I’m a big believer in EOS, the Entrepreneurial Operating System. It’s a framework that helps companies achieve alignment, accountability, and growth through simple, practical tools.
One of the foundational tools in EOS is identifying your company’s core values. These aren’t aspirational phrases or marketing taglines. They’re meant to reflect the behaviors and attitudes that already exist in your best people. The ones you want to see in every team member.
Core values are meant to become the backbone of your culture, guiding how you hire, lead, and grow. But I often wonder how many companies go through the exercise, write down their values, maybe add them to their website, and then forget they exist.
That’s why I’m writing this post. To give an example of what it looks like when core values are actually lived.
At my previous company, I was both the CMO and a co-founder. I sat in the marketing seat on the leadership team, so everything in this post is based on firsthand experience as a marketing leader and business owner.
Initially I thought our core values would be a nice addition to the About section of our website but I didn’t fully understand their power at the time.
We worked closely with our EOS Implementer and did the work to uncover our core values. And then we fully lived them. And what was marketing’s role in all of it? More on that later.
Our Core Values
We were lucky to have a visionary CEO who helped uncover these values with clear, thoughtful definitions. These were our core values (prior to being acquired, when they changed):
- Do the Right Thing
- Positive Mindset
- Entrepreneurial Spirit
- Growth Focused
- One Team
By themselves, they were just words. But with context, they carried real meaning.
Do the Right Thing
This one’s simple. It’s what your grandma taught you, or whoever first helped you understand the difference between right and wrong.
Positive Mindset
This wasn’t toxic positivity. It was a “no Eeyores allowed” mindset. You know, the pessimistic friend of Winnie the Pooh. Everyone has bad days, of course, but we wanted to avoid the kind of constant complaining that drains energy from a team. It wasn’t personal. Some people just operate that way, but it didn’t fit in our culture.
Entrepreneurial Spirit
In a small but growing company, we needed people who didn’t just do the task. They questioned it. Why are we doing it this way? Is there a better way? The best ideas for efficiency and improvement often came from team members closest to the work.
Growth Focused
Growth mattered, both personally and professionally. We didn’t expect people to act one way at work and another outside of it. We’re all whole humans, and growth in one area often led to growth in the other. It was the mindset that counted. People who were curious, open, and eager to learn tended to thrive.
One Team
We operated like a real team, not just in name, but in how we showed up for each other. When we won, we won together. And when someone was struggling, a teammate would step in to help. Collaboration and support weren’t just encouraged. They were part of how we worked.
How We Brought Our Core Values to Life
1. Hiring With Core Values First
Every candidate met with me and our CEO before interviewing with the hiring manager. That first conversation wasn’t about the job. It was about who we were as a company.
We walked the candidate through our purpose, mission, goals, and core values. As we discussed each core value, we paused to ask what it meant to them.
- What does “Do the Right Thing” mean to you?
- What’s something you’ve done recently to grow?
- Do you have any friends who complain a lot? How does it feel to spend time with them?
These conversations gave candidates a real feel for our culture. And they gave us a strong sense of who that person was. Often, candidates who weren’t a fit would self-select out. Those who moved forward were genuinely excited about joining a values-driven team.
2. Signed Core Values Document
Each new hire received a document outlining our core values, which they signed and kept a copy of. The original went in their HR file. Not for enforcement, but to make it clear this wasn’t just words on a page. This was what we stood for.
3. All-Hands Meetings
In staff meetings, our CEO would periodically ask, “What are our core values?” People could rattle them off without hesitation.
Then he’d ask, “Who’s seen someone living out one of these values recently?”
The stories that followed turned into moments of team connection, recognition, and pride. Being acknowledged by peers in front of the team meant a lot and made our values feel real.
Sometimes, our CEO would share a story from his own week that tied back to a value. It was a simple but powerful way to keep reinforcing them.
4. Core Values Competition
This one was the brainchild of our Marketing Coordinator, who also led internal marketing.
We had about 40 people in the company when we introduced this. Here’s how it worked:
We created silicone bracelets. Each one was in our brand colors and represented a core value. To earn a bracelet, a teammate had to receive an email from a peer, submitted to our marketing coordinator and copied to our CEO, describing how they had embodied a specific core value.
Each bracelet earned got them one entry into a prize drawing, up to five entries max. Every email was printed and taped to the office walls. People would gather around reading them. It was real, meaningful recognition from peers.
At the end, we drew five winners and gave out prizes worth $100 each. But the real value was the culture it reinforced.
5. Annual Reviews
We followed the EOS review process with a self-reflection on values. Each team member rated themselves as:
- (+) Living the value consistently
- (+/–) Somewhat consistent
- (–) Needs improvement
Their manager did the same, and during the review, they compared notes.
No one got all pluses, ever. That was expected. Often the conversation would center around values like Entrepreneurial Spirit or Growth Focused. Where could they improve? What new skill did they want to develop? What processes might be outdated, ready to streamline, delegate, or automate?
It wasn’t a checkbox. It was a conversation.
Culture Before and After Core Values
We had a strong culture even before adopting EOS and defining our core values. We genuinely enjoyed working together. We had a rotating “Fun Czar Committee” that planned quarterly outings and parties.
On May Day, every team member received a thoughtful gift—things like a quesadilla maker, a homemade ice cream machine, or a chocolate fondue pot. (The tradition was started by our CEO’s mother. And yes, they were all food-related. That was our thing.)
Everyone received an annual bonus, no matter what. People felt appreciated. The culture was already good.
But when we defined and started living our core values, it pulled everything together. It gave structure to what had already been working and helped us protect and scale the culture as we grew. Core values gave our team language, alignment, and a shared standard for how we showed up everyday.
How Core Values Fuel Marketing
Core values aren’t just something to stick on your website or include in a pitch deck. When you actually live them, they become one of the most powerful tools you have. They help build a strong team, align your culture, and create a brand that feels grounded and believable.
As CMO, I saw how deeply our values shaped more than just internal behavior. They influenced our messaging, the tone we used, and how we communicated with customers. When values are present in how your team works, they naturally show up in your marketing. There’s no need to force authenticity when it already exists.
Your brand is not just what you say. It’s how your team acts, how your customers feel, and how consistent your experience is from the inside out. The stronger the alignment between your internal culture and external brand, the more trust you earn, and the more effective your marketing becomes.
Final Thoughts
Your brand starts inside your walls. If you want marketing that feels authentic, it starts with a team that actually lives your values.
When values are real, people feel it. And when people feel it, they want to be part of it.
