Understanding the Core of Company Culture

A strong company culture is more than just a mission statement—it’s the foundation for how teams operate, make decisions, and collaborate. Businesses often talk about the importance of defining values and principles, but what do these actually mean? More importantly, how do they translate into real-world behaviours?

If you're trying to build a culture where employees understand what truly matters, you need to define values, principles, and behaviours clearly. Without this structure, businesses risk setting abstract ideals that sound good in theory but fail to guide day-to-day actions.

In this guide, we’ll break down the difference between values, principles, and behaviours, explain how they work together, and walk you through the process of defining them for your organisation.

Defining Values, Principles, and Behaviours

Values: What the Company Stands For

Values represent the core beliefs and priorities of a company. They are the guiding ideals that influence decision-making and company culture. However, values alone are not actionable—they set the direction but don’t provide a framework for execution.

Example: A company might value creativity above all else, but without further definition, employees may struggle to understand how that translates into their work.

Principles: Translating Values Into Action

Principles are operational guidelines that stem from values. They provide guardrails for decision-making and ensure values are consistently upheld in different situations. Unlike values, principles are more actionable and can be referenced when making strategic choices.

Example: If creativity is a core value, a supporting principle could be: We work with only the most innovative people. This ensures that hiring and collaboration decisions reinforce the company’s commitment to creativity.

Behaviours: The Execution of Principles

Behaviours are the real-world actions that bring values and principles to life. These are specific, observable ways in which employees demonstrate a company’s values through their daily work and interactions.

Example: If creativity is the core value and hiring innovative talent is the principle, then real behaviours might include:

• Not hiring a candidate who is highly skilled but lacks creative thinking.

• Actively recruiting from industries known for innovation rather than traditional talent pools.

Comparison: Values vs Principles vs Behaviours

Without all three components working together, company culture remains undefined. Values set the vision, principles provide structure, and behaviours bring them to life.

How to Define Company Values, Principles, and Behaviours

1. Identify Core Values

Start by reflecting on what truly matters to your company. Consider the following questions:

• What principles guide our biggest decisions?

• What qualities do we admire in employees and leadership?

• What differentiates our company culture from others?

Avoid vague, overused buzzwords like "excellence" or "integrity" unless they genuinely reflect how your company operates. Instead, choose values that are authentic to your business and employees.

2. Engage Your Team

Values should not be dictated from the top—they should be discovered through collaboration. Involve employees in discussions about moments when they felt most aligned with the company’s culture. Real-world experiences often highlight the authentic values already in place.

For structured guidance, explore our OKR Consulting Services to align team discussions with strategic objectives.

3. Define Clear Principles

Once you have core values, establish guiding principles that support them. Each principle should act as a bridge between values and behaviours, providing a clear framework for decision-making.

For example:

• Value: Customer-Centricity

• Principle: We prioritize long-term customer relationships over short-term gains

• Behaviour: Choosing customer support improvements over quick sales wins

4. Translate Principles Into Behaviours

This step is where culture becomes tangible. For each principle, outline specific behaviours that demonstrate how it should be applied in different scenarios. These should be clear enough that employees understand what is expected of them.

For example:

• Value: Integrity

• Principle: We believe in doing the right thing, even when it’s difficult

• Behaviours:

• Being transparent with clients, even when delivering bad news

• Owning up to mistakes and correcting them promptly

For a step-by-step framework, check out our OKR Bootcamp, which helps leaders implement structured, values-driven strategies.

5. Communicate and Embed in the Culture

Once defined, values, principles, and behaviours should become part of the everyday language and processes of your company. This means:

• Incorporating them into onboarding and training programs

• Using them in performance evaluations and feedback

• Reinforcing them in leadership communications and decision-making

6. Live By Example

Leaders and managers play a crucial role in shaping company culture. If leadership doesn’t embody the defined values and principles, employees won’t either. Companies that successfully embed their culture into daily operations have leaders who consistently reinforce and model these behaviours.

Learn how leadership and goal-setting align in our Leading Team OKR Course.

7. Continuously Evolve and Improve

Company culture isn’t static—it should adapt as the business grows. Revisit your values, principles, and behaviours regularly to ensure they still align with your organisation’s goals and challenges. Collect feedback from employees and be open to refining the framework as needed.

Final Thoughts: Building a Values-Driven Culture

Defining values, principles, and behaviours is essential for creating a culture that is not just aspirational but lived every day. By making values actionable through principles and reinforcing them with real behaviours, businesses can ensure that culture isn’t just words on a website—it’s embedded into every decision and interaction.

If you want to take this a step further, ensuring that your company is aligned not just in culture, but in strategic execution, consider implementing Objectives and Key Results (OKRs). Companies like Google, LinkedIn, and Meta use OKRs to focus teams and drive measurable outcomes.

Explore how OKRs and company culture connect with our OKR Coaching & Mentoring Program.

Would you like help defining values that actually drive results? Contact OKR Quickstart to start shaping a culture that works.