The Value Pyramid
Values are a powerful force, guiding our actions and desires in life like a rudder on a ship. Systems, old and new, often treat values as a group of equals. But what if we thought differently?
Hello, friends 👋
What are your values?
Whether you are able to say 4-5 words immediately or not, you will not have to think for long. Values are a framework for operating in the world, establishing and nurturing quality relationships, and forming a personal distinction between right and wrong. They have survived in every major civilisation and scale from the individual to global economic systems, like capitalism or communism.
Most systems of values throughout recorded history have treated them as an anarchical group of equals. They often comprise 3-5 cornerstones of how we should act in that particular society, business, or culture.
Instead, I propose a hierarchical pyramid system for values, which establishes one ruling principle built on top of layers of increasingly flexible and less frequently used behaviours and actions. Before discussing the pyramid, let’s travel through the ages, starting in Ancient China and Greece, before returning to the modern day.
Values in the Ancient World
1. China
“Superior virtue has no intention to be virtuous, and thus is virtue. Inferior virtue cannot let go of virtuosity, and therefore is not virtue.” - Lao Tzu
Value systems in Ancient China were primarily derived from:
Confucianism (describing the teachings of Confucius (c. 551-479 BC)), or
Daoism (describing the teachings of Lao Tzu, whose lifespan is less concrete but is considered a contemporary of Confucius).
Confucianist codes contain five values: integrity, knowledge, proper rite, righteousness / justice, and benevolence / humaneness. Confucianism outlined achievement of these values by being loyal, respecting and caring for one’s parents in old age, and upholding the law.
Daoist principles are similar but vary depending on the school of thought. Typically, core values include the so-called Three Treasures: frugality, compassion, and humility. Wider values also include spontaneity and simplicity.
Generally, Daoism hinges on the benefits of living a balanced, harmonious life, both internally and with the outside world. This is achieved through Wu Wei, often translated as “effortless action” or “action without intention”. Instead of forcing ourselves to act a certain way, Wu Wei teaches us that the most beneficial outcome arises when we stop forcing. It is the difference between trying too hard to make someone like us on a date and being a relaxed, confident version of ourselves.
As the late, great Alan Watts would say, “the river is not pushed from behind, or pulled from ahead. It falls with gravity.”
2. Greece
"Waste no more time arguing what a good man should be. Be one." - Marcus Aurelius
Stoicism, one of the most famous of the Greek philosophical systems (and a personal favourite of mine) is governed by four virtues: wisdom, justice, courage, and temperance. Temperance can be further split into self-control, discipline, and modesty.
Stoicism is a philosophy built on developing strong willpower, emotional regulation, and simplicity by:
1. Focusing on what is in our own control, and
2. Doing what is right in the face of temptation.
A common misconception in English-speaking countries, due to the lower-case stoic, is to think of Stoicism as a rejection of our emotions. That we should be purely logical, rational creatures.
This is inaccurate.
The Stoics made a differentiation between the involuntary reactions, like when we hear a gunshot and feel fear, and lingering negative emotions, like the grief we feel for a lost parent. The involuntary emotions were viewed as indifferent, and a natural human response in the face of danger. For everything else, the Stoics maintained a system of acceptance, examination, and action. Emotions are lighthouses to guide the ship of our rational action in the world. To ignore them is to act irrationally, because we’re not using fully informed judgement.
Above all else, Stoicism is a philosophy of action, and this is immortalised within the four virtues.
Established Modern Theory
Our current academic model, The Theory of Basic Human Values, was developed by Shalom Schwartz in the 90s and refined in 2012. In his initial, wide-ranging study, Schwartz found 10 fundamental values, which are recognised by people of all cultures. Though it’s a relatively small number, the 10 values determine a wide range of patterns of thinking, desire, and behaviour in people.
Having considered Spirituality as an 11th value, its addition was rejected because it did not exist across all cultures. Though I am no academic, it cannot be excluded when we think about our own value systems.
Spirituality is both a single-player and multiplayer game which provides a valuable means of self-expression and self-discovery. It is also a way of conceptualising and understanding that there is something deep and valuable about consciousness, when we’re able to focus on the present moment. Once the shackles of unrelenting thought, worry, regret, or restlessness are removed, we’re exploring the magic of spirituality.
I am always surprised when I hear people say they’re not spiritual, but then speak glowingly about the stillness of their mind when they’re out running, or cooking, or in the shower. Well, that’s because they’ve found a spiritual practice but have an emotional reaction to the word itself.
