Your company values are your startup’s operating system. Get them wrong, and you build in friction. Get them right, and you create clarity and speed.
Most articles on company values are just lists of inspirational words. They show you a polished phrase like ‘Customer Obsession’ but fail to give you the blueprint to bring it to life. This is not a collection of admirable posters. It is a playbook for People Leaders who need to build a high-performing culture, fast.
We are going beyond surface-level descriptions. We have curated 10 specific, modern values for high-growth companies. For each value, we will dissect what it means in practice, show who does it well, and give you tactical steps to embed it into your team’s daily work.
This guide is designed for action. You will find real-world company values examples broken down into their core components. We provide sample behaviours, variations for different growth stages, and quick implementation templates for your People Ops toolkit. This is about giving you the tools to build a culture that accelerates your business. Let's get started.
1. Transparency & Open Communication
Transparency is about creating a culture where information flows freely. It means being candid about company performance, challenges, and decisions. For startups, this value is a powerful tool for building trust during rapid growth.
This is one of the most effective company values examples because it counters the information hoarding that kills momentum. When everyone has context, they make better, faster decisions.
What good looks like
Radical transparency demystifies the "why" behind decisions, empowering team members to act like owners. It fosters a high-trust environment where tough feedback can be shared constructively. This approach also attracts talent who thrive on autonomy and clear communication.
Who does it well
Buffer: Famously publishes its salary formula and detailed transparency reports.
GitLab: Operates with a public handbook that documents everything from remote work policies to company strategy.
Patagonia: Sets the standard for corporate responsibility by transparently reporting on its supply chain and environmental impact.
How to implement it
Create a public roadmap. Use a tool like Trello or Notion to show what you're building next.
Document decision-making. Keep a log in a shared space explaining the rationale behind key decisions.
Run transparent All-Hands meetings. Share the good, the bad, and the uncertain. Discuss financial performance and strategic challenges openly.
State what you can't share. Be transparent about your transparency. If legal or privacy reasons prevent sharing, explain why.
2. Continuous Learning & Development
Continuous learning is a commitment to ongoing skill-building. This value recognises that in fast-growing startups, roles evolve quickly and teams need constant upskilling to stay ahead. It's about building a company that learns faster than the competition.
This is one of the most powerful company values examples for tech scale-ups because it directly fuels innovation and adaptability. When people are constantly learning, the entire organisation becomes more resilient.
What good looks like
A culture of learning creates a powerful growth flywheel. Employees feel invested in, which boosts retention. The company gains a more skilled workforce that can drive innovation. It signals to new hires that this is a place where they can build a career. To foster this culture effectively, consider using practical 360-degree feedback templates.
Who does it well
Google: Its '20% Time' policy allows engineers to spend one day a week on personal projects, which has led to innovations like Gmail.
Shopify: Developed an internal "university" and certification programme to formalise learning paths for key roles.
How to implement it
Create a learning hub. Centralise resources like playbooks and videos in a searchable library.
Allocate dedicated learning time. Schedule a "learning hour" each week or a "deep-dive day" each month.
Fund a learning stipend. Give every team member an annual budget for books, courses, or conferences.
Share learnings publicly. Create a dedicated Slack channel or regular meeting slot where team members can share what they've learned.
3. Practicality & Execution Focus
Practicality is about valuing real-world implementation over theoretical perfection. It means prioritising what actually works and delivering results. For resource-constrained startups, this value favours proven, immediately applicable approaches.
This is one of the most useful company values examples for early-stage companies because it forces a focus on shipping and learning. It combats analysis paralysis and ensures the team is always moving forward.
What good looks like
An execution focus keeps teams grounded. It forces prioritisation of the 80/20 solutions that deliver most of the impact with a fraction of the effort. This mindset builds a culture of pragmatism, where progress is measured by shipped products and solved problems. It attracts doers.
Who does it well
Basecamp: Built its entire 'Getting Real' methodology around this value, shipping functional software quickly.
Notion: Provides a vast library of templates that allow users to deploy sophisticated workflows instantly.
Stripe: Develops clear operational guides that enable its teams to execute complex tasks consistently.
