FLAG Values Compass
Define memorable values that guide choices instead of performing borrowed ideals
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Time to result
- ~weeks to results
- Steps
- 6
- Confidence
- 98%
Treasure argues that being authentic is difficult when a person has not identified who they are or what they value. His answer is to write down a small set of values and make each one behaviorally meaningful. He describes a value as a guiding standard that a person is willing to sacrifice for, not merely a word that sounds admirable. The list should be challenged for social conditioning: would the value still matter without applause or acceptance? Treasure makes his own values memorable with FLAG—faith, love, acceptance, and gratitude—but presents them as his compass, not a universal prescription. A usable compass therefore requires choosing one's own terms, defining what they demand, and testing them against real decisions. The mnemonic supports recall; the decisions provide evidence that the values are genuine.
Origin
Extracted from The Diary of a CEO. Julian Treasure explains his personal FLAG mnemonic—faith, love, acceptance, and gratitude—while recommending that listeners write and test their own values.
Core principles
- 01Authenticity requires knowing what you actually value
- 02A value should influence choices and justify sacrifice
- 03Social approval is not evidence that a value is truly yours
- 04Memorable values are easier to recall under pressure
- 05Values provide direction rather than eliminating uncertainty
How to run it
- 1
Generate Candidate Values
Write the principles that feel personally important before optimizing the list for appearance or approval. Use plain words you can explain.
Pro tip Start from decisions you respected or regretted and ask which principle was present or missing.
- 2
Define the Behavior
Describe what each candidate value would cause you to do or refuse. Distinguish a working standard from an attractive label.
Pro tip Complete the sentence: “If I uphold this, I will…”
- 3
Test for Sacrifice
Name a cost you would accept to protect each value. Remove or rewrite terms that never change a choice.
Pro tip Use a modest real trade-off rather than an imagined heroic scenario.
Watch out A value does not automatically justify harm, illegality, or overriding another person's rights.
- 4
Challenge Social Conditioning
Ask whether the value rings true internally or mainly sounds acceptable to other people. Keep the answer provisional when you are unsure.
Pro tip Imagine that no one will know which option you choose.
- 5
Make the Set Memorable
Reduce the list to a small set and create an acronym or other recall device if useful. Define every term so the mnemonic does not become empty branding.
Pro tip Treasure uses four terms because he can remember them as FLAG.
Watch out Do not copy FLAG unless those four values are genuinely yours.
- 6
Run a Decision Through It
Apply the values to a current choice and note where they clarify or conflict. Revise the definitions as lived experience exposes ambiguity.
Pro tip Record which value changed the decision and what it cost.
In the wild
Treasure names faith, love, acceptance, and gratitude as his four values. He defines faith as confidence that things can be okay, love as wishing people well, acceptance as working with reality and people as they are, and gratitude as directing attention toward what is good without denying hardship.
→ The acronym gives him a memorable personal compass rather than a universal formula for everyone else.
Illustrative example: a founder lists honesty as a value, then defines it as correcting misleading claims even when doing so costs a sale. Because the principle changes a real commercial choice without public praise, it survives the conditioning test and earns a place in the final set.
→ A broad virtue becomes a decision rule with an observable cost.
Common mistakes
Writing the Most Acceptable List
Treasure explicitly warns against choosing values because they sound acceptable to other people rather than ring true personally.
Keeping Values Abstract
Words that never affect behavior or sacrifice cannot provide much direction in a difficult choice.
Copying FLAG Unexamined
FLAG is Treasure's personal compass; the transferable exercise is defining one's own values.
Is it for you?
Best for
It is best for people who feel uncertain about their identity, priorities, or the principles behind recurring decisions.
Not ideal for
It is not ideal for outsourcing moral judgment to Treasure's personal FLAG values or for resolving choices that require legal, clinical, or specialist advice.
From the transcript
“knowing who you actually are”
“you write them down you think about it”
“something that you will sacrifice to achieve”
From the episode
The Speaking Expert: How To Speak So Everyone Hears You: Julian Treasure