Actual, Aspirational, and Accidental Values with John Roach

Let’s be honest: A lot of company core values are just words on a wall.

It’s rare to find core values embedded in employees’ organic, day-to-day lived experience.

It’s even rarer when a company’s clients and vendors are just as well-versed in its values as employees.

And it’s EXTREMELY rare when an organization is willing to be honest with itself about its “aspirational” and “accidental” values.

In this episode, you’ll hear Resultant’s innovative president John Roach describe how Resultant came to be all of the above. John was key to the hard and important process of putting unspoken values into words as the company grew—and then revisiting them year after year.

You’ll hear John discuss:

The difficulty translating abstract values into concrete terms

Why having 14 values is the same as having zero

The importance of honestly examining “accidental” and “aspirational” values

Why Design Thinking isn’t a workshop but a cultural mindset

Find John on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnmroach/

Jump In:

[00:33 - 04:40] John Roach’s road to Resultant

[05:32 - 07:12] Where Resultant’s values came from

[08:43 - 10:49] "If you have 14 values, you have zero values"

[10:50 - 13:03] The aspirational values realization

[13:04 - 17:52] Accidental values: things we value that we wish we didn’t

[18:10 - 24:27] Let’s get this straight: Design Thinking isn’t a workshop

[24:27 - 28:34] John’s #1 piece of career advice

[30:37 - 34:50] The importance of precision of language and ongoing discovery

Additional Resources:

Design Thinking 101: https://resultant.com/about/approach/design-thinking/

More on Resultant’s approach and core values: https://resultant.com/about/approach/