In his research, Schwartz argued that the core 10 are a concentration of 56 values, of which 44 have the same meanings across cultures. The 10 values form four groups:
Openness to Change
Self-direction (independent thought & action)
Stimulation (excitement, novelty & challenge)
Self-enhancement
Hedonism (seeking pleasure)
Achievement (success by demonstrating what society views as competence)
Power (social status, prestige, control / dominance over people & resources)
Conservation
Security (safety, stability of society, relationships, and self)
Conformity (self-restraint, adherence to social norms, avoiding what would likely harm or offend others)
Tradition (respect & commitment to customs and ideas of our culture / religion)
Self-trancendence
Benevolence (preserving & enhancing of the welfare of the people we’re close to)
Universalism (understanding, appreciation, tolerance, protection for all people and nature)
Undoubtedly, some of these will describe you well. Some will not.
Like a colour wheel, which shows how primary and secondary colours match or clash with one another, values operate with the same principle. At a societal level, if we push to maximise Power as a core value, we inevitably would see ideological clashes with Universalists.
This is precisely how many ideological battles play out; rarely are the words “values” used, but each of the core 10 will have some supporters and detractors. It’s a modern application of Wu Wei, in that the harder we push to establish a set of ideas and values upon the people around us, the harder we will receive pushback.
These clashes of values play out all over life, such as:
Internal dilemmas we face, whether ethical or what career or partner we choose;
The conservative, religious parents struggling to influence their rebellious daughter; or
At a national & international level, two-party politics and the once-mighty clash of Capitalism vs. Communism.
If the theory is complete and these 10 are seen in every culture, these battles for core values will have played out across the globe for the past 250,000 years and beyond. Small tribes would have been torn apart by two rivals operating with different core values, and yet societies are able to flourish despite these individual differences. Values may change with the seasons, but their utility in stabilising societies is borne out by the research.
However, the values themselves are neutral. There is no guarantee that society will select positive, healthy methods of pursuing them. Self-enhancement principles have skyrocketed in the West, following the rise of the internet and social media, and subsequent saturation of our attention spans. When we have a skewed view of what success, achievement, or fame mean, what message does that send to the next generation?
Much like any power pendulum, many of these values that are not serving the current generation will swing back around. The hedonism of late Rome gave way to piety, conformity, power of the church, and benevolence, and so it may come to pass in the second half of the 21st century.
Now let’s take a look at how values manifest in the world today.
Application in the World
“You really need to think hard about some simple questions, and those are: Why do you exist as a company? What’s the really compelling reason why you exist? Of course, ultimately, you want to come up with something that’s hugely relevant, and at the same time, very unique and really value creating for other people. What’s our philosophy, or doctrine?” - Jørgen Vig Knudstorp, during his time as CEO of LEGO
Though the 10 values are present, they are not equally distributed. The concept of taking care of one’s parents in their old age is spread throughout the world, but the fingerprint of Confucius imprints more heavily in China and much of Asia.
Part of the issue with the concept of having firm, defined values in the modern world is that they feel corporatised. Every business has a defined mission statement and core values, and it’s easy to be sceptical or cynical about their purpose. They can appear generic, or pay lip service to the done thing in MBA courses and board meetings the world over. To an extent, that’s true. As discussed above, the current theory hinges on 10 key words underpinning 56 values, so there is limited room for variability.
Here are two core values for organisations. Can you guess where they originated?
Honour, Courage, and Commitment.
Integrity, Communication, Respect, and Excellence.
If you answered the US Marine Corps and Enron, you’re cheating.
That’s right, at the time of its accounting scandal and $63bn, neutron-star-grade collapse in 2001, Integrity and Communication were core values for Enron.
However, as with our personal values, mission statements and corporate values give direction and stability for a company’s operations. Whether at first utterance or through repetition, ideas trickle into our subconscious and influence our behaviour. Or, because of our brain chemistry, they irritate us and inspire us to do the opposite.
In my view, this is the function of governing law in societies. It’s the reiteration of values, woven into the story of a culture, a nation, or a religion, to ensure most people play by “the rules”.
Given Schwartz’s research identified such a large number of values which mean the same in cultures throughout the world, their importance for ensuring stability, both for the individual and their society, is underestimated.
How many in society would be able to, without hesitation, explain exactly what their core values are? Maybe it’s not important. Maybe it’s more important that we subconsciously have them as concepts, rather than defined words. If you give them time to answer the question, most people would be able to list a few.
