/ WORKSHEET

Identify Your
Company Core
Values
by Motto

Hush, Hush Confidential

This document contains confidential and proprietary branding exercises

created by Motto. These materials may be printed for use in completing the
exercise, but are not to be shared with other parties.
MOTTO / wearemotto.com / hello@wearemotto.com / 843.916.0402

Your Values Are

Your Company + Brand
Commandments
An organization that exists without knowing and practicing its values is like a ship sailing around
the world without a compass. It’s dangerous waters for any business. Over 60% of employees state
that they do not truly embody or fully understand the purpose or values of the organization.

There comes a point in every company when core values and beliefs need to be discovered and made very clear, which in our

opinion is early on since they first stem from the personal values of the person or people who founded the company.

When properly executed at the leadership level, core values are key to establishing the foundation that will drive your culture and

build your brand as it grows. When you are fiercely loyal to your values and use them to steer your company’s attitudes, choices,

and actions — when things are sailing smoothly and when the pressure is on — you create strength, unity and trust.

Values are so much more than verbs - they’re commandments. They are the code of conduct by which you work. The standard

by which you go about your business. They set the bar for how people should act and treat others. They act as a benchmark to

measure behavior and performance.

Identifying your core values may require some soul searching. All too often our self-image is hopelessly idealistic. We want to be

things we might not be. No one should cherry pick their values out of thin air just to sound cool or to try to be something they’re

not. They must be real, legitimate and genuine. They must represent what is sacred, unwavering, passionately protected, and

deeply held. For example, a company might say they value independence, but then reward conformity.

Don’t be that company.

So, first thing’s first — ensure your core values are true. There is no greater problem than being authentically inauthentic. Then, in

addition to defining your values, make sure you detail the behaviors associated with each one. Even better, list examples and/or

create scenarios to paint a clear picture of how to act on the values. Be sure to hold each other accountable, check into them all

the time, talk about them all the time, remind yourself of them all the time.

Most importantly, stand up for them when you’re asked to compromise.

CONFIDENTIAL DOCUMENT © Copyright 2016 Motto

MOTTO / wearemotto.com / hello@wearemotto.com / 843.916.0402
Every Company
Needs a Strong Set
of Values to Guide It
Brand values act as a set of guidelines that steer your company’s attitudes, choices, and actions.
Think of them as the code by which you do business. Your values represent a clear articulation of
what is important to your business, and act as a benchmark to measure behaviors.
The Importance of Values in Business
When properly executed at the leadership level, core values
play a fundamental role in establishing the foundation that
will drive your culture and brand as it grows.
How many core values should you ultimately adopt? Too
few and you won’t capture all of the desired behaviors and
unique dimensions of your brand. Too many and they’re hard
for people to remember. By the end of this exercise, your
team’s goal is to come to consensus around 3-5 core values
that your brand will stand for.
Keep in mind, we’re not only looking for the values that
drive you as an individual or as a group. We’re also looking
for values that your audience believes in that you can
authentically share with them.
A Helpful Hint
Print out each page so you can easily
eliminate the ones that don’t fit, and
narrow down to the ones that do.
How to Complete the Exercise:
1. Each group member will print out the provided list of values
in this PDF (includes a blank sheet so you can add your own
words that aren’t on the list). Cut out each word if it’s helpful.
2. Thinking about what values you believe to be important in
your life, flip through the values, and pick out the 10 personal
values that are most important to you. Then, narrow down
your list to your top 5 personal core values.
3. Next, you will each get 5-10 minutes to share and explain your
personal values with your group.
4. From there, your team leader will gather everyone’s values
and combine them all into one list. These are your brand’s
core values candidates.
5. You will test each value against a series of questions. The
ones that get a resounding YES are the values deemed by
your group to be truly authentic.
6. From there you will work together to achieve consensus on
your final list of 3 - 5 core values and write out what each
value means.
CONFIDENTIAL DOCUMENT © Copyright 2016 Motto
MOTTO / wearemotto.com / hello@wearemotto.com / 843.916.0402

EXERCISE / STEP 1

Individual Exercise:
Create Your List of
Personal Values
Think of the values that you live by that define who you are and who you want to be. Each value
should be personally significant and meaningful to you. Choose the values that you authentically
practice in your daily life and have always believed in at a deep level.

