Table of Contents
The Core Values Discovery Process: Defining Your North Star
Every organization — from a two-person startup to a global corporation — needs a North Star. Core values are that North Star: simple, memorable principles that guide decisions, behaviors, hiring, and culture. But defining them isn’t a branding exercise or a one-off workshop. It’s a discovery process that, when done well, becomes a strategic asset.
In this article you’ll get a practical, step-by-step guide to discovering your core values, tools and exercises you can use immediately, realistic budget and outcome figures, and honest pitfalls to avoid. Think of this as a friendly roadmap: clear, pragmatic, and designed to fit real-world timelines and budgets.
Why Core Values Matter
Values are more than words on a poster. They help people answer three critical questions every day:
- What behavior gets rewarded here?
- How do we make decisions when outcomes are uncertain?
- Who belongs on this team?
According to workplace studies, companies with clearly communicated values and alignment experience:
- Lower voluntary turnover rates (often by 20–40%).
- Better employee engagement and higher productivity.
- Faster hiring decisions and clearer performance feedback.
“Values are the operating system of culture. They’re what let people make consistent choices even when leaders aren’t in the room.” — Dr. Sara Bennett, organizational psychologist
The Core Values Discovery Process — Overview
The discovery process has six practical phases. Each phase includes activities designed to surface genuine, actionable values rather than aspirational slogans.
- 1. Prepare: clarify objectives and stakeholders
- 2. Gather input: interviews, surveys, stories
- 3. Synthesize: identify themes and test language
- 4. Validate: confirm with stakeholders and leaders
- 5. Implement: bake values into processes and communication
- 6. Measure and iterate: track alignment and outcomes
Phase 1 — Prepare: Set the Scope and Intent
Start with these questions and document your answers in a one-page brief:
- Why now? (e.g., scaling, merger, poor retention)
- Who needs to be involved? (leadership, cross-functional reps, HR)
- What will success look like in 6 and 12 months?
Tip: Keep the steering group small (3–7 people) but intentionally diverse. Include one operational leader, one people/HR lead, and one frontline team member. That mix keeps values grounded, not aspirational.
Phase 2 — Gather Input: Stories, Data, and Sentiment
The best values come from patterns in real behavior. Use multiple input methods to surface those patterns:
- One-on-one interviews (30–60 minutes) with leaders and long-tenured employees.
- Anonymous survey with open-ended prompts: “Describe a moment here that made you proud,” “Where do we fall short?”
- Focus groups or storytelling sessions where people share memorable work moments.
- Data review — retention rates, exit interview themes, customer NPS quotes.
Example survey prompts
- “Tell a story about a time someone here acted in a way you want repeated.”
- “If you could change one behavior in our organization, what would it be?”
Expert note: Collect a mix of quantitative indicators (turnover numbers, engagement scores) and qualitative stories. The narratives often reveal the values-in-practice.
Phase 3 — Synthesize: Turn Stories into Thematic Values
Once you have the raw material, synthesize it into a shortlist of potential values. This phase is about pattern recognition and careful wording.
- Affinity mapping: group similar stories and highlight repeat themes.
- Draft value statements that include a short label (one or two words) and a brief behavioral definition.
- Use examples and anti-examples: describe what living the value looks like and what it doesn’t.
Sample value format
- Curiosity — We ask questions and test assumptions. Example: We run small experiments before scaling. Not: Waiting for perfect information before acting.
Keep the list tight. Aim for 3–7 core values. More than seven becomes hard to internalize.
Phase 4 — Validate: Test and Refine with Stakeholders
Validation prevents the “values by committee” problem where statements become bland and meaningless. Run these checks:
- Leadership review for strategic fit.
- Town hall or department sessions to gather reactions and tweak language.
- Pilot hiring and performance conversations using the new language for three months.
“When people hear values and say ‘that’s literally how I want to be treated here,’ you know you’re close.” — Marcus Lee, HR director
Phase 5 — Implement: Make Values Operational
Words change behavior when embedded in processes. Key places to implement values:
- Hiring — include values-based interview questions and scorecards.
- Onboarding — teach examples, stories, and quick scenarios.
- Performance reviews — use values as part of competency assessment.
- Recognition programs — reward public examples of values lived.
- Decision frameworks — add a values checkpoint for major investments.
Example values-based interview question for “Ownership”
- “Tell me about a time you fixed a problem that wasn’t your direct responsibility. What did you do? What was the outcome?”
Phase 6 — Measure, Iterate, and Keep Alive
Values are living. Track whether they actually influence behavior and outcomes:
- Pulse surveys (quarterly) with value alignment questions.
- Retention and performance trends for teams identified as high/low value alignment.
- Number of value-based recognitions recorded per month.
Sample alignment survey question: “In the last 30 days, I observed teammates acting in ways consistent with our values.” Use a 5-point Likert scale and track changes over time.
Common Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them
- Vague, aspirational phrasing: Avoid terms like “Excellence” without clear behavioral definition.
- Too many values: If you list 12 values, none will stick. Keep it 3–7.
- Top-down imposition: Without frontline input, values feel contrived.
- No operational tie-ins: Values that don’t affect hiring, rewards, or decision-making become decorative.
Tools and Exercises You Can Use This Week
Quick exercises you can run in half a day with a small group:
- Story harvest (60–90 minutes): Each person shares two stories: one proud moment, one frustrating moment. Group themes and identify language that recurs.
