Values

Values are a reflection of what you want your behaviors to be.  Values are always aspirational, sometimes inspirational.  Values are what you believe.

Your beliefs + your behaviors = who you are.  

Collective beliefs + behaviors of a group = the culture of the group.

I've worked in different companies and cultures.  I've observed, participated, embraced, and at times even detached, from the different cultures and sub-cultures I've been in. Over the years I've honed my own set of values. Values I view as both aspirational and inspirational.  They aren't for everyone, and I'm OK with that.

Values can be hard to define and harder to write down. At times it can be a challenge to fully lean on them to guide your behaviors and decisions. There are always opportunities to bend your values in the moment to make a decision easier - or at least easier to justify to yourself.

When a group of people embrace a set of values and use those values to guide behaviors (hiring, promoting, rewarding, and firing) it can have an outsized impact on the results of what the group is trying to accomplish.  

If you value being physically fit, do you make the sacrifices?  If you value learning, do you make the effort?  If you value being frugal, do you stay in a 5-star hotel or drive a fancy car? Each of us answers these questions, whatever they may be, for ourselves. Of course, we all fall off the wagon from time to time. The best values are aspirational, sometimes inspirational.