Million Dollar Women
Find your core values
Core values are fundamental, enduring and actionable.
For this exercise, you’ll need technology-free 30 minutes to one hour and a pen and a few highlighters or
colored pencils. You can either print this page or work from a notebook. Do this exercise with your team if you
have a team.
Step 1: Ask yourself (or your team) this question: What do you prioritize at your company and what is
special about working there? Take some time to think about it!
Step 2: Write down multiple answers to this question. Don’t judge yourself or worry about repetitive/similar
words and phrases. There are no wrong answers here! You can fill the spaces in below or write them down on
a separate sheet of paper.
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Million Dollar Women
Step 3: Give your answers a once over. Do you notice any patterns? Organize your answers by theme and
use your highlighters or colored pencils to sort them. You should have 5-7 groups.
Note: If you have a few odd answers that don’t seem to fit in a group- leave them until the end when the other answers
have been sorted. Also, don’t cross out anything - even if it’s repetitive. Patterns are good in this exercise.
Step 4: Below, make a color key. Each color you used should be assigned a corresponding key word that
summarizes the group of answers. The key word you choose for each group are your core values.
Color:
Color:
Color:
Keyword:
Keyword:
Keyword:
Color:
Color:
Color:
Keyword:
Keyword:
Keyword:
Now type them up and post them somewhere you can see them every day, like in a frame by the door or the
kitchen area.
Revisit the core values once a year or when you add many new members to the team. It's a great exercise to
do on a strategic retreat.
For personal use | not for reproduction