Value Stories
Value Stories is a Management 3.0 practice by Jurgen Appelo for defining team or organisational values from real behaviour instead of slogans. People collect stories that show the team at its best, pick from a long list the core values those stories demonstrate and the wish values they want to grow into, and compare the team's choices with management's. The agreed values are then kept alive as stories, often collected in a culture book.
Facilitation script
- 1
Explain the difference between core values, which already show in behaviour, and wish values, which the team aspires to. Give one story as an example.
5 min - 2
Story collection: in pairs, each person tells one or two stories of the team at its best. The listener notes a headline for each on a sticky note.
15 min - 3
Post the headlines and have each pair retell one story to the group in a minute.
15 min - 4
Hand out the values list. Individually, everyone picks the core values the stories show and the wish values to grow into.
10 min - 5
Cluster the picks on two boards and narrow each to a short list by discussion and, if needed, dot voting.
20 min - 6
Compare with management's set or existing company values, discuss the differences and agree a final set.
15 min - 7
Assign a story to each agreed value, decide who writes them up and where the collection will be kept.
10 min
Tips
Insist on stories with a time, a place and a person; 'we always help each other' is a claim, while 'when the release failed on a Friday, three people stayed without being asked' is evidence.
Keep core and wish values on separate boards, because a team that mixes them ends up with a list it cannot honestly claim.
Aim for a small set, around three to five of each, so the values can be remembered without the poster.
Common pitfalls
Starting with the values list instead of the stories, which leads people to pick words that sound good and have no behaviour behind them
Blending core and wish values into one list, so the team advertises qualities it does not yet show and loses credibility
Letting management's set override the team's without discussion, which tells people the exercise was decorative
Ending with a poster and no written stories, so the values become slogans again within months
Keeping too many values, which means nobody can recall them and none guides a decision
Variations
The source describes the practice without a duration; 60 to 120 minutes is an estimate for one team. The narrowing step can be run as a short exercise of its own: everyone marks a generous first selection, then cuts it down in one or two rounds before the group compares. Without a separate management group, the team can compare its choices with existing company values instead. Remote teams collect stories in a shared document beforehand and use an online board for picking and clustering. The culture book can be a simple shared page that new stories are added to over time.
Where it fits
When to use it
The organisation has official values that nobody can connect to daily work
A team wants to describe its culture for hiring or onboarding and needs real examples
Management and staff describe the culture differently and the gap should be discussed openly
Two teams have been merged and need a shared basis
A team has worked together long enough to have stories worth telling
When not to use it
The team is brand new and has no shared history: there are no stories yet, so start with Personal Maps or Explore your Values and return to this later
Management has already fixed the values and will not change them: asking for input then is theatre, so use the session to collect stories for the existing values and say so
Trust between staff and management is badly damaged: the comparison step will turn into a grievance session, which needs a different, facilitated conversation first
You want each individual to reflect on personal values: Explore your Values does that directly
Related methods
Frequently asked questions
What is Value Stories?▾
Value Stories is a Management 3.0 practice for working out a team's or organisation's values from real stories. People recall moments that show the culture at its best, choose the values those moments demonstrate and the ones they aspire to, and reconcile their choices with management's. The values are then recorded together with the stories that illustrate them.
What is the difference between core values and wish values?▾
Core values are those that already come naturally and can be seen in how people behave. Wish values are those the team wants to develop and does not yet show reliably. Keeping them apart makes the result honest and shows where effort is needed.
What is a culture book?▾
A culture book is a collection of the stories, values and other material that describe what it is like to work in a team or organisation. In this practice it holds the stories behind each value. It can be a printed booklet or a shared page and is useful for onboarding.
How many values should we end up with?▾
The source does not set a number. In practice a short set, around three to five core values and a similar number of wish values, is easier to remember and to act on. A longer list tends to be ignored.
How does Value Stories differ from Explore your Values?▾
Explore your Values is an individual exercise in which each person sorts their own values under time pressure. Value Stories works at team level, starts from shared stories of past behaviour and includes a comparison with management's view. The two can be combined, with the individual exercise as a warm-up.
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Try it freeMethod descriptions on Workshop Weaver are original content written by our team, based on established facilitation practices. This method was inspired by work from Jurgen Appelo / Management 3.0.