When Your Values Don’t Show Up in Daily Decisions

The founder was deeply values-driven. Their values were painted on walls, printed on T-shirts, and shared in onboarding decks.

But in actual decisions — pricing, hiring, performance reviews — the values were rarely referenced.

People made judgment calls based on convenience, urgency, or habit.

The gap wasn’t intention. It was translation.

The company’s values weren’t integrated into how things were actually run.

🔍 The Challenge: Cultural Performances vs Cultural Practice

Many scaling companies define their values early — but don’t revisit or operationalize them.

The result: misalignment between what’s said and what’s done.

You might be seeing it if:

• Hiring decisions feel inconsistent

• Leaders aren’t reinforcing shared behaviors

• “Values” are only referenced during crises or culture slides

• There’s tension between performance and principles

Values don’t fail in statements — they fail in silence.

🛠 DIY Tool: Values-in-Action Audit

We designed this tool during our work with a services group scaling rapidly, to help them anchor culture in daily operations.

You can do this as a founder, or with your leadership team.

Here’s how to use it:

• List Your Core Values

  Start with 3–5 you’ve named as central to your business.

  
  

• Pick 3 Areas Where Values Should Show Up

  (e.g., Hiring, Performance Reviews, Team Meetings)

For each value, ask:

• Where do we see this in action today?

• Where is it missing — or misunderstood?

• What behavior or system could reinforce it?

Identify 1–2 places to embed the value

e.g., Create interview questions linked to values

• Add “values reflection” to project debriefs

• Build leader incentives around behavior, not just KPIs

💡 Why This Matters

• Values aren’t words — they’re decisions made over time.

• If they’re not showing up in moments that matter, you don’t have culture — you have slogans.

The fix isn’t fluff. It’s structure, visibility, and reinforcement.