Think of a company you like. To mentally re-live my college years, I'm going to pick a staple brand I thought about almost every day: Little Caesars. Now, think of a few things you like about your choice. For mine: the words "fast," "cheap," and "pizza." Chances are, at least one of the things you like about said company is among its core values—those guiding principles that direct its growth. Core values make it easier to make tough organizational decisions. To help you figure yours out, I've put together some examples, a guide on how to write your own, and—if you just want to skip this whole article—even a handy AI tool that can generate them for you. A core value is a fundamental principle that guides an organization, setting the foundation for its culture and identity. Like organizational north stars, core values influence decisions, positioning, products, and branding as organizations grow. While a core value is a foundational belief that guides an organization's decisions, a mission statement is an imperative that defines the organization's purpose. An organization can have multiple core values that contribute to its mission, while a mission statement is a broad proclamation of objectives and strategies for achieving those objectives. Core values are important because they inform high-level decisions and direct the way businesses appeal to customers, engage with partners, hire, and interact with employees. The term core values is relatively generic, so some companies choose to refer to them by other names, like philosophies or principles. Could organizations make sound decisions without establishing core values? Sure. But for growing businesses, core values promote a consistent vision as the scale of their offerings expands or as decision-makers change over time. Company core values are statements or sentences built around a singular value that's just one word or phrase. These values can be focused on either internal entities, like employees or products, or external entities, like customers, clients, partners, or even society as a whole. Think of value terms as little corporate caterpillars and value statements as the beautiful commercial butterflies they metamorphose into. To illustrate, here are some examples of company core values: Value term | Value statement | ---|---| --- Accountability | Responsible for our actions and outcomes Adaptability | Staying flexible and responsive to change Balance | We promote healthy work-life balance for all employees Collaboration | Working together to achieve common goals Commitment | Unwavering dedication to our team and mission Communication | Fostering trust and understanding with communication Community | Kinder to our communities Courage | The willingness to take risks and face challenges Creativity | Fostering a culture that embraces imaginative thinking Customer-centric | We put customers at the forefront of all decisions Dedication | We'll do anything for our team members Diversity | Our success is driven by unique perspectives Empathy | Empathy first Empowerment | Encouraging autonomy and enabling growth Excellence | We strive for the highest quality in everything we do Exploration | Breaking down walls to go further Improvement | Always embracing learning and evolving processes Inclusivity | Everyone has a seat at our table Innovation | Only new ideas Integrity | Upholding honesty and ethical behavior in all actions Ownership | We take responsibility and ownership for all we do Passion | It's not just a calling, it's a passion Quality | Striving for exceptional service and customer satisfaction Respect | Treating everyone with dignity and fairness Social responsibility | Better for everyone, better for the environment Sustainability | We're dedicated to environmentally friendly practices Teamwork | Collaborating effectively with a diversity of perspectives Transparency | Transparency internally and externally Value | Better, for less Wellness | A nurtured culture of health, happiness, and fulfillment To show you what this looks like in the real world, here are some of my favorite core values from actual companies. Zapier has five very succinct yet evocative core values: Default to action Default to transparency Grow through feedback Empathy over ego Build the robot These values communicate respect for users, respect for internal teams, and respect for the process of innovation. Little Caesars packs their values into five two- to three-word bites: Serve others Own your work Invent something Never give up Be an all-star Asana has a set of dynamic value statements that leave little room for interpretation: Mission Do great things, fast Clarity Co-creation Give and take responsibility Mindfulness Reject false tradeoffs Be real with yourself and others Heartitude FAST RETAILING's values are descriptive and lean into positive values that put people and customers first: Approaching issues from the customer perspective Embracing innovation and challenge Respecting and supporting individuals to foster both corporate and personal growth Committing to ethical standards and correctness Eloquii's core values have voice and appeal to both end users and internal teams: EMPOWERMENT: Take initiative. Own it. Make an impact. EMPATHY: Listen. Care deeply. Choose compassion. AUTHENTICITY: Be you. Keep it real. Find strength in our differences. INNOVATION: Think big. Be curious. Challenge yourself. Disrupt. TENACITY: Be persistent. Find a way. Never settle. If you're still at a loss as to how to write core values of your own, don't worry—when you start with an essential value, they basically write themselves. Here's how to come up with value statements that cater to your organization's unique values, one step at a time: Step 1: Brainstorm value words Just as each journey starts with a single step, your core value journey begins with a single word. Start by coming up with any singular words—ideally nouns or adjectives—or phrases that you want your company to identify with. While there are no rules, and you can absolutely have as many core values as your heart desires, the truth is we can't all be Asana, and you should probably whittle these down to your top three to five. Step 2: Phrase words as actions Once you've got your value words, it's time to give them legs. One by one, turn these nouns or adjectives into extended statements or full sentences. Don't think too hard at this point about the specifics of these sentences. Just say what these words mean to you in the context of your company. Here are a few phrasing tactics: Start with "We" or "Our." Direct them toward customers, teams, the world, or all three. Begin with a verb ending in "-ing." Start each with the same verb or consciously use different verbs. Try avoiding your original value words entirely. Step 3: Connect to an emotion At this point, you might find yourself with a smorgasbord of innocuous corporate promises. No one wants that. These values should appeal directly to customers or potential job applicants. People want to believe that your company holds genuine beliefs, not just a mouthful of lip service. Here are some ways you can do that: Use a thesaurus to make your verbs more impactful. Add adverbs to apply specific emotions to your verbs. Connect personal values to broader populations or communities. Make big promises you can deliver on. Be humble. Step 4: Cut to the core If you've tried to pack in all this advice, your value statements may look more like value paragraphs. Again, there are no set rules here, but as a general rule, you want these babies to be short enough for people who weren't in Drama Club to memorize. Try these tactics to cut your value statement to its essential sentiment: Cut each one in half. Cut out all but two or three words. Replace conjunctions with punctuation. Turn one statement into two. Summarize each statement with one word—if more than one can be summarized using the same word or very similar ones, remove one. Delivering on your company core values starts with aligning them with a long-term vision you believe in as your company grows. Zapier can help you get there by automating your workflows, so you can focus on what matters.