Developing and Clarifying Your Company’s Core Values

“It’s not hard to make decisions once you know what your values are.” Roy Disney

What is it that truly defines your company? There are many terms that are discussed within companies including mission statement, slogan, core values, culture and vision. What does it all mean and why are these things important? It’s about unifying a company and its employees and customers around key concepts that help define it and make it unique in the marketplace. And just because these terms are discussed, doesn’t mean they are taken to heart by your employees or understood by your customers.

A mission statement is a company’s “why.” Why they exist and their reason for being, as well as who their customers are and which products and services they provide. A slogan is a catchy marketing phrase that summarizes the value a company’s brand offers customers, like Apple’s “Think Different.” Core values are the beliefs, philosophies, and principles that drive your business. Core values are basically the company’s DNA. In any business, these usually come from the founder or owner. They shape the company’s culture, which are the shared values, attributes, vision, and characteristics of an organization.

We have already discussed the vision component, what the company aspires to be, in our article on Failure to Plan Means Planning…