79 Powerful Examples of Company Values

Core values are critical to your company’s success. They affect your operations, how you recruit and retain your talent, how you market your product and services, as well as how you treat your customers. Like a compass, they guide the direction of your business and everyday decision-making of your team.

So core values must be more than just words on the wall. They need to define WHO you are, WHY you do what you do, and HOW you act in good times, and especially in bad times. Not only should your employees be able to articulate them, they should be able see it consistently in action – whether that’s how employees are promoted and recognized, how your supply chain is managed, or how customer issues are resolved.

The 4 DOs in Defining your Company’s Core Values

Whether you are establishing your company’s core values for the first time or refreshing your existing core values to better align with your growing and changing business. Here are four must-DOs:

1. Invite all or a diverse representation of your team to share their ideas. Brainstorm and write down all ideas without judgment.
2. Group the ideas into common themes and have your leadership team think about which ones resonate most with them.
3. When you have too many on your list, ask the question “Which of these couldn’t you live without?”
4. Language matters. Use simple, human, action-oriented words – especially verbs.

To help you jumpstart this process, here are 79 powerful examples of company core values to inspire you to create your own.

79 Powerful Examples of Core Values

Southwest Airlines

1. Warrior Spirit
2. Servant’s Heart
3. Fun-LUVing Attitude
4. Low Costs
5. Safety and Reliability
6. Friendly Customer Service

Patagonia

7. Quality: Pursuit of ever-greater quality in everything we do.
8. Integrity: Relationships built on integrity and respect.
9. Environmentalism: Serve as a catalyst for personal and corporate action.
10. Not Bound by Convention: Our success – and much of the fun – les in developing innovating ways to do things.

Patagonia blew their own whistle on human rights abuse within their own manufacturing chain. They even turned their values into a bold advertising campaign to admit their failings and educate consumers on environmental bankruptcy.

Source Empathy: The Fundamental Skill Of Our Times

Greystone Bakery

11. Open Hiring
12. Embracing Uncertainty
13. Loving Action
14. Non-Judgement

Founded in 1982 by Buddhist monk Bernie Glassman, his intention is to solve serious social issues, specifically poverty and high unemployment rates, in Southwest Yonkers by employing the “unemployable”. Check out their Open Hiring practices.

Left.io

15. Be Incredible
16. Keep Score
17. Take Responsibility
18. Think Different
19. Little Things Matter
20. Impact Your Community
21. Imagining the Impossible
22. Family is Important
23. Make Your Mark
24. Failure is an Option

Hear what Lefties have to say about how these company values are woven into their every day lives.

Sprout Social

25. Care Deeply
26. Embrace Accountability
27. Champion Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
28. Promote Open, Authenic Communication
29. Seek Simplicity
30. Solve Hard Problems
31. Celebrate Change

Learn from the collaborative process Sprout’s team went through to refresh their core values. 

Build-A-Bear

32. Reach
33. Learn
34. Di-bear-sity
35. Colla-bear-ate
36. Give
37. Cele-bear-ate

Uberflip

38. We Are H.U.S.T.L.E
39. Culture then Product then Revenue
40. Communicate Openly and with Transparency
41. Create Great Experiences
42. Be Valuable, Relevant and Consistent
43. Give Back

Buffer

44. Choose positivity
45. Default to transparency
46. Focus on Self-Improvement
47. Be a no-ego doer
48. Listen first, then listen more
49. Communicate with clarity
50. Make time to reflect
51. Live smarter, not harder
52. Show gratitude
53. Do the right thing

Buffer’s 10^th value is the newest of their ten values. Here’s Joel Gascoigne (CEO, Buffer) first proposing “Do the right thing” to his team.

Source: Buffer’s CEO emailing his team to propose their 10th Core Value

Zappos Core Values

54. Deliver WOW Through Service
55. Embrace and Drive Change
56. Create Fun and A Little Weirdness
57. Be Adventurous, Creative, and Open-Minded
58. Pursue Growth and Learning
59. Build Open and Honest Relationships With Communication
60. Build a Positive Team and Family Spirit
61. Do More With Less
62. Be Passionate and Determined
63. Be Humble

Did you know? Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos.com, was initially reluctant to have formal core values thinking that it was a “very corporate thing to do”. Today, it is indispensible to how they scale and grow their business.

TOMS’ Shoes

64. We are a movement
65. We will be Entrepreneurial
66. We expect a lot from each other
67. We are committed to a long-term vision

Source: TOMS’ 1-for-1 Business Model

Hootsuite’s Engineering Team Core Values

68. #NoBS: We are open, genuine, egoless and transparent.
69. #GoFarTogether: We do our best work as a global team by putting the team’s success over our own.
70. #LearnOutLoud: We learn by sharing knowledge, seeking new challenges, and reflecting on failures.
71. #DataInformed: We care about our impact…and we measure it.
72. #Enabled: We all have the power to create change.
73. #CustomerSuperheroes: We design and build for our users.

Hootsuite’s Engineering team took it a step further and created their Engineering Team’s Core Values that are aligned with the company’s overall core values. 

Two Men and a Truck Core Values

74. Give back to the Community
75. Integrity
76. Care
77. Be your best and have fun
78. Inclusion
79. The Grandma Rule