But we each need a secure foundation of values that we choose for ourselves. They are vital for governing how we act, what kind of relationships we have, and what opinion we hold of ourselves.
Value Pyramid
Pyramids are a symbol of strength and stability. Above are two of the most fundamental examples; the Pyramids of Giza, and the molecular structure of diamond.
Though diamonds and graphite are both forms of pure carbon, diamonds are used for their hardness in drills and to symbolise everlasting love in rings. By contrast, graphite is used in pencils and golf clubs. Graphite is arranged as loosely connected flat hexagons, whereas diamond is a strong, sturdy pyramid.
Most of the value systems I’ve discussed here are graphite. They treat four or five values as equals. I conceptualise my values as a pyramid.
Just like a corporate hierarchy (yes, even Enron), there should be one value which sits above all. The CEO of values. In our lives, we need one value to sit above the rest. We make that one as fundamental as possible.
I call mine Tactful Bilateral Honesty. It means being honest to others and myself, while trying not to be deliberately hurtful in the process. It’s the difference between making up an excuse not to go to an event, and thanking them for the invite but declining. People who describe themselves as brutally honest are usually more interested in being brutal than honest.
Naturally, it’s the honesty part that’s most valuable, rather than the tact. Some people might prefer not to be told the truth at all, regardless of how much you were trying not to hurt them in the process. “Well, maybe that dress does make your arse look a little big, but you look amazing” could be controversial.
“When we presume to lie for the benefit of others, we have decided that we are the best judges of how much they should understand about their own lives—about how they appear, their reputations, or their prospects in the world.” - Sam Harris, in his book Lying
Honesty with others is difficult, but being honest with ourselves is more complex. With psychological phenomena like cognitive dissonance, sunk cost fallacy, or delusions of grandeur, there’s a spectrum in our ability to look at ourselves objectively.
In our self-communication, it can also be easy to identify the problem honestly. When I struggle to wake up in the morning and get out of bed at a reasonable pace, I have no issue in telling myself that I should be doing better. But what’s the tactful way to communicate with myself to achieve what’s best for me? How is the director speaking to the actor? Do I need the carrot of encouragement, or do I need the stick of admonishment? This are the questions we all must consider, whether as a leader in a business or as a thinker of thoughts. Sometimes it’s one way, sometimes another.
The second tier of the pyramid is still important, but is built on the principles of the top. For my three, the words Discipline, Patience, and Open-mindedness most resonated with me. There are plenty of ways to be patient, disciplined, or open-minded, but they are all multiplied in effectiveness with the presence of total honesty. There are times where it’s wiser and better to be flexible with these three. Open-mindedness is useful as a general principle, because our opinion can change on some deep ideological points, but it’s not recommended to believe everything you are told.
Honesty is as close to a diamond as it’s possible to get. I have told many lies, bare-faced and white, in my life. I intend not to tell any more. I haven’t made up my mind whether I would keep the Santa illusion going or not, but as I don’t have children I don’t need to decide. Yet.
I could have written extensively about the third tier of my value pyramid. But maybe that’ll be covered another time. Theoretically, the pyramid could extend infinitely down, with each layer increasing in obscurity, with values reserved for niche use cases. If there was a word for “offering someone a seat on the tube, but if I’m not sat in the priority seat then they have to make eye contact with me first”, that could be a 7th-tier value.
Ultimately, it doesn’t matter where you borrow your values from. It only matters that you have them. Take the time to visualise your values, and, like the Stoics would tell, put them into practice immediately. The pyramid has been a fun experiment and I hope it helps to strengthen and simplify your life too.
Appendix - The White Board
Recently, I bought a white board and stuck it to the wall in my living room. It’s been transformative for the structure of my life and for my creative process. It is indispensable.
This picture shows how I visualised the pyramid, including potential words I could select for my second-tier values. The morning after writing this, I will rub off the pyramid and replace it with something new.
I’ve used my white board, over the past two weeks, as a habit tracker, meal planner, to-do list, motivational quote dispensary, week activity tracker, blank canvas for people to write on at a house party, and a planner for a long-term concept I’m working on (watch this space!). There’s even been a couple of dicks drawn on there too, as is tradition.
I’m kicking myself for not buying one earlier.
Here’s the Amazon link if you’re interested (not an affiliate marketing link). Unfortunately it doesn’t come with the pens.