If you're tired of feeling like your business is drifting without a clear direction, it's probably time to take a serious look at your kernwaarden. Most people hear that word and immediately think of those dusty posters in corporate breakrooms featuring a generic photo of a mountain and the word "Integrity" in bold letters. Honestly? That's not what we're talking about here. Those are just words on a wall, and they usually don't mean a thing to the people actually doing the work.
Real kernwaarden—or core values, if we're translating—are the invisible threads that hold everything together. They are the "how" behind your "what." When things get messy, or when you have to make a tough call on a Friday afternoon, these values are what stop you from spinning your wheels. They aren't just fancy marketing speak; they are the DNA of how you operate.
The problem with generic values
Let's be real for a second. If your kernwaarden are things like "Honesty," "Respect," and "Innovation," you've basically said nothing. Those are "pay-to-play" values. You shouldn't get a trophy for being honest; that's just the baseline for being a decent human being. If a company tells me their value is "Respect," I'm usually wondering what happened in their past that made them feel the need to clarify that they won't be jerks.
The best kernwaarden are specific. They should be a little bit polarizing. If your values don't exclude some people, they aren't strong enough. A value like "Move fast and break things" (the old Facebook classic) is a great example because it's not for everyone. Some people hate breaking things. They want stability and perfection. By being specific, you attract the people who thrive in your specific brand of chaos or order.
How to actually find yours
So, how do you figure out what your kernwaarden actually are? You don't just sit in a boardroom with a thesaurus and pick words that sound prestigious. That's how you end up with a culture that feels fake. Instead, you have to look at what's already happening when things are going right.
Think about your best employee—the one you wish you could clone. What is it about them that makes them so great? Is it their relentless curiosity? Their "no-nonsense" attitude? Their ability to make everyone else laugh even when a project is crashing? Those traits are the clues to your real values.
On the flip side, think about the person who was a "bad fit." Even if they were talented, why didn't they work out? Maybe they were too competitive for a collaborative team, or maybe they were too slow for a high-pressure environment. That friction tells you exactly what you value. If a "know-it-all" attitude drove everyone crazy, then "Humility" or "Teachable Spirit" might be one of your actual kernwaarden.
The "Three Beers" Test
I like to use what I call the three beers test. If you were sitting down for a few drinks with your team, what would you all be complaining about or celebrating? The stuff that gets people fired up is usually where the values live. You're looking for the soul of the company, not the polished version you put in a press release.
Making them stick in daily life
Once you've identified your kernwaarden, the hardest part begins: actually living them. It's easy to talk about "Transparency" when the company is making money and everyone is happy. It's a lot harder to be transparent when you've had a terrible quarter and you have to tell the team there won't be bonuses this year.
If you don't use your kernwaarden to make decisions, your team will see right through them. They'll become a joke. I've seen companies that claim to value "Work-Life Balance" but then send "urgent" emails on Sunday mornings. In that case, the real value is "Always Available," and the stated value is just a lie. People respect a hard truth more than a comfortable lie.
You have to weave these values into everything. When you hire someone, don't just look at their CV. Ask them questions that test your kernwaarden. If one of your values is "Radical Candor," ask them about a time they gave their boss feedback that was hard to hear. If they can't answer, they probably aren't a fit, no matter how good their coding skills are.
It's not just for businesses
While we talk about kernwaarden a lot in a professional sense, they're just as important for your personal life. Have you ever felt that weird, nagging sense of guilt or frustration but couldn't quite put your finger on why? Often, it's because you're living out of alignment with your own values.
If you value "Adventure" but you've spent the last three years playing it safe in a job that bores you, you're going to be miserable. If you value "Connection" but you're spending twelve hours a day staring at a screen, something is going to break. Knowing your own kernwaarden acts like a personal GPS. It helps you say "no" to things that might look good on paper but feel wrong in your gut.
Defining your personal list
Take a Saturday morning, grab a coffee, and just write down ten things that matter to you. Then, cut that list down to five. Then, cut it to three. Those final three are your non-negotiables. Whether it's "Freedom," "Loyalty," or "Creativity," knowing these helps you navigate life with a lot less second-guessing.
The ripple effect of strong values
When a group of people—whether it's a family, a small business, or a massive corporation—actually aligns on their kernwaarden, magic happens. You don't need a thousand rules or a thick employee handbook when everyone knows the core principles.
Think about it. If everyone agrees that "The Customer is Always Right" is a core value (though I'd argue that's a pretty weak one), you don't need to ask permission to give a refund. You just do it. If "Extreme Ownership" is the value, nobody points fingers when a mistake happens; they just fix it. It saves so much time. It cuts through the bureaucracy and the "he-said, she-said" drama that kills productivity.
Don't be afraid to change them
Here's a secret that the "gurus" won't tell you: kernwaarden can change. As you grow, as the market shifts, or as your life enters a new season, what was once vital might become secondary. That's okay.
A startup might value "Speed" above all else in the beginning. But as they grow into a multi-million dollar company handling sensitive data, "Security" or "Reliability" might need to take the front seat. Evolving isn't "selling out"; it's staying relevant. The key is to be intentional about it. Don't let your values change by accident—change them because you need a new compass for the next part of the journey.
Wrapping it up
At the end of the day, kernwaarden aren't about being perfect. They're about being authentic. They're the "why" that keeps you going when the "what" gets boring or the "how" gets difficult. If you haven't sat down lately to really define what you stand for, give it a shot.
You might find that once you name those values, everything else starts to fall into place. Decisions become easier, your team gets tighter, and you stop wasting energy on things that don't actually matter to you. It's not just corporate fluff—it's the foundation for everything you're trying to build. So, stop looking at the posters on the wall and start looking at what's actually happening in the room. That's where the real values are.