Could Your Core Values Be Holding You Back?

You started this company with a set of beliefs.

Non-negotiables.

The lines you wouldn’t cross.

The compass that kept you sane in the chaos.

And maybe it’s working — for now.

When the Compass Becomes a Cage

Here’s the tricky part about core values:

They don’t always scale with you.

What helped you hire your first A-players might block you from building a team that can handle 10x growth.

What kept your culture tight-knit might be the reason your best people are burning out.

What made you the scrappy, different founder might be exactly what’s keeping you from winning at the next level.

You’ll feel it before you see it:

⚡ Decisions feel harder — but they shouldn’t.
⚡ The team starts solving new problems with old logic.
⚡ You say “that’s just who we are” — even when it no longer fits.

The Fix: Don’t Burn It Down. Upgrade It.

Nobody’s saying abandon your values.

You just need to stop treating them like sacred texts.

➡ Audit the impact.
Ask: Does this value help us right now? Or is it just helping us feel safe?

➡ Stress-test it.
If we doubled the business in 6 months — would this still serve us?

➡ Rewrite it.
Old: “We never outsource.”
New: “We build what makes us great. We partner where it makes us better.”

The best founders don’t cling to what got them here.

They protect the mission.

Not the mythology.

So here’s the question to think about this week:

👉 Could your core values be holding you back?

And if the answer’s yes — what would it look like to break the cage without breaking yourself?

— Peter