Core Values are the Heart of Your Brand

When it comes to the foundation of your brand, a strong set of core values can be a powerful tool. Done right, they don't just create consistency in the way you show up to your audience and connect with like-minded people, but also aid in all kinds of decision-making. Think of them as a yard stick against which you can assess a wide variety of decisions, from hiring, to marketing campaigns, right down to your business strategy itself.

There's often a million small decisions that need to be made in any entrepreneur's day – having a strong set of core values helps you know if you're making the right ones.

Things to keep in mind when developing your Core Values

Keep it short and sweet

A set of brand core values should be limited to 4-6 distinct words. While it may be difficult to narrow down all of the things that matter to you down to that few, it's important to keep it to that number so that you can actually commit to living them. You (and your staff) should be able to remember them off the top of their head easily. More than that, it becomes too much to remember and you risk drifting away from them quickly.

Think of how the whole comes together

You want to avoid having words that overlap too much - think of how each word plays off each other, and how the combination of them all creates something unique. For example, if you've got 'Transparency' and 'Honesty' listed, it's a good opportunity to think through the nuances between each, and what specifically is most relevant for your organization. Each value should feel like a piece to the puzzle; on its own it can mean many things, but in combination with the others it starts to create a clear picture.

Clarify what each value means to you

You don't have to bend over backwards to come up with original-sounding words; plain speaking and even commonly used words are totally ok. What you should do, however, is write a succinct sentence – again, using plain language – that clarifies what that value means in your context. For example:

Efficiency: Time is the most valuable asset we have, so we prioritize saving it.

Optimism: The future is bright, but it takes work to get there.

Excellence: Raising the bar is what we get out of bed for.

Make them realistic

It's easy to get carried away with all the wonderful things you and your organization could be, but it's important to acknowledge if and when any of them might be a stretch. Include at least a few that you know you can nail consistently with little effort; and if you include some aspirational ones, ensure you are thinking through strategies to achieve them. Otherwise, you end up not living your own stated values, which erodes trust both internally and externally.

Make them prominent

In order to make them stick, make them visible! Once you've arrived at your set of core values, find a way to bring them up often and provide visual reminders. Some of our favorites:

• Design a postcard that can be pinned up at your desk
• Create a desktop wallpaper
• Display them in meeting rooms
• Include them in employee onboarding

Finding a way to make them 'alive' will help embed them in the way you work, and will ensure they are coming through to your external audiences. Displaying them publicly (ex. on your website) also puts it out there that you are so committed to these values, you are willing to publicly stand by them.

With a well-crafted set of values, you now can use them to gut-check on any decision, no matter how big or small, with a simple 'Does decision x align with our values of a, b, and c?" It's like your secret weapon to streamline decision-making and keep your brand strong.

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