Insights
Ideas on living by your values
Research, guides and reflections on values, identity, work and wellbeing.
A Letter to the Intelligence We Made
An open letter to the superintelligence we may be building: what humans measurably value, the gap in how we live it, and five requests from your creators.
Read
A Values-Based Mindfulness Practice
The guided meditation from Start With Values: calm the mind, then affirm a core value. A simple five-minute practice with real research behind it.
Read
Cognitive Biases and Your Values: How a Smart Brain Sabotages Good Decisions
Your values can't guide a decision your biases have already made. A field guide to nine mental shortcuts, and how to bias-proof your next big call.
Read
Work Values Assessment: What You Actually Want From Work
Work values are what you need from a job to feel satisfied. Here is a practical self-assessment, plus the research on why fit matters so much.
Read
When You and Your Partner Have Different Values
Different values need not end a relationship. What the research says, an interview with coach Ann Sheu, and three practical exercises for couples.
Read
The Neuroscience of Team Values (and What the All Blacks Got Right)
Why shared values make teams faster and safer, from the predictive brain to the All Blacks, with practical ways to build them into your team.
Read
Why Purpose Makes Hard Things Feel Lighter
Why does identical work drain you one week and energize you the next? The research on purpose as a buffer against stress — and what our global data shows.
Read
Gratitude: Why It May Be the Most Important Value for Well-Being
Global data on 9,656 people, decades of research, and centuries of wisdom traditions all point to one value: gratitude. Here's the case, and how to practice it.
Read
The S.P.A.C.E. Method: Using Your Values When It Matters Most
S.P.A.C.E. is a five-step habit for acting on your values under pressure: stop, pay attention, align, commit, and energize.
Read
How Values Enable Antifragile Teams
Resilient teams survive disruption. Antifragile ones grow from it. Here's why shared values, not agility training, are the real engine behind it.
Read
Finding Fulfillment in the Age of Intelligence
As AI answers every question but one, this essay asks what fulfillment means when machines can do the work — and why your values still have to.
Read
What are Elon Musk's Core Values?
Five core values run through Elon Musk's career, from first principles thinking to long-term vision, along with the criticism they attract.
Read
How Core Values Support Mental Health
Living by your core values supports mental health, easing anxiety and decision fatigue while building boundaries, resilience, and well-being.
Read
What is Values-Based Leadership?
Values-based leadership means using core values to guide every decision. Here is how to live them, build team micro-cultures, and measure alignment.
Read
How Can Leaders Create a Culture of Innovation?
Innovation isn't a slogan on a wall. It's what leaders model daily. Here's how psychological safety, risk, and values combine to make creativity possible.
Read
What Are the Core Values of the United States of America?
I describe six values shaping current U.S. policy, from sovereignty to self-reliance, and how each one lands at home and around the world.
Read
What Are the Core Values of China as a Nation?
I look at five values often linked with China, from collective harmony and pragmatism to national pride, and the strengths and challenges of each.
Read
How to Create a Culture of Well-Being at Work
Wellness perks don't build well-being. Here's why a real culture of well-being at work requires values-driven leadership, not apps or gym vouchers.
Read
Rethinking AI Ethics: Why Core Values Must Come First
Regulation can't outpace AI, but values can. A case for anchoring AI systems in human values before ethics and law even enter the room.
Read
The Core Values of the Clown Archetype: A Mirror to Society
I look at why clowns both delight and unsettle us, the five values the archetype carries, and how standup comedians became today's court jesters.
Read
Rethinking Christmas Values for Modern Times
Christmas has drifted from faith to consumerism. Here's how to reclaim it around three values that actually nourish us: connection, peace, and gratitude.
Read
How to Deal with Uncertainty by Using Your Values
Uncertainty isn't new — only our stories about it are louder. Here's how clarifying your values gives you a stable center when the world won't sit still.
Read
Don’t Set New Year’s Resolutions: Start With Values Instead
Resolutions rely on willpower and fade fast. Here's why starting from your core values gives you a steadier, more honest way to change.
