Plenty of scientific studies have proven that employees who work for organizations with well-defined, ever-present core values tend to have a much stronger sense of purpose—a focused drive that accelerates their productivity and performance.

When we have complete clarity about the values that drive our company, we can minimize the anxiety of decision-making during uncertain times. We’ll avoid missteps. We’ll have the insights to prevent strategic errors. And we may even find a way to leverage those values (despite the odds) for a lasting business advantage.

Also remember: Being able to find the page in the employee handbook that lists the core values is not the same as genuinely understanding them. We might be surprised at the insights we can gain by investing the time to dig a little deeper on this subject.