The ValuesCrafting Journey

A Practical Path to Living—and Leading—With Integrity, Purpose, and Heart

The ValuesCrafting Journey

My journey to writing ValuesCrafting began years ago—and if you’re drawn to this publication, you’re probably already on your journey toward living more authentically.

That’s good news. It means ValuesCrafting can help you accelerate your progress.

I don’t claim to have all the answers. But my experiences—hard-won, field-tested, and real—have taught me valuable lessons. By sharing them, I hope to offer guidance and encouragement as you work to live and lead in alignment with your values.

It’s my core belief that when people live their values, they naturally carry them into the workplace. And when that happens, the collective values of individuals shape the organization’s culture—intentionally or not.

My goal is to help you shape it with intention.

What I Learned the Hard Way

Years ago, I worked with an organization called Michigan Modernization Services. We sent teams of consultants—pairing management and HR expertise with tech and engineering support—into small manufacturing companies.

Our task was to evaluate their practices and recommend improvements to help them remain competitive. We presented those ideas in a final report, accompanied by follow-up visits to support implementation.

And here’s what I learned:

The process didn’t work.

Despite the quality of our ideas, these small companies struggled. Their leaders were inexperienced in driving real change. They couldn’t visualize how to bring the recommendations to life—and they certainly couldn’t help their employees picture those changes in their day-to-day jobs.

Even more crucially, they didn’t understand that if they wanted employees to change, they had to change. Employees need more than logic and reassurance. They need to experience something different in their work environments to feel safe stepping into something new.

And even when we did manage to make progress, another challenge showed up fast:

Everything in their lives and workplace was constantly changing.

Leaders came and went. Company directions shifted. New customer demands, new compliance rules, new economic realities. Some of the most invested people we worked with left—and they took their insight, buy-in, and knowledge with them.

And just like that, so many of our gains were lost.

A Shift in My Approach

That experience reshaped how I consult, train, write, and lead.

Instead of simply offering ideas, I committed to providing hands-on support:

• Coaching leaders

• Facilitating tough conversations

• Modeling new behaviors

• And most of all, staying involved long after the “consulting” phase ended

Sometimes, that follow-up lasted for years.

That early experience continues to shape everything I do—including the foundation of ValuesCrafting.

Why ValuesCrafting Exists

In the process, I discovered a crucial gap:

People who care deeply about living their values—and guiding others to do the same—often have no idea how to put those values into practice.

We have numerous words to describe values such as empathy, respect, or integrity. But what do they look like in action?

How do you actually demonstrate them when things get hard?

That’s what ValuesCrafting is here to answer.

I created this publication to bridge the gap between naming your values and living them. It’s for people who want to align their daily actions with what matters most—and for those in influential roles who need to guide others to do the same.

This is especially true for managers, helping professionals, and HR leaders. Telling someone to “be more respectful” or “show empathy” isn’t enough. We need to provide examples, establish expectations, and outline specific behaviors.

That’s what ValuesCrafting offers—week after week.

Why Subscribe?

If you want your life and leadership to reflect your values—not just in theory but in practice—you’re in the right place.

Each Wednesday, I’ll share actionable strategies rooted in decades of experience. You’ll get practical examples of people living out their values in real work and life situations.

Because ValuesCrafting isn’t about lofty ideals. It’s about showing up every day in ways that feel true, that build trust, and that shape culture—one moment, one decision, one conversation at a time.

This is why I am offering ValuesCrafting to you now.