For a culture to flourish, the company values should be viewed as the foundation that sets the stage for how a company and its team behave and make decisions. However, it is easy to fall into the trap of having values that represent the must-haves of any work environment, such as honesty, respect, and others
They aren’t boring and cliché
Values often intersect with moral qualities, but good company values should not be defined by something moral.
- You can have people that are incompatible with your company values, but that does not mean they are bad people, measured with your moral ruler.
They have a “secret sauce”
True core values are nonnegotiable and unique
- You should aspire to have just a handful-a maximum of five-that employees remember and that can be applied to everyday tasks and challenges they face
- Atlassian’s values are well-defined, focused on just five, and are written in a memorable way to guide the company
They help everyone walk the talk
Established core values should be something that employees can live up to and can use as a tool that can lead them through tough times and to make hard decisions in any scenario.
- If you are not using your values to make these tough decisions, then they are not the right values.
