What are Core Values and Why Do You Need Them?

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Why? Because Costco’s founder, Jim Sinegal, apparently takes promises very seriously.

In 2018, when CEO Craig Jelinek suggested raising the price of the famous hot dog deal because they were losing money on it, Sinegal reportedly said, “If you raise (the price of the) effing hot dog, I will kill you. Figure it out.”

Was he kidding? Maybe. Was the hotdog price slovenia telegram data going up? Absolutely not.

“Do the right thing” is one of Costco’s core values. For Sinegal, that meant keeping a promise to customers, even when it didn’t make much financial sense. But today, Costco is the third-largest retailer in the U.S. Coincidence? Or does sticking to your values actually play a part in your company’s success?

And, here’s the real question: Are values essential for scaling your business, or are they just a fluffy marketing thing you slap on your website once you’ve “made it”?

Your core values are what you (supposedly) value most as a group or company—the non-negotiables, the hill you’d die on.

But to be honest, in my first couple of startups, I thought core values were total fluff. I had more important, more tactical things to do as a founder!

Turns out, I was wrong. Defining your core values early is one of the most tactical things you can do to scale your business operations as your company grows.