Values vs Behaviors

When changing companies, hold onto values but recalibrate behaviors to fit the new culture

Bob Baxley
35 years of product design wisdom from Apple, Disney, Pinterest and beyond

Values vs Behaviors

"The thing I took away from Apple is most likely the new place hires you because of the values of the organization you left, but not the behaviors." - Bob Baxley

What It Is

When transitioning between companies with strong cultures, leaders often fail because they import both the values AND the behaviors from their previous organization. The key insight is that new employers hire you for the values you embody (e.g., attention to detail, product excellence, customer focus), but not the specific behaviors you used to express those values.

Bob Baxley learned this the hard way at Pinterest. Coming directly from Apple—without any buffer time to recalibrate—he behaved the way he had at Apple: very direct, fighting hard in debates. But Pinterest's culture was different; they literally had posters saying "say the hard thing" in conference rooms, suggesting that directness wasn't the norm. He "bounced off the culture."

The concept also includes the idea of a "car wash"—Apple famously talked about taking new hires through a car wash to strip away habits from previous jobs. Baxley realized there's also a car wash needed when you LEAVE a strong culture.

How It Works

Strong company cultures deeply fuse into your behavior and how you conduct yourself. When you move to a new company:

  1. Values are transferable - Core principles like attention to detail, customer obsession, or product excellence translate across cultures.

  2. Behaviors are culture-specific - HOW you express those values varies dramatically. Being "direct" at Apple looks very different from being "direct" at Pinterest.

  3. Immigration analogy - Moving from Apple to Airbnb is like an American moving to Australia—shared values make adaptation easier. Moving to a vastly different culture is like moving from America to Burma—much harder to adapt.

  4. Time buffers help - Hiroki Asai succeeded at Airbnb partly because he took a multi-year gap after leaving Apple, giving himself time to decompress and recalibrate.

How to Apply It

  1. Identify your core values - Before transitioning, articulate the principles that drive you (not the specific tactics you use).

  2. Research the new culture deeply - Look for signals about how values are expressed. Does the company need to remind people to "say the hard thing"? That tells you something.

  3. Build in transition time - If possible, don't go straight from one intense culture to another. Give yourself space to recalibrate.

  4. Ask the right interview questions - When interviewing, look for evidence that leadership authentically values what you value. Do they have a story about WHY they believe in design/product/engineering?

  5. Observe before acting - In your first months, notice how people express values behaviorally before importing your old playbook.

  6. Accept that bouncing is normal - Career failures are the common case, not the exception. Even successful people "fall off" roles when the growth demands exceed what's manageable.

When to Use It

  • When interviewing at a new company after working at a strong-culture organization
  • When onboarding into a leadership role
  • When advising others on career transitions
  • When feeling friction after a job change and trying to diagnose the cause
  • When an executive hire from a prestigious company isn't working out

Source

  • Guest: Bob Baxley
  • Episode: "35 years of product design wisdom from Apple, Disney, Pinterest and beyond"
  • Key Discussion: (00:06:38) - Discusses his unsuccessful stint at Pinterest and the values vs behaviors lesson
  • YouTube: Watch on YouTube

Related Frameworks

  • None currently linked
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