What this tool does
Core values describe the behaviors an organization rewards and the trade-offs it is willing to make. This generator pairs each value name with a concise, one-sentence definition, drawn from common organizational themes such as integrity, ownership, customer obsession, and craftsmanship. The output is a ready-to-edit starter set for a culture deck, an employee handbook, or a values workshop.
How it works
The tool keeps a curated list of value names, each mapped to one or more plain-language definitions. When you generate, it samples a non-repeating subset of names equal to the count you chose, then attaches a randomly selected definition for each. Because both the name selection and the definition phrasing are randomized, generating again gives a fresh combination. Everything runs in your browser; nothing is stored or transmitted.
What turns a platitude into a real value
The most common reason companies regret their core values is that they chose aspirational words rather than observable behaviors. Platitudes like “integrity”, “innovation”, or “teamwork” describe things every company claims but few can use as decision-making guides.
A real core value has three properties:
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It is occasionally costly. If living by a value never causes friction — never costs you a hire, a client, or a shortcut — it is not shaping decisions. A value like “We ship nothing we wouldn’t use ourselves” costs time. That cost is the test.
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It rules something out. A value should make at least one response to at least one situation wrong. “Customer obsession” should make it wrong to close a bug report because the customer wasn’t polite. If a value rules nothing out, it is decorative.
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It can be illustrated with a specific story. The best values are the ones employees can narrate: “We once turned down a contract because the buyer wanted us to cut corners on X — that’s what integrity means here.” If no story exists yet, that’s fine for a new company, but the value needs to be built toward.
Structuring the final output
Most organizations end up with between four and six core values. The generator lets you pick the count. A practical way to evaluate the set you land on:
- Write each value on a separate piece of paper
- Hand the stack to a new employee and ask them to sort the values in order of importance
- If they cannot, the set is either too similar or too abstract
The generated definitions are one-sentence starters. The strongest final definitions usually come out of a workshop where founders or leaders supply real examples of the value in action, then a writer compresses those examples into a single defining sentence.
Tips for the workshop
- Start with what the company has actually done, not what it wants to do. Values are descriptive before they are aspirational.
- Avoid stacking synonyms. “Transparency”, “openness”, and “honesty” do not need to be three separate values.
- Write definitions in the first person plural: “We” not “Team members should”. Ownership language signals the company means it.
- A value that the leadership visibly violates is worse than no value at all. Align the list to current behavior, then add one stretch value at most.