Brain-Dump, Group, Vote, Single-Author (Company Values Workshop)
Crowdsource the raw material for values, but never write the definitions by committee
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Time to result
- ~weeks to results
- Steps
- 5
- Confidence
- 90%
A four-step workshop for defining company values that separates the two jobs people usually conflate: generating and prioritizing candidate values (a group activity) versus writing the definitions (a solo writing activity). Gago's rule is that group definition-writing is unproductive; a single strong writer produces the first draft of each sentence, and the group reacts. The output must be simple and memorable without being generic.
Origin
Barbra Gago's leadership-team workshop format, run in Miro itself, and refined by the negative lesson from Miro's own values — which were too long and had too many ideas per value for anyone, including employees, to remember.
Core principles
- 01Input is a group sport; definition is a writing craft.
- 02Structure beats debate — brain dump, group, vote, then define.
- 03Values must be simple and straightforward enough to remember, but not so generic they could belong to any company.
- 04Get everybody's input so they own the outcome, then take the pen away.
How to run it
- 1
Brain dump
Run a workshop (Gago used a Miro board with her leadership team) where everyone independently dumps every idea they have around values, with no filtering.
- 2
Group into themes
Cluster the raw dump into themes so overlapping ideas collapse into coherent candidate values.
- 3
Vote to a short list
Have the group vote on the most important themes, producing a short list of values to define.
- 4
Hand the definitions to one strong writer
Someone who knows how to write well takes the first stab at the sentences for each value or operating principle. The group then reacts and gives feedback rather than co-drafting.
Pro tip This preserves group ownership (everyone's input shaped the shortlist) while producing prose nobody could have produced by committee.
Watch out Coming up with the definitions as a group is not productive — it is the step where values become bloated and forgettable.
- 5
Compress until memorable
Cut each definition until it is simple and straightforward enough that people can recall it — while checking it hasn't become generic.
Pro tip Consider illustrating the values through your own brand assets (Miro tied each to a letter shape) so they're reinforced visually.
Watch out Miro's values were too long and packed with too many ideas; even employees couldn't recall them, which made them useless as behavioral guides.
In the wild
With her leadership team, Gago ran the exercise in a Miro board: everyone brain-dumped ideas around values, then the group organized them into themes, voted on the most important, and only then moved to definition — where a single capable writer drafted the sentences for the group to react to.
→ A structured process that captured everyone's input and ownership while avoiding the unproductive spectacle of writing value definitions by committee.
Lenny, a Miro user, couldn't recall Miro's values; Gago confirmed the values were too long and contained too many ideas each, a problem the team was constantly working on.
→ The negative lesson: make values simple and memorable — but not generic. Gago suggests illustrating them via the company name/brand system to make them stick.
Common mistakes
Writing value definitions as a group
Group definition-writing is unproductive and produces bloated, committee-flavoured prose. Collect input as a group; draft as an individual.
Values that are too long
If a value packs multiple ideas into a long sentence, nobody remembers it — including the people who work there — so it cannot shape behavior or the brand.
Overcorrecting into generic values
Trimming for memorability can produce platitudes that describe any company. The target is short AND specific.
Is it for you?
Best for
Founders and leadership teams defining or rewriting company values, especially ahead of a brand build or rebrand
Not ideal for
Very large organizations where a single leadership workshop cannot represent the culture, or companies whose values are already lived and memorable
From the transcript
“format we actually used Miro where everybody just like brain dumped their ideas around values and then it was okay from there let's group them…”
“better if somebody who knows how to write well can come up with the first stab of the sentences if it's operating principles of its…”
“it can't be generic but also can't be too much that nobody knows what they are”
From the episode
Category creation and brand building
Barbra Gago (Pando, Miro, Greenhouse, Culture Amp)