The most impactful teams are often aligned around a single, powerful idea – what I like to call a Core Credo.
Here’s how you can find yours.
Step 1: One Thing, Not Everything – What’s the Non-Negotiable?
Most leaders try to capture everything in their strategy – every detail, every priority – but that’s how you end up with abstract language that no one remembers or follows.
Your Core Credo’s job isn’t to capture everything. It’s the anchor for your idea in your mind. It expresses the spirit of the strategy, the true core. What’s that one thing that, if you get it right, will make the biggest difference?”
Example: For a company who thinks they can win by being the most efficient operator in their industry, the essence might be to ‘move fast.’ Not ‘be innovative,’ not ‘explore every option’—just ‘move fast.’
Ask yourself, ‘If I could only communicate one thing to everyone on the team, what would it be?’ That’s your starting point.
Step 2: If They Can’t See It, It’s Not There
A Core Credo isn’t meant to be clever or cryptic. It’s got to be so clear that anyone, anywhere on the team, gets it immediately.
Example: When Southwest created their Core Credo, they didn’t choose a fancy statement about efficiency. They weren’t satisfied by a fuzzy statement like “move fast”. They chose two clear and powerful words: ‘Wheels Up!’
These two words capture the strategy in a way everyone can visualize. When the wheels of a plane go up, it’s visual proof that the job is done. It’s a line that’s impossible to miss.
Try saying your Core Credo out loud. If it takes you longer than a few seconds, or you feel the need to explain it, it’s too complicated. Simplify it until it clicks. Think of it like the refrain of a song everyone loves – a few words that are simple, strong, and easy to pass along.
Step 3: Does It Make Decisions Easier—Or Just Sound Good?
A Core Credo’s job is to guide choices, not to sound good. Think of it like this: When a team member faces a tough call, your Core Credo should give them an intuition for what’s right.
Example: Southwest’s Core Credo, ‘Wheels Up,’ wasn’t just catchy. It made decisions easier at every level, from how fast crews worked at the gate to how leaders planned routes. Every choice aligned with getting those wheels up in the air.
To test yours, imagine situations your team faces every day. Would your Core Credo make the choice clear? If it doesn’t, refine it until it does.
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Crafting a Core Credo isn’t easy, but get it right, and you’ll have something more powerful than any strategy document. You’ll have a guiding light, clear and memorable like a refrain that
everyone knows by heart and that
becomes part of your company’s DNA.
There’s more on the Core Credo in my book ‘The PATH to Strategic Impact’.
