Limit your company to three core values

Executive overview

Most companies have too many core values — so team members remember none of them. The human brain reliably retains only three items. Cut your list to three, repeat them constantly, and behaviour changes.

Three memorable core values beats twelve forgotten ones every time.

Why too many core values fail

• Team members cannot recall them, even when they helped create them
• Printing values on walls or handbooks does not make them stick
• Six values with zero recall is equivalent to having none

How to define three core values

1. Pick exactly three — not five, not six
2. Make each one action-oriented and specific (e.g. "be the guide", "be ambitious", "be positive")
3. Repeat them until every team member can recite them unprompted