| Core values are the handful of guiding principles by which a company navigates. They require not external justification. For example, Disney’s core values of imagination and wholesomeness stem from the founder’s belief that these should be nurtured for their own sake, not merely to capitalise on a business opportunity. Instead of changing its core values, a great company will change its markets - seek out different customers - in order to remain true to its core values. Company’s tend to have only a few core values, usually between three and five. In fact we found that none of the visionary companies we studied in our book had more than five: most had only three or four. Core values are a company’s essential tenets. Only a few values can be truly CORE - that is - so fundamental and deeply held that they will change seldom, if ever. To identify core values or your own organisation (or self), push with relentless honesty to define what value are truly central. If you articulate more than five or six, chances are that you are confusing core values (which do not change) with operating practices, business strategies, or cultural norms (which should be open to change). |