Hm, thanks for your thoughts, ArkyBeagle—we're currently figuring out the whole values thing, so these perspectives are really helpful. “very hard to wrestle wi

Hm, thanks for your thoughts, ArkyBeagle—we're currently figuring out the whole values thing, so these perspectives are really helpful. “very hard to wrestle with” is hitting the nail on the head. I do believe values can be purposeful to the journey of a company. To my mind, there are two kinds of values: the ones that build your current behavior, and the ones that build the behavior you want. The first I think is the emergent culture that you describe. In another comment you mention that it's hard to introspect to find values, and I agree. But by watching your culture (how everyone behaves), it's not impossible. These observations have helped us as a company to identify things that we like about our culture, and what we would like to see changed over time. These values you have, regardless of whether you write them down or not, whether you communicate them or not. On a side-note: For me as a flawed person these observations have been tremendously helpful. For example, I noticed how I myself inadvertently help create a culture I really don't want by apparently making a very serious impression when focused on a task. That wasn't a problem before as far as I know (well…), but is now. Knowing, I can change my behavior, and mid-term our culture. :) The second sort of values, the ones you want, I think are the ones described by marcosdumay. These are the values you want to be the future foundation of your behavior. I've seen cultures changing, so I want to believe it's possible to change our culture towards a desired state. The thing about writing those values down is that you then can start measuring yourself against them. And a goal state is essential for improving anything. “I cannot understand myself”, maybe, but without something to compare yourself against, a contrast, an ideal, I'm not making much of an effort, either. :) Thank you for handling public feedback gracefully.