Gera Tools

Company Values Statement Builder

Define 4-6 authentic company values with descriptions and behavioral examples

Build a company values document where each value has a name, a one-sentence definition, two or three behavioral examples of the value in action, and an anti-pattern to avoid. Exports clean Markdown ready for a handbook, careers page, or onboarding. It runs free in your browser on Gera Tools, with nothing uploaded.

Last updated Source: Gera Tools

How many company values should we have?

Four to six is the sweet spot. Fewer than four often leaves real cultural priorities unstated; more than six and no one can remember them, which means they stop guiding decisions. A tight set forces you to choose what actually matters, and a memorable list is the only kind people will ever act on.

Values that guide behavior, not decorate a wall

Most company values are interchangeable nouns — integrity, excellence, passion — that no one could act on or be held to. Values that actually shape a culture name specific behaviors, imply a real cost, and draw a clear line against the anti-pattern. This builder helps you write four to six values where each carries a concrete definition, observable behaviors, and the failure mode to avoid.

How it works

For each value you define a few parts, and the tool assembles them into a clean values document:

Name        — the value, in your own words
Definition  — one concrete sentence of what it means here
Behaviors   — 2-3 observable actions that show it
Anti-pattern— the behavior that quietly violates it

The definition turns a one-word value into something specific to your company. The behavioral examples make it hireable and coachable — you can recognize the value in action and give feedback when it’s missing. The anti-pattern draws the line on the other side, keeping the value from being diluted until it justifies anything. The tool keeps the set in the memorable four-to-six range and exports it as Markdown for your handbook or careers page.

From generic to genuine: a worked example

A weak value looks like this: Integrity — “We do the right thing.”

A strong version of the same value might read: Integrity — “We share bad news early, before it gets worse.”

Behaviors:

  • A sales rep discloses a product limitation to a prospect before closing the deal.
  • A developer raises a production risk during sprint planning even when it slows the team.

Anti-pattern: Staying quiet about a problem to avoid an awkward conversation, hoping it resolves itself.

Notice how the strong version implies a real cost (risking the sale, slowing the team) and is observable by a colleague.

What makes a value set effective

Specificity beats aspiration. “Move fast” is generic; “We release to staging daily and treat a week without a deploy as a signal to investigate” is specific and measurable.

Anti-patterns make values honest. The opposite of a real value is always something that looks reasonable on the surface. Naming it closes the loophole that lets people rationalise departures from the value.

Four to six is the ceiling. Human working memory holds roughly seven things. A values list must be shorter than that to be retrieved under pressure — when someone is deciding whether to share bad news or hold a meeting or push a deadline.

Test with hiring. If you cannot write two interview questions that distinguish someone who lives a value from someone who just talks about it, the value is not defined precisely enough.

Tips for values that hold up

Pressure-test each value with a cost: if living it would never lead you to turn down revenue, a hire, or a shortcut, it’s a slogan, not a value. Write behaviors as things an outside observer could see happening, not feelings. And keep the list short — six memorable values that guide real decisions beat a dozen admirable words no one can recall when it counts.