The Values Deck
A values card sort

What do you actually value?

Most of us can name our values in the abstract. Far fewer can name the five that would survive a hard trade-off: the ones that decide what you say yes to, who you hire, and when you finally stop working.

This deck forces the trade-off, one card at a time, and ends with a short list you can hold yourself to.

How it works
  1. 1Sort 59 cards into not important, important and very important.
  2. 2Cut the very important pile down to ten.
  3. 3Cut the ten down to the four to six you'll actually keep.
  4. 4Put each one in your own words, and keep the card.

You end with a Values Card you can print and keep. Ten to fifteen minutes. Your progress saves on this device, so you can stop and come back.

Step 1 · Sorting the deck

Card 1 of 59

01 01 Not important Very important Important

Achievement

Accomplishing something difficult and being recognized for it.

Not important 0 Important 0 Very important 0

Drag the card, tap a button, or use the keys. Don't overthink it. Your first instinct is usually right.

Step 2 · Down to ten

Ten of these matter more than the rest.

You marked these as very important. Now be honest about which ten you'd actually defend.

0 of 10 chosen

    Everything you marked very important is here. If something is missing, add it below.

    Step 3 · Down to five

    Now the hard part. Keep four to six.

    Four to six is the number you can actually hold in your head when a decision gets uncomfortable. Most people land on five. Cutting a good value doesn't mean you don't hold it. It means it isn't the one that breaks the tie.

    0 chosen · keep 4 to 6

      Step 4 · In your own words

      What does each one actually look like?

      A value in a single word is easy to agree with and easy to forget. Put each one in language that belongs to you: one concrete thing you do, or want to do, that someone watching would recognize. Leave any of them blank if you are not ready to answer it yet.

      Almost there

      Where should your Values Card go?

      So your coach knows whose card this is, and so you get a copy of your own. Nothing here is used for a mailing list.

      Right now this stays in your browser and goes nowhere else. Once your coach connects the form, your card is emailed to you and to them, and to nobody else.

      My core values

      Your core values

       

      These are yours

      Your card could not be sent to your coach automatically. Nothing is lost: tap Copy as text below and email it to them.

      Come back and re-sort the deck in ninety days. Your values will be stable. The gap is what moves.