In the corporate world, “B” words fly around like atoms waiting to explode in the ether. A real “Big Bang,” if you will. Give us some examples, Veronica! Thanks for asking, reader. There’s business, bottom line, boardroom, balance sheet, and a canine-adjacent word I’ll leave to your imagination. I digress.

In this alphabet soup, one vital “B” word often gets drowned out in the daily grind that could transform the entire landscape of how business is done in the 2020s and beyond. Are you ready? Say it with me: belief.

Once you cross the threshold of the BREADquarters, you step into a world where meaning and intention drive everything we do. At BREAD, our belief system is the crux of all daily operations and client dealings. This is clear from our handbook to the message on our answering machine. However, we don’t use the “B-word” (beliefs) to describe our governing principles. Instead, we call them “values.”

Values are philosophical concepts formulated by what people believe about themselves and the world. They drive how people, places, and things operate, functioning as the WHY behind the what. Simply put, they’re what we choose to care about. Without strong values, there is no meaning. When meaning is lost, chaos has no choice but to ensue because stability isn’t there. Businesses are subject to that truth as much as individual people are. Selah.

At this point, you may be thinking, “Doesn’t everybody know this?” I’ll tell you a dirty little secret: today, most corporate values have become nothing more than fuzzy buzzwords that serve no purpose beyond providing feel-good filler text. When you get down to business (pun TOTALLY intended) and peer behind Oz’s curtain, you find that the way the engine runs doesn’t always jive with what the pretty press releases and company vision statements say. It’s as wrong as an off-balance checkbook.

I was having a conversation with a guy one time about redecorating his apartment. “YOU HAVE AN EAMES CHAIR!!!??” I blurted it out before I even realized, spotting the iconic seat in the corner of the photo on his smartphone screen. I’m a Michigander with an aunt who worked at the Herman Miller factory, so the mere sight of it made me salivate. Eames Chairs are the executive lounge chair; a staple in modern, upscale decor since their inception almost 70 years ago. He looked me square in the eye, grinning like he had discovered buried treasure. “Yeah! *pause* Well, it’s a replica.” My mind went tilt at the startling admission. Honestly, it looked great! I wasn’t judging him, either–until he told me he paid $5,000 for it, which was the same price as an authentic Eames Chair (at least, in their heyday). I didn’t understand. Why not get the real McCoy if you were going to drop that kind of coin!? The truth is, we’ve gotten comfortable with fakes, and values formation hasn’t escaped. The definition, purpose, and application of values have been all but forgotten.

Want more proof that this is true? Look no further than the last ten years of Big Apple & Silicon Valley powerhouse corporate scams:

Elizabeth Holmes, Adam Neumann, Sam Bankman-Fried. If you need help with these names, I’ll use another translation: Theranos, WeWork, & FTX. All three featured prominently in Time Magazine and on Forbes’s cover and hot-shot lists. Think “Most Powerful Women” or “30 Under 30.” All three were considered unicorns at one time. All three were connected to celebrities, world leaders, and the shiniest beacons of progress. And all three belong to the prestigious club of the largest corporate frauds in recent memory—the biggest sharks aside from JAWS 50th Anniversary.

But you know, there’s one more thing they all probably had in common: I’d be willing to wager that all three had corporate values listed somewhere publicly for the benefit of propping up their image, thwarting public scrutiny, and winning over potential investors. If I were a compulsive gambler, I might also bet that none of the “values” they claimed to have consisted of “American greed” (hi, Stacey Keach).

Cases in point: Holmes talked about helping people through early disease detection so they “wouldn’t have to say goodbye too soon.” Neumann spouted about changing how we establish community through “the power of WE.” If that meant stealing from the collective, as in “we the stakeholders,” then I guess that worked out. And Bankman-Fried touted his commitment to the “Effective Altruism” movement, where, according to its website, the core mission is finding ways to “do the most good with our time, money, and resources.”
Despite the grandiose promises from each CEO, the ugly truth emerged amid revelations of their crimes and subsequent company collapses. Beyond massive news fodder and juicy gossip, the three stories are cautionary tales for business leaders and entrepreneurial tastemakers. They teach us that the ultimate danger of generic, meaningless corporate values is that they sound good on paper, but don’t hold water when making positive, impactful decisions in the real world. They make not keeping your word seem not so bad.

Now, I don’t think everyone who has slipped in this area is ill-intentioned or evil. Sometimes, when starting and maintaining a business, values can get lost in the shuffle because there always seems to be so many other fires that need dealing with. The good news is that you can stop, take a breath, and prioritize this vital part of your entrepreneurial foundation. You don’t have to be like these cult leaders–*ahem, I mean, CEO’s*–that seem to dominate the conversation surrounding textbook business ethics. If you want to be different and make waves in connecting with your customers in the long term, it starts with defining and knowing with certainty and clarity what you believe in.
In fact, we can start now. Here are some things to get you going (or restarted) in developing meaningful, authentic corporate values. Ask yourself:

If you’ve ever had the opportunity to meet with the BREAD brand team, you probably recognize this statement: “Find the great story of who you are.” This is the final declaration we make when transitioning from explaining BREAD’s unique storytelling methods to presenting the creative solution you hired us for. Why? We choose to end on this singular statement because we know that well-told stories are the most significant influences in the world. Every enduring culture on earth is based on the richest stories–superstition, recipe, craft, or folktale. These stories are based on shared beliefs and experiences that transcend our differences and create opportunities to connect. When the stories fall, the culture is bound to follow.
This is relevant to corporate value creation because you can’t fully understand how your business should operate when you don’t know who you are. If the values fall, the company is bound to follow. Your beliefs, or, better stated, what you value, determine your story.
Subsequently, your story is continuously told through your actions based on your beliefs. Don’t settle for using weak cliches like “the customer is always right, “we’re innovative,” or “we treat you like family.” Most Companies say those things. Yet, how many companies mean them? People are tired of being “sold to” in that way because we’ve seen it for so long and have been lied to too many times. Try to dig deeper and use words or phrases that mean something to you. For example, is it “innovation” you value, or are you inspired by the community empowerment created by your company not settling for providing outdated models (even if it costs you) because you believe people deserve to have access to the best? Only you can make those types of determinations. Ensure that the values you’re staking your name and reputation on are true to your purpose, because after a while, it gets increasingly tricky to keep lies going. Just ask Holmes, Neumann, and Bankman-Fried.

It’s not enough to simply say, “We believe ‘x.’” You must have the “x” factor: action. Establishing values means nothing if you can’t live them out. Some “values” only work in theory, and building your operational and cultural foundation on them is like building your house on sand. It’s fine to have ideals, but the ideal only works in a perfect world, which doesn’t exist. Make sure your values work in your everyday life, especially when facing challenges.

The best brands find and consistently communicate their authentic story. They also have clear values that consistently support their uniqueness. Take the time to set your organization’s foundation on the right foot, and stake your claim on your beliefs so you can integrate them! Don’t make it complicated. It’s never too late. Also, shameless plug: if you want to discuss this further or feel unsure, BREAD would be happy to help, because we value YOU and everything your business or service can bring to the communities we love. The moral of the story is, as Journey would say, “Don’t Stop Believin’!” Ciao!