Your standards are too low and your team knows it

If it's not explicit (and enforced), it doesn't exist

Matt Hunter • August 11, 2026

Today, I am talking about standards, which is the fifth installment in my series on creating a great manifesto. You can read the first four posts here, here, here, and here to get up to speed.

Values name what matters; standards are the explicit rules and thresholds that define what “great” looks like. Some standards are universal (how quickly decisions get made, how prepared people are, how commitments are kept); others translate your values into measurable expectations (how fast is fast, how exceptional is exceptional, how thorough is thorough) and make performance against those expectations measurable and enforceable. You might be surprised at how many companies don’t do this, leaving a significant amount of performance on the table. Standards are where great companies ultimately differentiate themselves.

Standards define where the bar is: the required behaviors, the lines you don’t cross, and the consequences if you do. Tough Enough leaders set high standards and enforce them firmly and respectfully. Make your standards a shorthand motto that a new hire can understand on day one. For example, for the value of professionalism, your standard might be On time means being in the room and ready at :00; otherwise, you’re late. For the value of excellence, your standard could be If quality misses the threshold, we stop the line. Be explicit. If you have a value of hard work, clearly communicate your expectations about exactly how hard you want people to work. This should be stated in the job description, during onboarding, and whenever someone repeatedly leaves work early. Articulating clear standards is a respectful act. Standards eliminate guessing, make feedback easier, and ensure everyone understands the deal before you’re caught in the heat of the moment.

Your neighborhood café and Apple may both value simplicity, but at Apple, every pixel and workflow must justify its existence. In all likelihood, no one at the café will lose their job over a cluttered chalkboard sign. Same value, different standards. A hobbyist on Etsy and Spanx founder Sara Blakely both value solving a real problem for women. But the difference between the two lies in relentless iteration on the part of Spanx. Thousands of start-ups are customer-centric, but how many have taken customer centricity to the near-maniacal level of Jeff Bezos? These leaders took consumer electronics, shapewear, and e-commerce more seriously than the rest, and as a result, they dominated those industries.

Done well, standards make it easier to distinguish who is truly operating at a high level. As Alabama football coach Nick Saban puts it, “We create a standard for how we want to do things, and everybody’s got to buy into that standard or you really can’t have any team chemistry. Mediocre people don’t like high achievers and high achievers don’t like mediocre people.” When an organization sets clear, reasonable expectations and equips people to meet them, performance improves.

Without defined standards, leaders foster soft, mushy cultures full of contradictions. You get companies that display “excellence” on the wall but settle for mediocrity in every meeting. You find HR departments and people leaders who prioritize their personal values and the comfort of their people over the mission. You end up with leadership team members defending their own functions instead of serving the mission through them.