, not nouns
   ☐ Observable in daily actions
   ☐ Can be measured and evaluated
   ☐ Clear "what this looks like"

3. FEW AND MEMORABLE
   ☐ 3-5 values maximum
   ☐ Everyone can recite them
   ☐ Simple language
   ☐ Distinct from each other

4. TRULY DIFFERENTIATING
   ☐ Not generic (e.g., "integrity")
   ☐ Would turn some people off
   ☐ Reflect real trade-offs
   ☐ Guide hard decisions

VALUES RED FLAGS:
☐ Generic ("excellence," "teamwork")
☐ No one can remember them
☐ Behaviors not defined
☐ Leaders don't model them
☐ Never used in decisions
☐ Everyone agrees with them

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VALUES DEVELOPMENT PROCESS

Comprehensive Discovery Process

VALUES DISCOVERY FRAMEWORK

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PHASE 1: DISCOVERY (2-4 weeks)
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FOUNDER INTERVIEWS:
Questions to explore:
☐ What behaviors do you most admire?
☐ What would you never tolerate?
☐ What made early hires successful?
☐ What would you fire someone for?
☐ What are you most proud of culturally?
☐ What do customers say about us?

Interview notes:
Themes: _____________________
Key phrases: _____________________
Non-negotiables: _____________________

EMPLOYEE FOCUS GROUPS (3-5 groups of 6-8):
Questions:
☐ What's unique about working here?
☐ What behaviors get rewarded?
☐ What would you tell a new hire?
☐ What makes someone successful here?
☐ What frustrates you about the culture?

Emerging themes:
Theme 1: _____________________
Theme 2: _____________________
Theme 3: _____________________
Theme 4: _____________________
Theme 5: _____________________

SUCCESS STORY ANALYSIS:
Identify 5-10 stories of people living the culture:
Story 1: _____________________
Behaviors: _____________________
Story 2: _____________________
Behaviors: _____________________
Story 3: _____________________
Behaviors: _____________________

PATTERN IDENTIFICATION:
| Theme | Frequency | Founder? | Employee? | Stories? |
|-------|-----------|----------|-----------|----------|
| | High/Med/Low | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ |
| | High/Med/Low | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ |
| | High/Med/Low | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ |
| | High/Med/Low | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ |
| | High/Med/Low | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ |

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PHASE 2: DRAFTING (1-2 weeks)
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DRAFT VALUES TEMPLATE:

VALUE 1: _____________________
What it means: _____________________
What it looks like (behaviors):
  ☐ _____________________
  ☐ _____________________
  ☐ _____________________
What it doesn't mean: _____________________

VALUE 2: _____________________
What it means: _____________________
What it looks like (behaviors):
  ☐ _____________________
  ☐ _____________________
  ☐ _____________________
What it doesn't mean: _____________________

VALUE 3: _____________________
What it means: _____________________
What it looks like (behaviors):
  ☐ _____________________
  ☐ _____________________
  ☐ _____________________
What it doesn't mean: _____________________

VALUE 4: _____________________
What it means: _____________________
What it looks like (behaviors):
  ☐ _____________________
  ☐ _____________________
  ☐ _____________________
What it doesn't mean: _____________________

VALUE 5: _____________________
What it means: _____________________
What it looks like (behaviors):
  ☐ _____________________
  ☐ _____________________
  ☐ _____________________
What it doesn't mean: _____________________

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PHASE 3: VALIDATION (1-2 weeks)
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QUALITY CRITERIA CHECKLIST:
| Criteria | Value 1 | Value 2 | Value 3 | Value 4 | Value 5 |
|----------|---------|---------|---------|---------|---------|
| Authentic? | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ |
| Memorable? | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ |
| Actionable? | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ |
| Differentiating? | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ |
| Inspiring? | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ |

EMPLOYEE TESTING:
Share draft with 10-20 employees
Questions:
☐ Do these feel authentic?
☐ Are they memorable?
☐ What's missing?
☐ What would you change?
☐ Can you think of examples?

Feedback summary:
☐ Strong resonance: _____________________
☐ Concerns raised: _____________________
☐ Suggestions: _____________________

FINAL VALIDATION:
☐ Leadership team aligned
☐ Founder approval
☐ Employee representatives reviewed
☐ Language finalized
☐ Behaviors confirmed

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VALUES ROLLOUT

Comprehensive Rollout Plan

VALUES ROLLOUT FRAMEWORK

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INTERNAL LAUNCH
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PRE-LAUNCH (1 week before):
☐ Leadership alignment session
   - Review final values
   - Discuss behaviors
   - Align on examples
   - Plan their role in rollout
☐ Manager briefing
   - Values explanation
   - Talking points
   - Q&A preparation
☐ Communication preparation
   - Announcement deck
   - Values document
   - Stories/examples

LAUNCH DAY:
☐ CEO announcement (all-hands)
   - Share the values
   - Tell the stories
   - Explain the "why"
   - Model the values
☐ Values document distributed
☐ Slack/email communication

WEEK 1:
☐ Team discussions
   - What values mean for each team
   - Local examples
   - Questions and concerns
☐ Manager 1:1 conversations
☐ Q&A sessions

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LIVING THE VALUES
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HIRING INTEGRATION:
☐ Values in job descriptions
☐ Interview questions per value
☐ Scorecard includes values
☐ Reference questions

Interview questions by value:
Value 1 question: _____________________
Value 2 question: _____________________
Value 3 question: _____________________
Value 4 question: _____________________
Value 5 question: _____________________

PERFORMANCE REVIEWS:
☐ Values assessment in reviews
☐ Behaviors evaluated
☐ Examples required
☐ Promotion criteria includes values

VALUES INTEGRATION MATRIX:
| Process | How Values Integrated |
|---------|----------------------|
| Hiring | Interview questions, scorecard |
| Onboarding | Values session, stories |
| Performance | Review criteria |
| Promotion | Values demonstration required |
| Recognition | Values awards |
| Decision-making | Values as filter |
| Termination | Values violations |

RECOGNITION PROGRAMS:
☐ Values awards (monthly)
☐ Shoutouts tied to values
☐ Values heroes
☐ Story collection

Recognition template:
"[Name] demonstrated [VALUE] when they [specific behavior].
This matters because [impact]."

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ONGOING REINFORCEMENT
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DAILY:
☐ Leaders model values
☐ Values language used
☐ Behaviors recognized

WEEKLY:
☐ Values shoutouts
☐ Story sharing
☐ Team discussions

MONTHLY:
☐ Values awards
☐ All-hands recognition
☐ New story collection

QUARTERLY:
☐ Values review
☐ Behavior assessment
☐ Integration audit

ANNUALLY:
☐ Full values review
☐ Update if needed
☐ Refresh campaign

Values Quality Assessment

Criteria	Score (1-10)	Evidence
People can recite them
Used in hiring decisions
Used in performance reviews
Used in hard decisions
Leaders model them
Violators face consequences
New hires learn them
Stories exist for each

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