Purpose · Core values · Component
The price paid
The occasions where holding the value cost the organisation something — because a value that has never cost anything has never been tested.
The deliverable
What it is
Values are established by instances, not by statements. A single well-known occasion where the organisation gave something up carries more weight internally than any number of induction sessions.
The absence of instances is itself the finding. A value with no cost attached has either never been tested or has been quietly abandoned, and the two are indistinguishable from the outside.
One level in
What it is made of
Each element is a constituent part of the component. Follow one to see the attributes it carries.
The instances
Occasions where the value was held at a cost.
3 attributes: Instance · Date · Value
LearnThe cost
What holding the value actually cost.
3 attributes: Cost · Non-financial cost · Confidence
LearnThe decision maker
Who made the call, and at what level.
3 attributes: Decided by · Level · Escalated
Learn
A value upheld only by the founder is a preference. One upheld by someone junior without asking has spread.
The other components in core values
The value set
The three or four commitments themselves, each with what it rules out — because a value that excludes nothing is an adjective.
LearnThe enforcement record
What actually happens when a value is breached, including by someone valuable — which is where the value is either established or revealed as decoration.
Learn