Step 1 - Announce - Block out a half day in the afternoon on a Wednesday or Thursday two weeks in advance, so your team members can unblock their calendars and give the workshop their undivided attention. Note: Monday and Tuesday are usually too busy, and most people will fade out after lunchtime on Friday. Here's an email script you can use:

Subject: Action required: Values workshop

Hi [team name]

On x date at x time, the entire CS team will attend a hands-on Purpose definition workshop.

We're going to spend the afternoon bringing awareness to each other's Strengths. The session will be a blast, and I promise - there won't be any Powerpoint presentations.

Next steps:

- Take some time to think about the three core values that our team will spend 99% more effort and energy on than anyone else.

If you have a calendar conflict or customer meeting at the time and date I've mentioned above, please let me know. It's imperative that every team member attends.

Step 2 - Set expectations - When you start the workshop, set clear expectations with the team. No-one should be on their laptop or phone during the session. If there is an emergency, they can leave the room to deal with it, but otherwise, all participants are expected to give the other members their undivided attention.

Step 3 - Brain dump - Kick off the workshop by saying "We're going to come up with a set of three core values. We're going to do an exercise to get a lot of ideas up on the board. Then, we're going to narrow it down to the best three."

"First, I want you to share words that describe how you approach and work with your clients." Expect to hear words like advocate, teacher, trainer, expert and guide. Write all of them - make a big mess of words on the board, with no structure or order. Once that list is exhausted, move on.

"Next, I want you to share words that describe how you work with internal teams." Expect to hear words like helpful, partnership and willing to go the distance. Once they've run out of ideas, move on.

"Finally, tell me words that describe the approach you take with each other." You'll have anywhere between 30 - 50 words on the board.

Step 4 - Group the words: Ask the participants to group the words that are related to each other. Expect them to call the words out and circle them in one color.

Step 5 - Condense - Ask the participants to identify the uber-word that best describes the groups of words that have been circled. Remind the group that there might be a word that best identifies the group of words and that is OK… or it might be a different word. Write down the two or three words for each cluster, without steering to a single word.

Repeat Steps 4 and 5 three times, until you group and condense all the words.

Step 6 - Narrow down to a single word - Ask the group "As a team, what are you willing to spend more time, effort and energy on than any other Customer Success team?" At this point, the power of the words will shine through.

For example, if the group decides that 'thoughtful' is a word they like, ask them exactly what they will do to demonstrate this to their clients and differentiate themselves from 99% of other Customer Success teams.

Note that some words may have a hidden power within the team or company, outside the culture of the group. For example, the word 'Guidevocate', which combines guide and advocate, was a perfect fit for the personality of a team we worked with.

This process is iterative, which means that if people hesitate or react indifferently about a particular word, you should cross it off the list. Having an external facilitator is liberating because they have no organizational baggage or context.

Step 7 - Celebrate - Congratulate the team on a great job and ask them how the words feel to them.