Crafting meaningful core values for your company

If you ever find yourself working at Amazon then as you go through your onboarding you’ll encounter Amazon’s core values, which are: customer obsession, long-term thinking, eagerness to invent, and pride in operational excellence.

These values guide the Amazon teams as they go about their day-to-day activities, running through the products they produce, and through the services they offer. As a team member, you’d be expected to uphold these during your time in the organization.

Why has Amazon created these core values? Should all organizations have core values, and if so, why?

In this article, you’ll learn what core values are and how you can make them meaningful for your company.

What are core values?

Core values are the principles that guide all of a company’s actions. They serve as cornerstones on which all activities rest and can never be compromised.

Core values provide all individuals within an organization a framework to make their own decisions on a day-to-day basis, which will align with all other individuals within the organization, and deliver a coherent approach to delivery.

Why should you have core values

Having clear core values provides numerous benefits to an organization. These include:

Guiding decision-making

With core values in place, organizations have a compass for making decisions, ensuring that choices always align with the company’s principles and long-term goals. At Amazon, decisions today need to be made with a view to how this decision will impact the organization well into the future.

Enhancing company culture

Core values help establish a positive and consistent company culture by defining what’s important and how employees should behave. For Amazon, a core value such as “pride in operational excellence” will ensure that all members of the team strive to perform with excellence and help teams make positive contributions in this area.

Attracting and retaining talent

When organizations have clear core values, you start to attract like-minded individuals for whom the company’s principles resonate, leading to higher employee satisfaction and retention. Amazon’s “eagerness to invent” will resonate with creative and forward-thinking individuals who are on the lookout for making improvements or pursuing new opportunities, and adhering to the values ensures these individuals stay in the organization and contribute to on-going future success.

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Improving employee engagement

When employees understand and believe in the company’s values, they’re more likely to be engaged, motivated, and committed to their work. If you’re working at Amazon and have the core value of “customer obsession” then you can use this to be driven in your role to deliver additional value to your customer as you’re acutely aware of the importance of customer obsession within the business and know your efforts will be well received.

Strengthening brand identity

Core values are not just internal signals, but can also differentiate a company from its competitors and help build a strong, authentic brand identity that resonates with customers and partners. As an Amazon customer, you can interact with the company safely in the knowledge that any product you purchase will have to be considered with the long-term in mind, which means you know that the purchase of a Kindle will be supported by ongoing book releases or a subscription to Twitch will provide a constant stream of new content.

Building trust and loyalty

Introducing core values and then consistently living by them builds trust with customers, employees, and stakeholders, which fosters loyalty and long-term relationships. Amazon customers know how hard the company works to provide value to its customers and as such are very loyal and will add service after service over time.

Examples of core values

Here are some examples of clear and impactful company core values from well-known organizations.

Google

• Focus on the user and all else will follow — Prioritize the needs of users in every decision
• It’s best to do one thing really, really well — Specialize and excel in core competencies
• You can be serious without a suit — Maintain a fun and open culture

Zappos

• Deliver WOW through service — Exceed customer expectations with exceptional service
• Embrace and drive change — Adapt and innovate continually
• Create fun and a little weirdness — Foster a unique and enjoyable work environment

Coca-Cola

• Leadership — The courage to shape a better future
• Collaboration — Leverage collective genius
• Integrity — Be real
• Accountability — If it is to be, it’s up to me

Netflix

• Judgment — Make wise decisions despite ambiguity
• Communication — Share information openly and proactively
• Innovation — Seek new ideas and encourage risk-taking

Patagonia

• Build the best product — Ensure quality, functionality, and durability
• Cause no unnecessary harm — Minimize the environmental impact
• Use business to protect nature — Promote and support environmental sustainability

Starbucks

• Creating a culture of warmth and belonging, where everyone is welcome — Foster an inclusive environment
• Acting with courage, challenging the status quo and finding new ways to grow our company and each other — Embrace innovation and growth
• Being present, connecting with transparency, dignity, and respect — Promote open and respectful communication

Southwest Airlines

• Warrior spirit — Strive to be the best, display a sense of urgency, and never give up
• Servant’s heart — Follow the Golden Rule, treat others with respect, and embrace kindness
• Fun-LUVing attitude — Be a passionate team player and don’t take yourself too seriously

How to create core values?

As we’ve seen, identifying and defining core values is a crucial process for organizations for a variety of purposes. The question is, how do you create and then implement core values into your company? To this end, you can try the following strategies:

Self-reflection

• Think about work experiences or projects that were the most meaningful
• Consider the values that were exemplified during these times
• Let employees do the same so they can contribute to the process

Brainstorm potential values

• Write down all the values that come to mind without filtering them
• Examples include honesty, integrity, innovation, respect, responsibility, etc.
• Look at comprehensive lists of values available online or in books to ensure you’re considering a broad spectrum
• Again, seek contributions from the wider organization, not just the leadership team

Prioritize your values

• Select the values that resonate most with you or your organization
• Aim to narrow the list down to 5-10 core values
• Group similar values together and choose one word that best represents the group

Define each value

• Write a clear and concise definition for each core value
• Ensure the definitions are specific and actionable
• Provide examples of behaviors that embody the value
• Include non-examples to clarify what behaviors do not align with the value

Test and refine

• Apply the values in real-world scenarios to see if they hold
• Reflect on whether these values help in decision-making and behavior alignment
• Seek feedback from employees to ensure that the values resonate with them
• Refine the values based on the feedback received

Integration

• Communicate the core values clearly to all members of the organization
• Integrate values into the company culture, hiring processes, performance reviews, and decision-making frameworks

Regular review and reassessment

• Regularly review and reassess your core values to ensure they still align with your goals and experiences
• Update and refine as necessary
• Create mechanisms for continuous feedback to ensure the values remain relevant and impactful

Final thoughts

Core values have the opportunity to add a variety of benefits across your organization. From creating loyalty to strengthening brand identity, you can ensure that the core values you identify are truly reflective of what your organization stands for. This will ultimately provide a strong foundation for all future actions and decisions.

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Featured image source: IconScout