The fairytale of values.

What do you really value and why does it matter?

Say a word over and over again, and eventually, it becomes meaningless.

Repetition strips it bare. That’s semantic satiation.

Value, is one of those words.

We hear it a lot. Think about it rarely. And understand it less.

What does it actually mean?

Well, value is what we believe has worth (or utility), but also what we think is worthwhile (or important). We can create or acquire value, and we can be guided by what we believe is valuable (or important), with a set of values, or a value system. And it’s the latter I’m on about.

Values are our beliefs about the situations and actions we deem worthwhile and important, so what we value (and reward), guides our behaviours and our actions.

Although we don’t all value the same things, social psychologist Shalom Schwartz developed a theory for a universal set of values from a global study on human values in 1994. Based on data from 60,000 people (it’s robust), this Theory of Basic Human Values identifies 10 distinct, universal values, categorised into 4 groups as follows:

1. Openness to change — Self direction, Stimulation.
2. Self-enhancement — Hedonism , Achievement, Power.
3. Conservation — Security, Conformity, Tradition.
4. Self-transcendence — Benevolence, Universalism.

Quick sidebar on two points; 1. hedonism sits in both openness to change and self enhancement and 2. everything’s fairly self explanatory apart from Universalism, which is to be motivated by understanding, tolerance, appreciation, and protecting the welfare of people and nature.

These values are the standards we use to evaluate what’s important in our lives. They cover our basic human needs, like individual biological needs, coordinating our actions with others and the need of groups to survive and flourish and they can be presented like this:

Now…….this is the important bit.

Schwartz found that the values are inter-related. Some overlap, like power and achievement. Others are oppositional. Where the pursuit of one, conflicts with the other. Openness to change and conservatism conflict, the same for self-enhancement and self-transcendence and individually, power conflicts with universalism and so on (if they’re opposite on the chart above, they conflict — get it?). This means making a choice.

Let me explain where I’m going…….

Companies and brands are often keen to adopt values. Values that might, guide their actions and behaviours. Ones that send the right signals. Which is good. But mostly, the values I see are saccharin, homogenous, empty virtue signalling, or worse, the opposite to what’s really valued (and rewarded) by a business.

I read once that the key to creating a good set of values (or principles or beliefs), is the inclusion of one key element with each, which is..“even if it means…..”. So,“we value x, even if it means we can’t do y”. Because as Bernbach said “a principle isn’t a principle unless it costs” and values, when they work, help to make choices. Just like strategy, values are sacrifice.

So, what’s the point?

Well, just be honest ffs.

With yourselves, your stakeholders, your customers and the public.

Don’t claim you value change, if what you really value is conservatism. Don’t claim you value equality, if what you really value is power. And when you create a set of values, understand the sacrifices and reward systems that are needed to uphold them.

Values, are great and powerful things, but not if they’re a fairytale.

And if you have values, make sure they’re actually valuable.