Organizational culture is built on core values, the guiding principles that shape how employees behave, make decisions, and interact across a company. In this session, Zardasht Kamal Banay, Managing Partner and Senior Advisor at Irtiqa Solutions, explores how these values translate into everyday behavior and, ultimately, organizational performance.

Zardasht draws a sharp distinction between core values (fixed to an organization’s identity, such as speed at Amazon or quality at Apple) and growth values, which shift as a company changes strategy or enters new markets. He argues that values only become culture when leaders model them consistently and when organizations embed them directly into hiring, training, and performance systems rather than treating them as a poster on the wall.

The session also tackles a harder question: what happens when high performers deliver strong results but violate core values along the way. Referencing Warren Buffett’s view that intelligence and energy without integrity can destroy an organization, Zardasht makes the case for zero tolerance on integrity issues, regardless of how strong the numbers look.