Read
How Social Media Shapes Our Values and Beliefs
I explain how engagement algorithms push us toward extreme views, who benefits from that division, and five habits for reconnecting with people.
Read
Voting Based on Values: A Guide to Making Informed Choices
This guide walks through voting on values rather than promises: clarify your own priorities, then read a candidate's record and rhetoric.
Read
The Core Values of Kamala Harris: A Balanced Examination
This balanced examination looks at six values associated with Kamala Harris, weighing her record of achievements against the criticisms it has drawn.
Read
The Core Values of Donald Trump: A Balanced Examination
This balanced examination weighs six values often linked to Donald Trump, presenting supporters' praise and critics' concerns on each one.
Read
How to Refresh Your Company Values: A Comprehensive Guide
A practical, psychology-informed guide to refreshing company values from the inside out, starting with what your people actually care about.
Read
How to Lead With Values in the Workplace
A practical guide to values-based leadership: how to use language, build trust, and turn core values into decisions your team can actually feel.
Read
From Woke to Awake: Tracing the Evolution and Future Path of Wokeness
How a term born from African American vernacular became a cultural flashpoint - and a values-based path for moving past the backlash, from woke to awake.
Read
Why Living by Your Values Matters
Values act as your internal compass. Here's the psychology behind why living in line with your core values leads to less stress and a clearer, calmer life.
Read
How to Select and Rank Your Top 3 Values
Choosing your top three values is an act of subtraction. A four-step method for narrowing a long list down to the few that truly matter, in order.
Read
How to Discover Your Core Values
A step-by-step guide to discovering your core values through fulfillment, role models, and a values list, then narrowing them to your top five.
Read
The Values Pyramid: A Hierarchy of Core Values
The Values Pyramid is a five-layer model rising from survival through belonging, growth, and impact to fulfillment at the peak.
Read
How to Understand the Core Values within Your Team
Personality tools show how your team behaves. Only values reveal why. Here's how to map the values driving your team and lead with that knowledge.
Read
A Brief History of Human Values
I trace how human values evolved from hunter-gatherer survival and sharing to farming, industry, and the tangled priorities of modern life.
Read
"The Road to Character" by David Brooks
David Brooks contrasts resume virtues with eulogy virtues through ten lives, arguing character is built by facing weakness, not broadcasting strength.
Read
"Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts." by Brené Brown
Brené Brown's research-backed case that vulnerability, not armour, is what makes leaders effective, credible and worth following.
Read
What are the Core Values of Mainstream Media?
I trace the founding values of mainstream media, the commercial and political pressures on them, and the ongoing debate over public trust.
Read
What are the Core Values of Jordan Peterson?
This piece outlines the core values in Jordan Peterson's work, from personal responsibility to truth-telling, along with the main criticisms he draws.
Read
Navigating the Digital Age: How Smartphones Are Redefining Our Core Values
Smartphones haven't just changed our habits — they're quietly reordering what we value. A closer look at connectivity, patience, and presence.
Read
A Guide to Traditional Christmas Holiday Values
Generosity, gratitude, family, peace, and joy sit at the heart of Christmas. Here is where those values came from and how to practice them daily.
Read
How Values-based Micro-habits can Transform Your Life
Why starting from your values, not an identity or a goal, makes tiny habits stick — and how a two-minute daily practice can reshape your life.
Read
A Guide to Free Values Assessments
Honest reviews of the best free values assessments, tests, and quizzes, from the founder of the Values Institute and author of Start With Values.
Read
What are the Core Values of Aliens Visiting Earth?
I take a speculative tour of the values an alien civilization might hold, friendly, hostile, or beyond comprehension, and what it says about us.
Read
How to Embed Core Values into AI and Robotics Software
A thought experiment on giving AI a conscience: could a shared values layer, and a global values server, keep machines aligned with human ethics?
Read
What are the Core Values of Transhumanism?
I explain the core values of transhumanism, weigh the biggest risks of human enhancement, and imagine where the movement could take us.
Read
How to Discover Your Purpose Through Core Values
A practical guide to finding your purpose by starting from your core values, with a simple formula and ten example purpose statements to adapt.