How to Complete the Exercise:

1. You should individually review the attached list of values and choose 10 values that represent the
principles, standards or qualities that are most important to you and what you believe are relevant to the
character and success of the business.

2. If the initial selection yields a number greater than 10, go through them again. Notice if you’ve chosen
words that support a similar concept. For example, Honesty, Truth, and Transparency are all similar in
nature. Decide which of those words BEST captures what you value.

3. Then, narrow down your list of 10 values to your top 5 core values and put them together in a stack.

4. Next, define what each of the 5 values means to you. Create a Word or Google doc and start writing. For
example, if Simplicity is one of your core values, write a rationale about what Simplicity means and why it
is important.

A Helpful Hint
Print out each page so you can easily
eliminate the ones that don’t fit, and
narrow down to the ones that do.

CONFIDENTIAL DOCUMENT © Copyright 2016 Motto

MOTTO / wearemotto.com / hello@wearemotto.com / 843.916.0402

EXERCISE / STEP 2

Group Exercise:
Combine Your List
of Brand Values
This portion of the exercise is focused on gathering the list of personal values and combining the
candidates in one consolidated document for the team to review. The goal for this step is to come
together as a group and talk about what you value as individuals and as a business.

How to Complete the Exercise:

1. Set up a team meeting via video Skype or Google Hangout - or better yet, arrange to all be in the same
room together. Either way, everyone is required to attend and participate.

2. Allow time at the beginning of the meeting for each team member to take 5-10 minutes of uninterrupted
solo time to share their 5 core values with the group. Explain WHY each of the values are significant and
meaningful to you.

3. Choose a team leader to combine everyone’s values into one list. If you have 3 team members, you’ll have
a total of 15 values at this point. If you have 5 team members, you’ll have 25 values. If you’re all in the
same room together, the team leader can write the group’s values on a flip chart or white board. If you’re
working remotely, the team leader should create a Google doc that is accessible and visible to all. These
values are the proposed candidates which you will narrow down as a group into your final core values.

4. Once you have your list of candidates, the team leader should facilitate Step 3: Testing each value against
10 questions.

A Helpful Hint
Be thorough in your rationale to the group.
Be able to clearly articulate to your group
why a value is important.

CONFIDENTIAL DOCUMENT © Copyright 2016 Motto

MOTTO / wearemotto.com / hello@wearemotto.com / 843.916.0402

EXERCISE / STEP 4

Test Each Value

Against the Following
10 Questions
ANSWER EACH QUESTION WITH YES OR NO

1. Is this value absolutely essential to supporting our unique culture? YES/NO

2. Would we want our organization to continue to stand for this core value 100 years into the future, no
YES/NO
matter what changes occur in the outside world?

3. Would we want our organization to hold this core value, even if at some point in time it became a
competitive disadvantage—even if in some instances the environment penalized the organization for YES/NO
living this core value?

4. Do we believe that those who do not share this core value—those who breach it consistently—simply
YES/NO
do not belong in our organization?

5. Would we personally continue to hold this core value even if we were not rewarded for holding it? YES/NO

6. Would we change jobs before giving up this core value? YES/NO

7. If we awoke tomorrow with more than enough money to retire comfortably for the rest of our life,
YES/NO
would we continue to apply this core value to our productive activities?

8. If we were to start a new organization, would we build it around this core value regardless of the
YES/NO
industry?

9. Does this value represent the primary behaviors our organization wants to encourage and stand by? YES/NO

10. Is this value one we believe we can adhere to under stress and in the face of all obstacles? YES/NO

CONFIDENTIAL DOCUMENT © Copyright 2016 Motto

MOTTO / wearemotto.com / hello@wearemotto.com / 843.916.0402

EXERCISE / STEP 5

Finalize Your
Core Values and
Define Them
Now it’s time to narrow down the 3-5 core values that will drive your organization moving forward.
The values you choose here will be the compass that guides your decisions, behaviors, and actions.
Be judicious and ensure that your organization can actually uphold them and act on them each day.

