GB Ep 11- How to Create Core Values

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Welcome to another episode of Growth Bites. Today we’re talking about creating core values for your company. Your core values should be unique to your company and effect your hires and fires.

• I use to think core values and culture was all about having a fancy office, catered food, ping pong tables and keg stands after work. That’s no about culture, it’s just about the nature of well-funded startups and those perks. [1:28]
• Your company is defined by a mission statement and the core values help define who you should hire and fire. Your culture is the accumulation of your mission statement and core values. [1:59]
• At Single Grain, we spent too much time looking at other people’s core values like being fun and caring. It’s not that we aren’t, but it just wasn’t the main traits we embodied. [2:35]
• Your list of core values shouldn’t be so long you that no one can remember them. Everyone from the CEO to the assistants and interns should embody your core values. [3:03]
• Craft your interviewing questions around your core values. For example, one of our core values is about being data driven. Frame your interview questions around that. [4:35]
• Being action-oriented is tough to rain and should be part of your core values to find the right hires. [5:14]
• Give your interns a task like creating an independent marketing plan and see how far they can get without any guidance. This can help find action-oriented hires. [5:38]
• Talk to your management team about core values and narrow it down to what really matters and embodies you. don’t just copy other people and be posers. [6:20]
• At Single Grain, we looked for people who were on sports team to find people with grit to power through things. or people who started organizations and pushed through. Next, move onto a trial period. [7:25]
• If you start drifting away from your core values, reavaluate and start over. [8:06]
• Don’t make the same mistakes we did and copy other’s core values. [8:39]

Selected Links from this Episode:

• How To Hire Stars For Your Team

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Connect with Eric Siu:

• Growth Everywhere
• Single Grain
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