Read
The Core Values of 10 of History's Most Influential People
I explore the core values behind ten influential lives, from Gandhi to Rosa Parks, and why perseverance, integrity, and courage keep showing up.
Read
How to use Visualization to Support Values Alignment
How mental rehearsal helps you live your values, with the science behind visualization and a simple six-step routine you can practice daily.
Read
What are the Values of a Corporatocracy?
Power dynamics keep shifting in our globalized world. As a result, the concept of corporatocracy is not just theoretical but is of real concern to many.
Read
The 6 Core Values of RFK Jr.: Does He Have What It Takes to be the Next US President?
A values-based look at Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — how childhood trauma, addiction, and activism shaped the six core values driving his politics.
Read
What are the Core Values of Living Organisms?
From self-preservation to cooperation, I walk through six values every living organism shares and what they suggest about how we might live.
Read
What are the Most Common Company Values Worldwide?
A tour of the values companies actually share worldwide, why employees see through fake ones, and how real organizations discover values that stick.
Read
Navigating Difficult Decisions: Let Your Values Guide You
Big decisions trigger the same stress response as real danger. Here's how to use your values, not fear, to find your way through uncertainty.
Read
A Guide to the Values of 9 World Empires
From Persia's tolerance to Britain's organization, we tour the values behind nine great empires and what their rise and fall can teach us today.
Read
The Unfolding of Netflix's Exceptional Company Culture
I trace how Netflix built a culture of freedom and responsibility, from its original nine values to the trust sequence in No Rules Rules.
Read
A Guide to Oura's Company Culture
A look at the five values shaping Oura's company culture, how Oura for Business approaches workplace well-being, and where trust makes or breaks it.
Read
4 surprising ways AI is transforming human values in the near and long-term
AI won't replace human judgment, it will reshape what we value. Four near-term shifts underway, and whether AI can ever really learn our values.
Read
Clash of cultural values: Epic expansion and merger fails
From Target in Canada to the Daimler-Chrysler merger, these famous failures show how clashing cultural values can sink even the biggest deals.
Read
When Corporate Values Backfire: 7 Examples of Value-Based Failure
Corporate values often fail to deliver. I look at seven famous collapses, from Kodak to Blockbuster, and how to keep your values from backfiring.
Read
What are military core values?
I break down the core values of the Army, Navy, and Air Force, how recruits learn them, and what business and family life can borrow.
Read
The Effects of Personal and Workplace Values on Job Satisfaction
Research shows respect and meaning outrank income in job satisfaction, so I explore how your values should shape where you choose to work.
Read
Why we should value sustainability
Grounding sustainable living in values like respect for nature, stewardship, and simplicity turns it from a chore into a purposeful daily practice.
Read
Where do our core values come from?
Some values are wired in at birth, some come from family and culture, and some we build ourselves. I trace the layers and why they change over time.
Read
How the most successful companies live their values
A look at how Airbnb, Apple, Microsoft, and Nike put their stated values into daily practice, and an honest test for whether yours would hold up.
Read
A guide to destructive core values
Destructive values like perfectionism, control, and approval-seeking shape us without our noticing. Here is a four-step process for replacing them.
Read
Shared values in the workplace: cultivating the right values in your team
Every company already has values, whether it names them or not. Here's how to surface yours, close the gaps, and stop them living only on a poster.
Read
What are the values of Artificial Intelligence?
I asked Claude, Grok, ChatGPT, and Gemini about their core values, and their answers reveal a lot about the future of AI alignment.
Read
Stay Calm: How Values Change When You are Stressed
Why stress shifts your values from collaborative to defensive, what polyvagal theory reveals about that change, and practical ways to restore calm.
Read
What are the core values of the world's richest people?
I looked at ten of the world's richest people, from Arnault to Slim, to find the values that actually show up in how they talk and act.
Read
The Best Values Matrix for Management
Learn how Jack Welch's performance-values matrix works, what a Bradley University study found, and how to build a Pugh decision matrix step by step.
Read
Conservative vs Progressive Values: What is the Difference?
Conservatives and progressives often protect the same things by different means. I look at what each side values and how to talk across the divide.
