What Makes Groups Work: The ManifestoThat's what most company values are.
I capture the group's code: the mission, values, principles and internal language significant enough to guide behavior.
Every group has an ethos. Most groups describe it in borrowed language.
Their mission statement could belong to any company. Their values sound respectable, then do nothing. The words don't settle arguments, sharpen hiring, guide decisions, or kill bad ideas.
The language usually isn't wrong. It's just too generic to matter.
I help organizations find language that earns its place inside the company.
Built to be used beyond a poster. Can include mission, vision, values, operating principles, internal narratives, naming, and message maps.
When the language is right, it does real work. It travels. People remember it. It creates standards.
When words are vague:
Previous values: Dignity, Integrity, Customer Focus, Teamwork.
Not offensive. Not memorable.
New framework:
Moved from abstract virtues to sharper internal structure with direction.
The Venus Flight Plan:
Not cleverness. Shared meaning. Language that felt like identity, not brand copy.
"Curt's presentation at our leadership retreat was exactly what we needed."
— Scott Wise, Executive Managing Director, GreystarSometimes healthy and ambitious. Sometimes misaligned. Either way: the group needs language strong enough to carry what's true now.
I talk to people across the organization until I understand what the group already believes but hasn't put into words.
Then I write it.
Then we pressure-test it against real decisions.
Most engagements take a few months.
If your company's language sounds fine but does no work, that is fixable.