How to implement it
Create step-by-step playbooks. Document core processes with simple checklists, not just high-level principles.
Provide ready-to-use templates. Build templates in tools like Notion, spreadsheets, or Slack that your team can use immediately.
Share ‘before and after’ examples. Showcasing real-world implementations helps demonstrate what good looks like.
Build fast feedback loops. Create channels to refine playbooks based on how they are actually used by the team.
4. Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging (DEIB)
DEIB is the commitment to creating a workplace where people from all backgrounds feel welcomed, valued, and empowered. It moves beyond simple representation to embed fair processes and an inclusive culture. Prioritising DEIB from the start prevents exclusive "in-groups" from forming.
This is one of the most critical company values examples for long-term health. Homogenous teams often struggle with blind spots. A strong DEIB focus widens your talent pool, improves decision-making, and better reflects your customer base.
What good looks like
A genuine commitment to DEIB builds psychological safety. This fosters higher engagement, creativity, and retention. It also attracts top talent who seek out inclusive employers. Building a truly inclusive environment requires constant attention to evolving challenges. Explore the current issues surrounding DEI in the workplace to stay informed.
Who does it well
Salesforce: Has publicly committed over $16 million to date to close pay gaps based on gender, race, and ethnicity.
Canva: Actively publishes its diversity data and integrates inclusive design principles into its product.
GitHub: Partners with organisations to build inclusive hiring pipelines and provides significant support for its employee resource groups (ERGs).
How to implement it
Conduct a diversity audit. Start with data. Analyse your current baseline in hiring, pay, promotion, and retention.
Set specific DEIB goals. Create measurable objectives with clear accountability tied to leadership performance.
Structure your interviews. Implement a consistent interview process with standardised questions and scorecards.
Run annual pay equity reviews. Proactively identify and correct pay disparities.
Resource your ERGs. Allocate budget and dedicated time for employee resource groups to operate effectively.
5. Psychological Safety & Trust
Psychological safety is about creating an environment where people feel safe to take interpersonal risks. Team members can speak up, share ideas, and admit mistakes without fear of punishment. For fast-growing companies, this value is the foundation for innovation.
This is one of the most critical company values examples because it directly enables high-performance teamwork. When individuals believe their team has their back, they are more willing to challenge the status quo.
What good looks like
A culture of psychological safety unlocks a team's potential. It transforms mistakes from sources of blame into opportunities for learning. This environment also fosters genuine creativity and collaboration. It's a powerful enabler of both individual wellbeing and collective performance.
Who does it well
Google: Its 'Project Aristotle' research identified psychological safety as the single most important dynamic in high-performing teams.
Pixar: Fosters a culture of candid feedback through its "Braintrust" meetings, where ideas can be critiqued honestly.
Etsy: Known for its blameless post-mortem culture, where engineering incidents are analysed to improve systems, not to assign blame.
Amazon: Utilises the "disagree and commit" leadership principle, encouraging robust debate before a decision is made.
How to implement it
Model vulnerability. Leaders should openly share their own failures and what they learned from them.
Run blameless post-mortems. After a failure, hold a meeting focused on "what" and "how" the system failed, not "who."
Use additive language. In meetings, encourage "yes, and..." thinking to build on ideas.
Hold skip-level meetings. Create a safe channel for employees to voice concerns directly to senior leadership.
6. Flexibility & Adaptability
Flexibility is the ability to evolve structures and processes as circumstances change. For startups, this value is critical because business models pivot and teams scale rapidly. A flexible culture allows teams to experiment and iterate quickly.
This is one of the most powerful company values examples for high-growth businesses. It moves beyond just remote work and embraces a mindset where the "way we do things" is always open for improvement. This keeps the company nimble as it scales.
What good looks like
An adaptable culture empowers teams to find the best way to work. It treats employees as adults, building trust and giving them autonomy over how, when, and where they achieve their goals. This approach boosts engagement, broadens the talent pool, and makes the organisation more resilient.
Who does it well
GitLab: Operates a globally distributed, all-remote culture built on asynchronous communication.
