What's the best way to create company core values?

I'm happy to share our process around this. We started by reading a lot of examples of others' Guiding Principles (which include core values and a mission statement), thinking hard about what we want to do and talking about it at the board level. I then constructed some preliminary concepts and spend individually or in pairs with everyone on the team, getting buy-in and feedback. Eventually, we came up with a set of values we could all rally around (which was made much more challenging than if we had done it when there were only the couple cofounders, but a necessary process).

I detailed a bit more about the results of that process here - http://www.seomoz.org/blog/establishing-guiding-principles-at-seomoz

I have to say, though, when you're very early in a startup, be ready to get flexible about mission and core purpose. We've evolved 5-6 times over the last 6 years and every time it's been good. Part of me is almost happy we took our time getting to a slightly more mature stage before adopting these.

"Why did you start the company in the first place?". Exploring this question can help reveal many values that you and the team truly believe.

If your idea is still in its idea stage, don't worry too much about formalizing mission statement. It is only useful once you have few people around and need to transfer the values.

Core values should come from within. Something you and the core team truly believe. Give you example. One of our core values is "Obsessed about users". It initially came from my frustrations of dealing with companies that don't care about me (users) - support and their products. We didn't make those up. Since then, it has guided us along the way in many things we do because we truly believe on it.

I've worked in few companies before i started my own. They all have "cool mission statement". Vision, mission. Whatever you call it. It's all useless because no one truly believe in it.

Core values come from the tone you set and whether you practise them consistently....

Mission for a startup can be based on "What were we thinking when we were raising money" ex: We want to build the best underwater fire fighter in the world. The mission could evolve / change with our business

Core values - These are irrespective of the business, product etc....These do not change....these are underlying pillars..... ex: do not lie ex: the ten commandments ex: First and fore most we are responsible for our patients, doctors, nurses, mothers, and fathers.....This is not verbose but something similar from Johnson and Johnson...

The standard trifecta are the: Mission, Vision and Values statements. These are the traditional ways to communicate your culture. The one that I think is a lot better comes from Guy Kawasaki. It's the Mantra.

Most people don't remember the Mission, Vision and Values but they can remember a Mantra. The Nike example above shows their Vision and Mission, which most of us did not even know but we do know Nike's Mantra: Just Do It!

Along with the Mantra, you have to set the example for the kind of culture you want. Walk the walk, talk the talk and live the culture. No words on a page can replace that.

The easiest and most authentic way to generate your corporate values is to start with your personal values. Ask the leaders of your organization (even if it's just you or you and a partner) to articulate their personal values and how they came to be adopted. What you'll get is often an abbreviated "story of my life." Why? Because values are behavior and most of our behavior is learned. From there you find the few (no more than, say, five) that are most vital to your business. But take pains to make sure the wording you choose can be spoken without resorting to a "corporate voice." If these are born of personal experience and you want employees to adopt or endorse them, then they should sound personal and translate easily.

We put together an article about writing mission & vision statements years ago. The underlying idea is that these statements express the DNA of your company and help create a unified direction that everyone in the company can follow.

Vision: this is a powerful, big picture statement summarized into a single phrase or sentence.

Mission: sets out what you are going to do to accomplish your vision.

Here is an example from one of the world's brand leaders:

Nike Vision: "To bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world"
Nike Mission: "Innovate for a better world"

I think it's important to be authenitic when developing these statements. Sometimes people will project what they would like to be onto their mission & vision statements, but that may not necessarily reflect who they are likely to be. When you are done these statements should resonate your unique DNA.

Who, what, when, where, why and how are the core questions that should be answered before you really get started. Building on what others have responded, there are different ways to do it, but I'd suggest starting with a "passion statement". In many ways this is related to a high concept pitch or mantra, but really defines why your organization even exists in the first place and mission statements, core values, and vision all fall in line after you resolve what you are passionate about as an organization.

Consider the Declaration of Independence as a very formal passion statement but what can we all remember and take away from it? That the Founders were passionate about life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The Constitution contained the mission statement (preamble) and the vision (how the government would operate and what it could and would do) and the Bill of Rights contained the Core Values (the principles upon which consensus was built that would help guide everyday governance and decision making consistent with the passion statement). Hope those give you some good ideas and the concepts to think about.