Mission and Values — The North Star, Reimagined
Week 1
Is your company CULTURE ready for strategic change?
We’re beginning a seven-part series unpacking the cultural elements that determine…
whether change is SUSTAINABLE, or short-lived.
By the way, I PROMISE this series will deliver VALUE for EVERYONE.
This is not MGMT 101 content.
Mission & Values
What it really means to lead with purpose in moments that test.
Mission and values. I know, I know <YAWN>
Why the YAWN?????
We nod when we hear these words. They appear on websites, slide decks, and onboarding binders.
But for many organizations, that’s where they stop -displayed, but NOT LIVED.
For me, a Mission is not just a declaration of purpose,
it’s a PROMISE to people.
Values are not about posters in the break room -
they are
DAILY DECISIONS MADE IN THE MESSY MIDDLE OF COMPETING PRIORITIES.
Integrity is at the heart of a LIVED mission and values.
The Mission Must Breathe
When we build a company mission with depth, it should feel less like a marketing slogan and more like a compass during times of complexity.
If it doesn’t guide decisions when the path is unclear, then it's just words.
I believe a mission should answer:
How do we protect our people while we pursue growth?
How do we serve Clients without burning out the Talent that supports them?
How do we measure success beyond the bottom line? (Yes, the bottom line absolutely still counts.)
A living mission acknowledges that how we work is just as important as what we achieve.
Values That Don't Collapse Under Pressure
The true test of values isn’t how they sound in calm waters - it’s whether they hold up during a storm. When timelines tighten and tensions rise, values should provide clarity, not confusion.
Many organizations claim to value people - but still reward the badge of burnout.
They say they promote learning - but reduce it to checkbox compliance.
They advocate collaboration - but pit departments against each other in the name of efficiency.
To create a values-driven culture that sticks, we need to:
Redefine “high performance” to include sustainable contributions.
Normalize recovery and boundaries as markers of professionalism - not weakness.
Treat learning as a long-term asset, not a short-term line item.
Promote cross-functional respect not with team-building games, but with shared accountability and empathy in practice.
Where This Leads
When mission and values are practiced, not preached, they become the gravitational center of the organization - for its Customers, Talent, and Leadership.
Customers don’t just buy - they believe.
People don’t just stay - they grow.
Teams don’t just function - they flourish.
Revenue is realized in a long-term, sustaining way.
So instead of asking whether people follow the mission when no one’s watching, consider this:
Is your mission resilient enough to make the right decision feel obvious -
even when it’s inconvenient, costly, or unseen?
That’s when you know it’s more than just a statement. It’s a system of INTEGRITY.