Many businesses have values. Fewer can point to the moment those values changed a decision, raised a standard or made a difficult conversation easier.
That’s the difference between a list of admirable words and a useful operating principle.
A value should tell people what to do
The All Blacks have a phrase: Sweep the Sheds.
After a match, some of the biggest names in the team help clean the changing room. It’s a simple instruction with a clear meaning: nobody is above the team.
It works because it asks people to do something. It doesn’t rely on a broad word such as teamwork or humility and expect everyone to interpret it in the same way. It turns the principle into visible behaviour.
Generic values aren’t enough
Honesty, integrity and professionalism all matter, but they should be expected rather than presented as the defining character of a business.
They don’t tell a team what makes the organisation different, what standard to apply when the pressure is on or what to do when the answer isn’t obvious.
Strong values make that connection. They translate the ambition of the business into everyday choices about how people work together, serve customers and decide what good looks like.
At i-Spy, the values start with action
Each i-Spy value deliberately begins with a verb:
- Enjoy the Ride
- Look Again
- Keep It Human
- Sweat the Thinking, Not the Theatre
- Find a Better Way
Enjoy. Look. Keep. Sweat. Find.
They’re instructions rather than labels. Each one prompts action by framing the value as something people can do, rather than an abstract noun they’re expected to admire.
The language is deliberately familiar too. These are simple statements made from words people already use, rather than corporate language that needs to be decoded or translated into everyday life.
They also give the imagination something to work with: a ride, a second look, a human response, unnecessary theatre and a better way waiting to be found.
Research into memory suggests that concrete, imageable words are often easier to process and remember than abstract ones. That doesn’t mean a cleverly worded value will create a strong culture by itself, but it can remove one of the barriers to people remembering and using it.
For a growing business, that matters. Values can establish direction early, make expectations visible and give people a shared way to move forward without adding unnecessary process.
The best values don’t simply describe a business. They help people decide how to behave within it.
So the question isn’t whether your business has values. It’s whether anyone can use them tomorrow.