Basecamp: Known for championing a calmer way to work, including implementing four-day, 32-hour work weeks during the summer.
Shopify: Shifted to a "Digital by Design" model, allowing employees to choose whether they work remotely or from an office.
How to implement it
Define your flexibility. Be specific. Does it mean remote-first, flexible hours, or asynchronous work? Document it.
Build for asynchronous communication. Use tools like Slack, Loom, and Notion to reduce reliance on real-time meetings.
Focus on outcomes, not hours. Set clear goals and OKRs, then trust your team to deliver.
Run quarterly retrospectives. Regularly evaluate what’s working and adapt based on feedback.
7. Customer-Centric Problem Solving
This value puts the customer's needs at the centre of every decision. It is about understanding what your users actually need, not what you assume they need. For scaling businesses, it is the most reliable way to build a product that people will pay for.
This is one of the most powerful company values examples because it forces an external focus. It prevents teams from building in an echo chamber and keeps the organisation grounded in solving real-world problems.
What good looks like
A deep focus on the customer builds a powerful feedback loop that accelerates product-market fit. It creates a loyal user base. This value also simplifies internal debates by providing a clear tie-breaker: "what is best for the customer?". This attracts talent who are motivated by solving tangible problems for real people.
Who does it well
Figma: Built its entire platform on community feedback, using a public roadmap to prioritise features.
Notion: Cultivated a massive user community that actively shapes its feature development.
Slack: Grew by relentlessly focusing on user experience and building an integration marketplace based on customer workflows.
How to implement it
Create a public roadmap. Use a tool like Canny or Notion to show what is being built and why.
Run regular community calls. Host monthly or quarterly sessions to hear directly from users.
Share problem-solving metrics. Report on customer satisfaction, ticket resolution times, and feature usage.
Create a user advisory group. Form a small group of power users to provide early feedback on new ideas.
8. Collaboration & Collective Problem-Solving
Collaboration is a commitment to working together across boundaries and breaking down silos. For startups where teams are small and cross-functional, this value is essential for innovation. It champions the belief that better ideas emerge when people build on each other's work.
This is one of the most powerful company values examples for high-growth businesses because it actively prevents the siloed thinking that stifles speed. When collaboration is the default, teams can tackle bigger challenges faster.
What good looks like
A culture of collective problem-solving taps into the organisation's collective intelligence. The best ideas win, regardless of where they come from. It accelerates learning by exposing team members to different functions. This value also builds a resilient and connected team.
Who does it well
Spotify: Organised its engineering teams into cross-functional "squads," "tribes," and "guilds" to foster autonomy and collaboration.
3M: Encourages its technical staff to spend 15% of their time on personal projects, fostering collaborative experimentation.
IDEO: Its entire design thinking process is built on interdisciplinary teams working together.
Open Org: Builds peer communities and runs live events to facilitate collaborative learning among People leaders.
How to implement it
Create cross-functional project teams. Explicitly form teams with members from different departments for key initiatives.
Document decisions in shared spaces. Use tools like Notion or Confluence to make decisions accessible to everyone.
Run collaborative problem-solving sessions. Use structured methods like design thinking workshops to tackle specific challenges.
Establish peer learning groups. Create small, dedicated groups that meet regularly to share challenges and workshop solutions.
Celebrate collaborative wins. Publicly recognise and share stories of teams that worked together effectively.
9. Empathy & Human-Centered Leadership
Empathy and human-centred leadership prioritise understanding the needs and perspectives of your people. This value recognises that employees are whole humans with lives outside of work. Treating people with respect and empathy creates stronger organisations.
This is one of the most critical company values examples for high-stress startup environments. When change is constant and the pressure is high, empathy acts as a powerful retention tool. It prevents burnout and fosters genuine loyalty.
What good looks like
A human-centred approach builds psychological safety. It proves that the company sees employees as more than just resources, fostering a deep sense of belonging. This leadership style directly impacts well-being, which in turn drives creativity and productivity.
Who does it well
Patagonia: Their commitment to employee well-being is legendary, from on-site childcare to encouraging activism.