How to Complete the Exercise:

1. Create a list of the values that received a resounding YES from the group in Step 3. These are the values
deemed by your group to be truly authentic. As a general guideline, a value is truly core to your group if
two-thirds of your group members answered YES to all of the test questions for that core value.

2. If you arrive at more than 5 values, do a final check to ensure that none of them fall into the “aspiration for
the future” category rather than authentic core values. People frequently confuse timeless core values—
what you truly believe and have always believed at a deep core level—with aspirations of what you’d like
to see the organization become in the future.

3. When you have achieved consensus on your final list of 3 - 5 core values, it’s time to put your own spin
and personality on them and define what each value means. Broad values such as Integrity or Innovation
can end up being so vague that they have no real meaning. Here’s where you’ll turn single words into the
memorable statements that describe the action you want people to take for each value. Your core values
are unique to your company, and too important to sound like everyone else’s.

4. In effect, these final values are your culture in bullet point form. They represent your organization’s highest
priorities, beliefs, and driving forces. Values are only as good as they are understandable and livable. You
have to walk the talk.

5. Commit to them, communicate them, protect them, live them. Everyday, through everything.

CONFIDENTIAL DOCUMENT © Copyright 2016 Motto

 Accelerate Appreciation

Ability Approachability

Abundance Artfulness

Acceptance Articulate

Achievement Assurance

Acknowledgement Attentiveness

Adaptability Audacity

Adequacy Awareness

Adventure Balance

Ambition Beauty
 Belonging Clarity

Bliss Cleverness

Boldness Closeness

Bravery Cognizance

Brilliance Comfort

Calmness Commitment

Camaraderie Compassion

Candor Competence

Challenge Composure

Cheerfulness Connection
Consciousness Daring

Continuity Decisiveness

Contribution Deepness

Conviction Deference

Coolness Delicacy

Cooperation Delight

Courage Dependability

Courtesy Depth

Creativity Determination

Curiosity Devotion
 Dexterity Diversity

Dignity Dreaming

Diligence Drive

Diplomacy Duty

Direction Dynamism

Directness Eagerness

Discernment Education

Discretion Effectiveness

Discipline Efficiency

Discovery Elation
 Elegance Excitement

Empathy Exhilaration

Encouragement Experience

Endurance Expertise

Energy Exploration

Enjoyment Expressiveness

Entertainment Extroversion

Enthusiasm Exuberance

Exactness Fairness

Excellence Fearlessness
 Flexibility Gratitude

Fortitude Growth

Frankness Guidance

Freedom Happiness

Friendliness Harmony

Fun Health

Generosity Helpfulness

Genuineness Heroism

Giving Honesty

Grace Honor
 Hopefulness Intelligence

Humility Intensity

Humor Intimacy

Imagination Intrepidness

Impact Intuition

Independence Innovation

Inquisitiveness Joy

Insightfulness Justice

Inspiration Keenness

Integrity Kindness
 Leadership Modesty

Learning Motivation

Logic Mysteriousness

Longevity Nature

Love Nerve

Loyalty Open-mindedness

Mastery Optimism

Maturity Order

Meticulousness Originality

Mindfulness Peace
Perseverance Presence

Persistence Privacy

Philanthropy Pro activity

Play Proficiency

Pleasure Professionalism

Poise Prosperity

Polish Purity

Practicality Quirkiness

Pragmatism Quickness

Precision Realism
 Reason Sensuality

Reflection Serenity

Relaxation Service

Reliability Sharing

Resilience Significance

Resolution Silliness

Resourcefulness Simplicity

Respect Sincerity

Sacrifice Sophistication

Selflessness Spontaneity
 Strength Thoroughness

Structure Traditionalism

Substantiality Tranquility

Sufficiency Transcendence

Surprise Trust

Superbness Truth

Synergy Understanding

Teamwork Uniqueness

Thankfulness Unity

Thoughtfulness Usefulness
 Valor Wealth

Variety Wholesomeness

Victory Willfulness

Vigor Willingness

Virtue Winning

Vision Wisdom

Vitality Wittiness

Vivacity Wonder

Warmth Worthiness

Watchfulness Zeal
Have words not on the list? Write your own.