When Cracker Barrel unveiled their new logo and a full interior redesign, people lost it. But they aren’t the first to make a mistake that upset their customers. For reasons other than a rebrand, Target and Bud Light come to mind as other recent examples of corporations not reading the room. What do they have in common and how can you avoid it?

Not long ago, I stood in front of a room filled with people from across the nonprofit sector in the United States. They were gathered because they care. About people. About justice. About making this world a little more decent and a whole lot more humane. And they wanted tools—real tools—to do their work better.

Let’s start with a moment that landed somewhere between science and magic.

We asked a room full of pension and benefits professionals to raise their hands if they wear fitness trackers. The hands shot up as someone had just offered free chocolate. Now take a second and picture that crowd. On the outside? A wonderfully diverse tapestry of age, gender, ethnicity, job roles, and personalities. On the inside? They all shared one of the three Power Values we discovered for this group: Personal Growth.

Here’s the truth: most of what we do in business is just different flavors of the same challenge. 

Whether it’s sales, marketing, HR, leadership, customer experience, or any of the other job titles we like to throw around, we’re trying to get people to do something. Buy the thing. Click the link. Apply for the role. Stay with the company. Show up. Get on board. Care. 

Why not build AI tools that understand WHAT MATTERS MOST to us? This post is an open invitation to companies using AI who want to make AI human-centric. We have the data. Values are the Answer. We just need to put them to work. Let’s talk.

Business events have a formula. Registration, exhibit halls, keynote speeches, networking, repeat. Sure, the names change, the banners look different, and the swag bags come and go, but the overall experience? Pretty predictable.

And that’s the problem.

Attendees don’t just want another event. They want an event that speaks directly to them in a way that matters and connects with what they care about. That’s where shared values come in.

Let me tell you a quick story.

A few years ago, I was asked to help solve a talent crisis in the skilled trades. The room was full of business owners who were saying, "We can’t find people. Nobody wants to work with their hands anymore." But when we did the Valuegraphics research on people considering careers in the trades, we found something surprising. What mattered most to this group wasn’t money, or status, or even stability. It was a value we call Service to Others. That one insight changed everything for the people in that room. 

We’ve all felt that spark. A quick grin at the same joke, an instant flash of trust, a sense we’re on the same wavelength. That moment of magic is thanks to shared values. Your insula—a tiny brain region devoted to What Matters Most—flags a fellow traveler who cares about the same things you do.

Let’s be honest: marketing isn’t getting any easier. If you’re a marketing leader right now, you’re juggling a lot—ROI targets, brand equity, performance campaigns, and maybe a strong urge to scream into a pillow. Meanwhile, your audience is splintered across dozens of platforms and seems allergic to anything that feels like a sales pitch.

So, what actually works? Amazon Advertising and I are on the same page. This post is about that.

Walk into any college campus and you’ll see a mosaic of difference. Age, race, background, politics, personal histories. On the surface, it can look like a world full of contrast and division. But underneath all that difference? A set of shared values. 

At the Higher Learning Commission conference this year, I had the chance to talk about that heartbeat—about what really brings people together. And it turns out the lessons aren’t just for universities. They’re for businesses, for governments, for nonprofits, for families, for cities. For anyone who works with people and wants them to move in the same direction.

Gallup's latest polls show that employee engagement has dropped in historic fashion. In 2024, global employee engagement dropped to 21%. That is a two-point fall from last year, and last year’s numbers were already a whisper, not a roar. The result? A staggering $438 billion loss in productivity. That is the GDP of a medium-sized country, gone. Vanished into thin air.

When the ship is leaking, more ping pong tournaments will not plug the holes. You need to find out what matters most to people, and give them more of that. In other words, you need to identify shared values.

That feeling when you step off a plane and everything feels slightly off? It’s more than jet lag. It’s your internal radar picking up on a different values environment. The way people speak, move, interact, and even make small talk—it all runs through their internal operating system, and that system is made up of the values they hold dear. The same phenomenon plays out in every workplace. When departments feel like foreign countries, it’s not just corporate culture. It’s values.

If you're a business owner in New Brunswick, this article outlines a method you can use to boost your brand and significantly benefit our planet. This isn't about a new technology or a secret marketing strategy. It's something much more profound and potent—our shared human values.

Indigenous business owners across Canada face unique challenges and opportunities in today’s world. As a Métis business owner myself, I understand the importance of an Indigenous approach to business. At the recent CCAB 40th Anniversary conference, I shared insights from our latest valuegraphics study, which...

How one industry sector can use shared human values – What Matters Most – to change how they are perceived by the people they need to inspire.

Leaders, and HR professionals, are facing a new frontier where machines aren’t just helping us; they’re reshaping how we work. And while that brings incredible opportunities, it also brings risks—human risks. In our rush to implement AI technologies, we sometimes forget about the people. Employees may feel...

Here’s a scenario you’ve probably encountered: you’re designing an event and trying to please everyone—from fresh graduates to executives nearing retirement. What do you do? For decades, the fallback has been to rely on generational stereotypes. But let’s be honest: these broad brushstrokes don’t work.

In the construction industry, leaders are grappling with a critical issue: attracting and retaining top talent. With skilled labor and management in high demand, understanding what motivates employees has never been more crucial. So my team surveyed blue-collar and white-collar folks in this industry to uncover...

It can be difficult to make everyone in a diverse and geographically dispersed company feel like they belong. But if you know what people value, across all roles and locations, you can create a powerful set of strategies to bring everyone together. Here’s an example of how this works for the Loblaw Group of Companies.

Employee benefits and pension plans are essential to providing security and stability for millions of people. But ensuring plan members feel truly connected and engaged with their benefits requires more than just financial expertise—it requires an understanding of what matters most to them.