Basecamp: Built a company culture around "calm," respecting people's time by pioneering flexible, asynchronous work.
How to implement it
Protect 1-on-1 time. Make one-on-one meetings mandatory and ensure they are never cancelled by leaders.
Train empathetic communication. Equip your managers with active listening and coaching skills.
Model vulnerability. Leaders should openly discuss their own challenges and model healthy work-life boundaries.
Offer genuine flexibility. Create flexible work arrangements that are designed to support people's lives.
10. Measurable Impact & Accountability
This value centres on a commitment to defining clear success metrics and holding teams accountable for outcomes. It moves beyond good intentions to demonstrate actual, quantifiable results. For growing businesses, it ensures every action is tied to a measurable impact.
This is one of the most powerful company values examples for startups because it shifts the People function from a cost centre to a strategic driver of growth. When you can prove the ROI on culture initiatives, you earn a seat at the leadership table.
What good looks like
A focus on measurable impact builds a culture of ownership where teams are focused on results, not just activity. It eliminates ambiguity and provides a clear language for discussing performance. This data-driven approach allows you to identify what's working and pivot quickly away from what isn't.
Who does it well
Spotify: Uses a data-driven approach to track and improve everything from engineering velocity to employee retention.
15Five: Builds its entire product around measurable impact, using check-ins and pulse surveys to provide continuous feedback.
How to implement it
Define your key People metrics. Choose 3-5 core metrics like employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS) or retention rate.
Use a goal-setting framework. Implement a system like OKRs to cascade priorities and ensure every team's work is aligned.
Create simple dashboards. Use tools like Google Sheets or Looker to track your key metrics and share progress openly.
Balance leading and lagging indicators. Track outcomes (like retention) and the activities that predict them (like manager effectiveness scores).
Your Next Move: Turn Values into Action
We have walked through a collection of powerful company values examples. You have seen how leading startups articulate what they stand for. You have also seen how they translate those statements into daily behaviours. The goal was to give you a strategic playbook, not just a list.
The key insight is simple. Values are decision-making frameworks. They are the operating system that guides your team when no one is watching. The most effective values are specific, actionable, and deeply integrated into your people strategy. They are discovered and defined from the unique DNA of your company.
From Inspiration to Implementation
The examples in this article serve as a powerful starting point. But inspiration is not enough. Your next move is to bridge the gap between the values you admire and the lived experience of your team. This is a continuous process of reinforcement and iteration.
To make this tangible, here are the critical takeaways:
Start Small, Go Deep. Pick one or two values that feel most authentic and urgent. Focus on embedding that single value deeply before adding more.
Translate to Behaviours. For each value, ask: "What does this look like in action?". Define 3-5 specific, observable behaviours. For example, a value of 'Practicality' might translate to "We favour simple solutions that ship fast."
Integrate, Don't Isolate. Your values must live inside your core people processes. Weave them into your hiring scorecards, performance reviews, and promotion decisions.
Model from the Top. Leadership behaviour is the most powerful signal of what truly matters. If leaders do not consistently demonstrate the company's values, no amount of internal communication will make them stick.
Your Action Plan
Do not let this article become another open browser tab. Take immediate, focused action. Choose one of the steps below and commit to completing it this week.
Audit Your Existing Values. If you have values, assess them. Are they lived? Survey your team anonymously to get an honest read on which values resonate.
Run a Values Workshop. Gather a cross-functional group of employees to discuss what makes your company special. Use the examples here to guide a session focused on defining your unique cultural DNA.
Pilot a Value-Based Ritual. Pick one value and introduce a new team ritual to reinforce it. To support 'Continuous Learning', you could start a monthly "lunch and learn."
Mastering this is the foundation for building a resilient, high-performing organisation. A culture built on clear and authentic values becomes a competitive advantage. It attracts and retains the right talent, accelerates decision-making, and creates an environment where people can do their best work.
Turning these company values examples into a real-world operating system requires practical tools. Open Org gives you the playbooks, templates, and AI-powered coaching to help you define, embed, and scale your culture effectively. Stop reinventing the wheel and start executing with the confidence of a seasoned People leader.
