Concept
Values as Verbs
Values as verbs is the practice of writing each value as an observable action, something people can see you do, rather than as an abstract noun on a wall, so that it actually guides everyday behaviour.
Most value statements are lists of nouns: integrity, innovation, customer focus, teamwork. Simon Sinek's point in Start with Why is that you can't do a noun. On an ordinary Tuesday afternoon there is no way to check whether anyone "did integrity" in a meeting, so the word drifts into decoration. The fix is almost grammatical: rewrite each value as a verb phrase. "Honesty" becomes "tell people the hard thing early." "Innovation" becomes "look at the problem from the angle nobody has tried." A verb gives you a test: did I do this today, yes or no? It also makes hiring, feedback and decisions easier. People can point to a specific moment instead of arguing about what a word means. The value stays the same, but now it can be practised and noticed.
A real-life example
A five-person design studio had "transparency" on its website. Nobody could say what it changed. The founder rewrote it as "show clients the unfinished work every Friday." Within a month, the Friday review was a fixed habit. Clients caught wrong directions two weeks earlier. New hires understood the value on day one, not from a poster but from watching it happen.
How to use it
- 1Take one value you claim and ask: what would someone see me do if I lived it on an ordinary day?
- 2Rewrite it as a short verb phrase that passes a yes/no test, such as "reply to every customer within a day" instead of "customer focus."
- 3Check it weekly. Name one moment you did it and one you didn't, and sharpen the wording if nobody can tell the difference.