· by James Archer · Leadership & Business · 2 min read
Your Core Values Are Useless. Here's How to Fix Them.
Your values workshop died when the posters went up. Revive it with a scrappy exercise that turns ideals into owned actions, prioritizes easy big wins, and proves the values matter.
You did the big, exciting core values workshop. You argued, you connected, you came up with a handful of powerful words that are supposed to define your company.
And then, nothing.
The excitement fades. The posters go up on the wall. The values die. They become corporate wall art. Laminated hypocrisy that everyone learns to ignore.
This isn’t because the values are wrong or the concept is nonsense. It’s because most companies have no idea how to build a bridge from the abstract idea to the daily grind. They get the prescription but never take the medicine.
Here’s the playbook to fix that. It’s an exercise that turns your values from words into actions.
Get your team in a room with a stack of Post-it notes. Then, give them one simple prompt to finish for each of your core values.
“If we really believed in this, we would…”
Let them go wild. No idea is too small or too crazy. What would you do differently tomorrow if this value were the only thing that mattered?
Once the board is full of ideas, you need to turn them into commitments. Draw a simple two-by-two grid on a whiteboard. Label the columns “Easy” and “Hard,” and the rows “Big Impact” and “Small Impact.”
Have the group place each idea onto the grid. Don’t overthink it. This is a gut-check exercise to sort the brainstorm into a map of possibilities.
Now, look at the “Easy / Big Impact” quadrant. This is your goldmine. These are the quick wins that create immediate momentum.
For each one, ask two questions. What’s the first step? Who owns it?
Assign it, write it down, and move on. Don’t create a massive list of tasks that will never get done. Pick a few high-impact actions that feel real and achievable.
This isn’t about transforming the entire company overnight. It’s about proving that the values are real. It’s about taking the first, tangible steps to show that you’re serious.
Follow up in 30 days. Make sure the work got done. Celebrate it. Then do it again.
This is how values stop being words on a wall and start becoming the way you win.
