CEOs Must Live Their Core Values or the Company Crumbles

Executive overview

Entrepreneurs frequently demand that employees adhere to company core values while violating those same values themselves. Cameron Herold argues this "do as I say, not as I do" pattern is one of the most damaging leadership failures a CEO can commit.

Core values are only real if the CEO models them obsessively — anything less signals to the whole organisation that the values are optional.

Using chronic lateness as a case study, Herold shows how a single habitual behaviour can simultaneously break multiple stated values. The fix is structural: build a personal system (e.g., end every meeting five minutes early) that makes living the values the default, not the aspiration.

The cost of CEO hypocrisy

• Employees instantly notice when leaders exempt themselves from the rules they enforce on others.
• When a CEO breaks a core value, it signals the values are performative, causing them to erode company-wide.
• Apologising for being late ("sorry, I was busy") actually communicates disrespect — it implies the CEO's time outranks everyone else's.
• Holding employees to standards you personally ignore destroys trust and morale faster than almost any other behaviour.

A concrete example: showing up late

• Values such as "deliver what you promise," "respect the individual," and "find a better way" are broken simultaneously by arriving late to a meeting.
• Promising to be somewhere at 10:00 and arriving at 10:05 is a broken promise — full stop.
• Late arrival disrespects the time of every person who was on time.
• "Finding a better way" means designing your schedule so lateness becomes structurally impossible.

The practical fix

• End every meeting and call five minutes early — treat this as a non-negotiable personal operating rule.
• Use the buffer to handle transitions: speak to your assistant, get coffee, use the bathroom, then start on time.
• Proactive scheduling discipline is what "respecting the individual" and "delivering what you promise" look like in practice.
• Systems beat intentions: build the habit into your calendar rather than relying on willpower.