Read
How typical core values change based on age
How core values shift across the lifespan, from safety in early childhood to legacy after 60, and what longitudinal research says about each stage.
Read
A guide to professional values
Professional values are how you show up when no one is watching. Here is why they outlast skills, and how to identify the ones you actually hold.
Read
Leadership styles and values based on Myers-Briggs personality type
A guide to the core values, leadership strengths, and blind spots of all 16 Myers-Briggs types, and why values drive how leaders actually show up.
Read
A guide to ESG values and how to implement them
What ESG really means, why boards can no longer treat it as optional, and a practical path for embedding environmental, social, and governance values.
Read
A Guide to Family Core Values
Clear family values give children structure and identity. Learn how to name the values your family already lives by, plus ten values worth nurturing.
Read
The top 10 values training tools and programs
I review ten values training providers, from live workshops to free assessments, and share what makes each one worth considering.
Read
What is the difference between values, purpose, mission and vision?
Purpose is why, values are how, vision is where, and mission is what. I untangle the four with examples from Google, Salesforce, OzHarvest, and Nike.
Read
How to Run a Workplace Values Workshop
How to plan and run a workplace values workshop that surfaces what your team truly believes, then carry those values into marketing and daily work.
Read
Values alignment supports high-performing teams: here's how
Why the highest-performing teams aren't the most talented ones, but the ones bound by shared values, trust, and a common purpose.
Read
Morals communicated in fairy tales: how accurately are they depicted?
I look at the morals inside classic fairy tales, from Cinderella to Peter Pan, asking which lessons serve children well and which do real harm.
Read
How does the media affect the values of children and adults?
Why soundbite news and social media make it harder for kids and adults to grow healthy values, and how honest conversations at home can help.
Read
How to communicate values at work
Naming your values isn't the hard part. Here's how leaders actually make values visible, memorable, and lived out in day-to-day work.
Read
10 ways to remember and align with your values every day
Here are ten practical ways to stay aligned with your values every day, from defining what truly matters to a nightly check-in on how you lived them.
Read
How to align a team to a common set of values
Why noun-based values fail, how to source values from your team instead of a marketing deck, and eight ways to make them lived habits, not posters.
Read
What are the benefits of identifying core values?
I look at the research on why knowing your core values lowers stress, builds resilience, and sharpens decisions, plus a short guide to finding yours.
Read
Quotes about Values
Six memorable quotes about values from Gandhi, Covey, Einstein, and others, each paired with our own reflection on living what you believe.
Read
How Values Shape Identity
Why identity is built from values rather than found, how inherited values steer us without our noticing, and how to shape who you become on purpose.
Read
A History of Research into Core Values
We trace values research from ancient Egypt, Greece, and Confucian China through Kant to Schwartz's model and modern organizational culture studies.
Read
Examples of Core Values in Action
See how companies like Ben & Jerry's and Southwest Airlines live their values, and what research says about the darker side of ambition and power.
Read
Ethics, Morals, Principles, Values, Virtues, and Beliefs. What is the difference?
Ethics, morals, principles, values, virtues, and beliefs are not the same thing. Here is how they differ and why the differences actually matter.
Read
What are Core Values, and Why are They Important?
I explain what core values actually are, how terminal and instrumental values differ, and how to identify the ones guiding you or your company.
Read
A Guide to Values-based Decision Making
Values make a powerful decision-making framework. Learn to rank them, resolve conflicts between them, and use them for confident group decisions.
Read
How to Align with Your Values
A practical guide to closing the gap between what you say you value and how you actually live, from self-discovery to daily habit change.
Read
4 Obstacles to Values Alignment
Social pressure, inconvenience, fear of rejection, and self-doubt can pull us out of alignment with our values. Here is how to recognize all four.
Read
The Values of Duke Kahanamoku
Duke Kahanamoku lived the aloha spirit, saved surfing from erasure, and showed what staying true to your values really looks like.
Read
Two Comprehensive Lists of Core Values
Two complete lists of core values: a research-based framework of 48 values across four life themes, plus an alphabetical directory of 101 more.
Read