A Smarter Way to Choose Who You Work With
One of the trickiest — and most important — decisions you’ll ever make in business is choosing who to work with.
It could be a potential hire for your team. Or — on a much bigger scale — if you're part of a franchise brand, it might be about who gets the next franchise opportunity.
This isn’t a small decision. Whatever the situation, you’re inviting someone into your brand family for years — maybe decades.
So how do you know who’s the right fit?
There’s a better way. And it starts with a story.
When I’m speaking on stage, I often tell a story to help explain this. It’s about how we make Fast Friends.
Here’s the short version:
You meet someone at a conference. Or at a wedding. Or on vacation. Within minutes, you’re laughing, nodding, finishing each other’s sentences. You feel like you’ve known them your whole life. You’ve become fast friends. But why?
It’s not their job title, or their income, or their age, or where they went to school. Demographics don’t tell you anything about who people are, and they certainly don’t dictate who you are going to get along with.
You become Fast Friends with someone because you share the same values. You’re looking at the world through the same set of lenses. That’s what makes the connection instant — and real. And why that connection will last.
Now imagine being able to create that kind of connection—on purpose.
What Happens When You Understand What Matters Most?
Once you know what someone values, you know how they’re likely to behave.
If they value Loyalty, they’ll stick by the team.
If they value Personal Growth, they’ll chase learning opportunities.
If they value Respect, they’ll run their side of the partnership like a pro.
If they value Independence, they may resist micromanagement.
Values tell you how someone will respond in the good times — and more importantly, how they’ll show up in the tough ones. Because values are the operating system for everything we do. Our actions, our decisions, our emotions… all of it, driven by What Matters Most.
So if you want to build a stronger franchise network — or just make better people decisions in general — don’t guess. Don’t rely on gut instinct. Don’t cross your fingers and hope for the best.
Look at their values. Because when someone’s values align with the culture and direction of your organization, you’ve got something powerful. You’ve got someone who will thrive in your ecosystem. And isn’t that the whole point?
Two Ways to Do This
If you're building a team or growing a franchise brand and want to get this right, you have options. The first way involves working with me and my team. You can hire our research company, or bring me in as a speaker, and we’ll use hundreds of millions of data points to uncover exactly, precisely, irrefutably What Matters Most to your people.
But I know not everyone can do that. So here’s a free, back-of-a-napkin-sketch kind of tool you can start using today.
A Tool You Can Use Right Now: The Three Telltale Questions
Here are three simple questions you can ask in just about any setting: over coffee, on a Zoom call, or in a formal interview setting.
I call them the Three Telltale Questions:
Why do you go to work?
(Not “what do you do?” — but “why?”)
This reveals motivation, purpose, and often a deep core value like Financial Security, Service to Others, or Personal Growth.Why would you give away half of your lottery winnings?
Notice — it’s not “would you?” It’s “why would you?”
The answer might point to Loyalty, Compassion, maybe even Ambition or Belonging. It’s never about the money. It’s always about the meaning.If you could say one thing to your ten-year-old self, what would it be — and why that thing?
This one dives into life lessons. It might be about Personal Growth, Family, or Friendships.
Listen carefully. The words people choose. The emotions they show. The stories they tell. Those are windows into what matters most, the signals that show you what they value.
👉 Download the Fast Friends Filter (PDF)
We’ve created a free, one-page worksheet you can download and use anytime you’re trying to figure out who someone really is.
👉 [Download the PDF]
Inside:
The Three Telltale Questions, with space to jot down answers
A reference list of key Valuegraphics values to listen for
A quick reflection guide to ask:
“Is this someone who shares the values we need in our culture or brand family?”Use it with:
Franchise applicants
Potential hires
Business partners
Suppliers or contractors
Or even your current team
Values Are the Answer
Everyone spends a lot of time trying to figure people out with resumes, demographics, background checks, interviews, and on and on. But here’s the truth: Nobody is their job title. Nobody is in their income bracket. Nobody is their demographic.
They are their values.
And once you understand that, you can build partnerships, hire smarter, and grow a business that clicks from day one.
Values are the answer.
Let’s put them to work.
#values #keynotespeaker #futureofwork #employeeengagement #valuesdriven #valuegraphics #humancentric #data
Want to know What Matters Most to the people you need to inspire?
Download free guides and resources.
Use the free Valueprint Finder to see how your values compare.
Find out why people call David “The Values Guy.”
Search the blog library for ways to put values to work for you.
