Most corporate values statements (e.g., "integrity") are unactionable and don't change internal culture. Effective leaders codify specific, observable behaviors—the "how" of working together. This makes unspoken expectations explicit and creates a clear standard for accountability that a vague value never could.

Instead of a long list of values, high-performing CEOs create an energized culture by defining and rigorously enforcing a minimal set of core values, such as "be competent and be kind." This simplicity makes them easy to remember, measure, and act upon decisively.

Radically changing a large company's culture is a decade-long endeavor. A faster, more effective approach is to identify the organization's existing positive cultural DNA. The UniCredit CEO interviewed over 20,000 employees to find their core values, then built his transformation strategy to amplify those strengths.

Instead of imposing top-down values, Gamma's CEO created a "notebook" of behaviors that team members organically praised in each other. These observed, authentic actions became the foundation of their culture deck, ensuring the values reflected reality.

Setting values on day one often leads to inauthentic principles. A more effective approach is to operate the business, observe which behaviors are genuinely rewarded and cherished, and then name those emergent qualities as your official values, ensuring they reflect reality rather than aspiration.

Generic values like "Speed" are meaningless because no one disagrees with them. To make a value impactful, embed its inherent trade-off into the statement, like Facebook's "Move Fast and Break Things." This acknowledges what you are willing to sacrifice, making the value a unique and actionable strategic choice.

Instead of asking "what culture do we want?", BBDO asked "what are the characteristics of people who do best here?". This approach reverse-engineers a culture based on proven success, creating a practical and authentic behavioral language for the entire organization.

Instead of vague values, define culture as a concrete set of "if-then" statements that govern reinforcement (e.g., "IF you are on time, THEN you are respected"). This turns an abstract concept into an operational system that can be explicitly taught, managed, and improved across the organization.

Culture isn't about values listed on a wall; it's the sum of daily, observable behaviors. To build a strong culture, leaders must define and enforce specific actions that embody the desired virtues, especially under stress. Abstract ideals are useless without concrete, enforced behaviors.