- Inverted values (30 minutes): Ask “What behavior would make us terrible?” Flip those to find positive value language.
- Values voting (15 minutes): Present 10 drafted values; each person gets 5 votes to allocate. See the top 3–5 rise to the surface.
Sample Values and Behavior Examples
Here are sample values with practical behavioral cues. Use them as starters; adapt language to your context.
- Customer Obsession — We proactively solve customer problems; we measure impact and learn quickly.
- Ownership — We take responsibility for outcomes, not just outputs.
- Radical Candor — We share feedback directly and kindly, focused on growth.
- Frugality — We seek creative, cost-effective solutions without sacrificing quality.
- Continuous Learning — We reflect on failures and share lessons openly.
Estimating Cost and Impact — A Realistic Financial View
Implementing values isn’t free, but neither is doing nothing. Below are two tables with plausible budget estimates and the potential financial impact of improved alignment.
.finance-table { border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%; max-width: 750px; margin: 16px 0; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; }
.finance-table th, .finance-table td { border: 1px solid #ddd; padding: 10px; text-align: left; }
.finance-table th { background: #f7f7f7; font-weight: 600; }
.finance-table caption { font-weight: 700; margin-bottom: 8px; }
.highlight { background: #eaf7ea; }
| Item | Hours / Qty | Unit Cost | Estimated Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leadership planning & steering | 40 hours | $120/hr (opportunity cost) | $4,800 |
| Employee interviews & synthesis | 120 hours (internal + facilitator) | $100/hr | $12,000 |
| Workshops & validation sessions | 3 half-day sessions | $1,500/session (external facilitator) | $4,500 |
| Communications & rollout materials | Design + print + digital | — | $3,000 |
| Training and onboarding updates | Internal time | — | $2,500 |
| Total Estimated Investment | $26,800 |
Note: External consultants can increase costs; many companies complete most work internally for $10k–$40k, depending on scale.
| Metric | Before (Baseline) | After (Improved Alignment) | Assumptions / Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual voluntary turnover | 18% (27 employees) | 12% (18 employees) | 40% relative reduction in turnover |
| Average cost per turnover | $15,000 (recruiting, ramp, productivity loss) | ||
| Annual turnover cost | $405,000 | $270,000 | 27 x $15k = $405k; 18 x $15k = $270k |
| Estimated Annual Savings | $135,000 | ||
| Improved revenue from productivity (conservative) | $120,000 | Small productivity gains from better alignment | |
| Net Annual Benefit (approx.) | $255,000 | ||
Interpretation: With an estimated project cost of ~$26,800 and a potential annual benefit of approximately $255,000, the payback can occur within months. Of course, results vary by context and execution quality.
Mini Case Study — 90-Day Example
Acme Tech (hypothetical) is a 220-person B2B product company. They had 22% turnover and a culture described in exit interviews as “fast but inconsistent.” Over 90 days they:
- Conducted 40 interviews and a company-wide survey (response rate 78%).
- Ran three synthesis workshops and drafted five core values.
- Piloted values-based hiring in two teams (sales, product).
Outcomes after 12 months
- Turnover dropped from 22% to 14% — estimated savings: $240,000.
- Time-to-hire decreased from 38 days to 30 days for roles using values-based scorecards.
- Employee NPS improved from 6 to 22.
“The difference was in the conversations. Once we had language, managers could coach and hire with clarity.” — Priya Natarajan, Head of People, Acme Tech
How to Write Actionable Value Statements
Good value statements have three parts:
- The label (1–2 words)
- A behavioral definition (a sentence)
- Examples and anti-examples (short bullet points)
Example
- Label: Collaborative Ownership
- Definition: We share responsibility for outcomes and help each other meet shared goals.
- Example: A product manager stays until a critical customer issue is resolved, even if not directly assigned.
- Anti-example: “That’s not my job” responses to cross-team issues.
Measuring Success — KPIs and Signals
Quantitative KPIs
- Turnover rate (overall and voluntary)
- Employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS)
- Time-to-hire and offer acceptance rates
- Number of value-based recognitions / month
Qualitative signals
- Stories from onboarding cohorts: do new hires recount value-aligned moments?
- Manager feedback on whether values help in performance conversations.
- Customer feedback that hints at consistent brand behavior (e.g., responsiveness).
Final Checklist: Launching Your Core Values Project
- Set scope, timeline (8–12 weeks for discovery + 3–6 months rollout).
- Create a small, diverse steering group.
- Collect stories through interviews and surveys.
- Synthesize to 3–7 value statements with behaviors.
- Validate with the company and iterate language.
- Embed values in hiring, onboarding, and performance processes.
- Measure alignment quarterly and share results transparently.
Parting Thoughts
Defining core values is a strategic investment that goes beyond language. When values are authentic, practiced, and operationalized, they reduce friction, speed decisions, and create a shared understanding of what matters. The discovery process is the step where you transform culture from a vague aspiration into a practical, measurable force.
Start small, center real stories, and iterate. As one leader put it:
“Values lose their power when they’re posted instead of practiced. The discovery process is where practice begins.” — Elena Rios, Chief People Officer
Ready to get started? Run a 90-minute story harvest with your team this week, and you’ll be surprised how quickly recurring patterns reveal your true North Star.
Source: