Defining your company culture and values is a pivotal step for any growing business.
As companies scale, maintaining a cohesive, strong, and authentic culture becomes increasingly important.
Culture is not just about creating a “cool place to work”; it’s a strategic tool that drives your business forward.
Drawing insights from Index Ventures’ book ‘Scaling Through Chaos’, I wanted to summarise some of the practical ways you can define and embed values that will support a company through the challenges of growth.
Be Intentional About Your Culture from Day One
Culture happens whether you define it or not. In a fast-growing business, if you don’t intentionally shape your culture, one will form organically – and it might not be what you want.
As Scaling Through Chaos highlights, leaders need to take charge early, aligning culture with their long-term vision.
Start by asking: What kind of company do we want to be? What behaviours and attitudes should define us? Once you have answers, begin communicating these ideas clearly to your team.
Lead by Example: Role Modelling Values
Values mean nothing if they aren’t consistently embodied by leadership. If you want collaboration, openness, or resilience to be part of your company’s DNA, you must live these values.
As a leader, every decision, every action, every interaction reflects and reinforces (or undermines) the culture you want to create.
In the words of Index Ventures, founders should personally embody the values they seek to instil. This builds trust and credibility across the business.
Operationalise Your Values: Make Them Real
It’s easy to talk about values.
The hard part is making them actionable. A growing business needs to embed its values into everyday processes – from how you hire to how you onboard, manage, and evaluate performance.
For example, if “collaboration” is one of your core values, incorporate it into performance feedback and even recognition programmes.
Values should show up everywhere, from your job ads to your training programs, and in how you make decisions as a leadership team. This ensures your culture scales alongside your company.
Be Prepared For Your Values to Evolve
What works for a 20-person startup may not work for a 200-person scale-up.
As you grow, it’s natural for some values to evolve. Maybe your early-stage culture celebrated speed and experimentation, but now you need to focus more on process and scalability. That’s okay.
Index Ventures encourages leaders to revisit their values periodically, asking: Do these still serve us?
Don’t be afraid to evolve and refine as your business moves through different stages.
Embed Values in Decision-Making
Values aren’t just words on a wall; they’re a compass for decision-making.
When leaders and employees alike use your values to guide tough decisions, they come to life. It could be choosing a new hire who aligns with the company’s values over one with the most technical skills. Or making a decision that favours long-term stability over short-term gains.
By embedding values into your hiring practices, recognition systems, and even conflict resolution, you reinforce a culture that everyone can stand behind – and that’s when it starts to stick.
Concluding Thoughts
Creating and embedding a culture that scales with your business requires intentionality, leadership, and consistency. The most successful companies don’t just copy what works for others; they craft a culture that is uniquely theirs. They take ownership of their values, embody them every day, and allow them to evolve as the company grows.
As you scale, remember that your culture is more than a feel-good initiative – it’s the foundation for long-term success.
