Core values aren't something you create in a boardroom brainstorming session. They're already there, embedded in the DNA of your organization, living and breathing through your best people. The challenge for scaling companies with $10M+ in revenue isn't inventing values—it's discovering what's truly core to who you are as an organization.
Jim Collins' Mission to Mars framework provides a powerful lens for this discovery process. As a Scaling Up coach working with high-growth executive teams, I've seen this exercise transform how leadership teams understand their organizational identity and identify their rising stars simultaneously.
The Mission to Mars DISCOVERY EXERCISE
Here's the scenario: Your company has been selected to establish the first permanent business colony on Mars. You can only send five to seven leaders—people who so authentically embody your core values that they could recreate your organizational culture 140 million miles away from Earth.
The critical constraint: These leaders must come from at least one level below your current leadership team. This isn't about sending your C-suite; it's about identifying the people who naturally demonstrate your values in their daily work.
The Discovery Process: A Step-by-Step Approach
Phase 1: Identify Your Mars Colonists (60-90 minutes)
Begin your leadership team session by posing Collins' question: "Who are the five to seven people in our organization that we would send to Mars to recreate our culture?"
Key guidelines for this discussion:
Focus on people at least one level below the leadership team
Look for those who enthusiastically live your values, not just perform well
Consider individuals who others naturally gravitate toward
Think about who embodies "how we do things here" at your company
This conversation reveals remarkable insights. You'll notice patterns in who gets nominated and why. Pay attention to the passionate advocacy certain team members receive—this signals something deeper about your organizational values.
Phase 2: Analyze the Traits (45-60 minutes)
Once you've identified your Mars colonists, dive deep into what makes them special:
Essential questions to explore:
What specific behaviors do these people consistently demonstrate?
How do they handle pressure, conflict, and uncertainty?
What makes them magnetic to other team members?
How do they approach problem-solving and decision-making?
What do they prioritize when faced with competing demands?
Pro tip: Record this portion of the discussion. The raw, unfiltered observations about these individuals contain the authentic language of your culture. You'll want to reference these insights later.
Phase 3: Distill Into Core Values (30-45 minutes)
Look for the common threads among your Mars colonists. What traits appear consistently? These patterns become the foundation of your core values.
Best practices for distillation:
Start with 8-12 traits and consolidate into 4-6 core values
Use language that feels authentic to your organization
Ensure each value is distinct and meaningful
Test that each value would help you make difficult decisions
Phase 4: Wordsmith and Clarify (Between sessions)
Take your initial core values and develop them further:
Create 2-3 sentences that explain each value
Provide context for what each value means in practice
Ensure the language resonates with your broader organization
Make them memorable and actionable
The Testing and Calibration Process
Core values discovery isn't a one-and-done exercise. Once you have your initial framework:
Internal testing:
Share with trusted team members outside the leadership group
Observe reactions and gather feedback
Look for recognition: "Yes, that's exactly who we are"
Note where clarification is needed
External validation:
Test with key customers and partners
See if the values align with how others experience your organization
Use feedback to refine language and emphasis
Continuous calibration:
Plan to finalize values before your next quarterly Scaling Up offsite
Use the interim period for real-world testing
Come to your next session ready to commit and implement
Additional Best Practices for Success
Create psychological safety: This exercise requires honest assessment of people and culture. Establish ground rules for confidential, constructive discussion.
Focus on behaviors, not personalities: Look for specific, observable actions that demonstrate values in practice.
Embrace the dual benefit: While discovering core values, you're also identifying high-potential talent for succession planning and development.
Document the journey: Keep detailed notes about why certain values emerged and how they connect to your Mars colonists. This context helps with future communication and implementation.
Leadership Team Commitment: Core values only matter if they influence hiring, firing, promotion, and recognition decisions. Begin planning how these values will be integrated into your systems.
The Transformative Impact
When done authentically, the Mission to Mars framework creates profound clarity about organizational identity. Leadership teams consistently report that this exercise helps them understand not just what they value, but why certain people thrive in their culture while others struggle.
More importantly, it transforms core values from wall art into operational tools. When you can point to specific individuals who embody your values, those values become real, tangible, and actionable.
Getting Started
The Mission to Mars framework benefits significantly from independent facilitation. An outside perspective helps guide the discussion objectively, manage group dynamics, and ensure the leadership team stays focused on authentic discovery rather than falling into familiar patterns. We've seen firsthand how this independent viewpoint drives tremendous client value—core values are simply one of the most important things for a leadership team to get right. The investment in this discovery process pays dividends in cultural clarity, talent development, and organizational alignment.
Remember: your core values already exist in your organization. The Mission to Mars framework simply helps you discover them, articulate them, and leverage them for sustainable growth.
The Mission to Mars framework is credited to Jim Collins and represents one of the most powerful tools for authentic core values discovery. For more insights on building enduring great companies, explore Collins' extensive body of work on organizational excellence.