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The work, all of it
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Values & Operating Principles

Wall decorations.
That’s what most company values are.

Every group has an ethos. Most never write it down well enough to use it.

The mission statement could belong to any company. The values sound respectable, then do nothing. The language usually isn’t wrong. It’s just too generic to matter: it doesn’t settle arguments, sharpen hiring, guide decisions, or kill bad ideas early.

The work

Capturing the group’s code: the mission, values, principles, and internal language significant enough to guide behavior.

01

Language architecture for a living group

Mission, vision, values, operating principles, narratives, naming, message maps: whatever form it takes, the work is answering five questions specifically enough that the answers do something.

IdentityWho are we?
ValuesWhat do we prize?
DecisionsWhat settles a tie?
BehaviorWhat belongs here?
FutureWhere is this going?

When the language is right, it does real work. When it’s vague, the costs are quiet and constant.

C1Values become wallpaper

Framed, laminated, and ignored. Nobody can name them without looking, and nothing changes when they’re violated.

C2Culture becomes interpretation

Every team invents its own version of what the company believes, and they don’t match.

C3Hiring goes fuzzy

Without specific language for what belongs, interviews measure likability and hope for fit.

C4Bad ideas survive

Nothing settles the argument, so the loudest voice or the highest title wins, and the idea that should have died in a meeting ships.

02

The Venus Flight Plan

Case study · Venus Aerospace

The values I wrote and then ran a company on: hiring against them, deciding against them, holding offers together against SpaceX money with them. Five commitments, each with a pairing and specific behaviors underneath. Not cleverness. Shared meaning: language that felt like identity, not brand copy.

The full set. Hover a value.
The Venus Flight Plan ring: Chart a New Course, Move at Mach 9, Eliminate the Drag, Enjoy the Flight Together, Get Back Home

Chart a New Course

Innovative & Curious

We are innovators and pioneers driven by curiosity, exploration, and a commitment to responsible growth.

We solve hard problems – and the thousands of problems within every problem.

Move at Mach 9

Enterprising & Agile

We deploy rapid design cycles engineered by world class performers.

We succeed by doing. We are freed to fail fast...and fix even faster.

Eliminate the Drag

Focused & Efficient

We prioritize people’s ability to get work done, and the type of attention it requires.

We avoid internal politics, fight bureaucracy, and eliminate wasteful meetings.

Enjoy the Flight Together

Kind & Humble

We are on this flight together, and all are welcome aboard.

We value the expertise each individual adds to our super team.

Get Back Home

Healthy & Whole

We commit to the rhythms that yield healthy and whole people capable of navigating life’s unique challenges.

We value YOU as a part of VenUS.

03

The CoorsTek Way

Case study · CoorsTek

A century-old engineered-ceramics company whose values read like everyone’s. The rewrite moved from abstract virtues to a structure with direction, published today as the CoorsTek Way.

Before
Dignity
Integrity
Customer Focus
Teamwork
Not offensive. Not memorable. Could hang on any wall in any industry.
After
“We make the world measurably better.”

Better Today

  • We are inspired by our legacy of innovation
  • We take pride in what we do
  • We provide outstanding value for our customers, teammates, families, communities and world
  • We deliver leading-edge solutions to improve the lives of people in the communities we serve

Better Together

  • We value the inherent worth and dignity of every individual
  • We share responsibility, risk, opportunity and reward
  • We collaborate to solve our customers’ most complex challenges
  • We act with consistency, honesty and respect

Better Tomorrow

  • We push the limits of what’s possible
  • We evolve to meet the challenges of the future
  • We think globally and act locally
  • We commit to near-term results with a long-term view

If your language sounds fine
but does no work

This is a writing engagement with your leadership team, not a poster project. It usually pairs with a keynote or an executive session.

Start a conversationDeeper engagements
Story work, off the stage.→ The Work, All of It