Inspiring one million values led conversations

By Alan Williams and Lisa Birtles

October sees the arrival of the month for World Values Day celebrations, with World Values Day itself on 21st October. The theme for 2021 is RECONNECTING and we were inspired to design a creative way to facilitate values-led conversations, connect people, develop understanding and build relationships to create greater harmony. The result is our playful card game, ValuesJam so what better launch date than 1 October 2021.

It is our ambition to create harmony all over the world by inspiring one million values-led conversations with our community of ValuesJammers and the ValuesJam card decks.

We all have values (things that are important to us) – they guide our choices, decisions and actions and when we live our values every day we are at our best. Some people have greater awareness of and live their values more than others and values-led reflection or conversations help us to understand ourselves and other people.

“Strong harmonies are made from different voices working together.” Lisa Birtles

Our inspiration

The ValuesJam card game is inspired by jamming in music (where musicians come together spontaneously and play without rehearsal) because many of the same characteristics are shared: when we play ValuesJam we find ourselves deeply present, connected and trusting, being curious and experimental without judging, giving our fellow ValuesJammers space and respect – in other words we find a unique new rhythm and magical, unpredictable results happen as we create something unique together which can never be repeated.

The ValuesJam deck has 60 values cards with a set of fun and insightful questions to guide the conversation. ValuesJamming is very flexible how, with whom and where you play. It works well for team members, friends and family, school & community groups, care homes, coaching conversations, consultants/facilitators and even counsellors and therapists!

Feedback from ValuesJam Founder Members who have played has been amazing:

“ValuesJam cards will be a fun and impactful tool for those wanting to: expand their understanding of “self” and “other;” build bridges and increase collaboration; explore their personal and company values; and deepen relationships.”

“What an incredibly powerful and fun way to disrupt the mundane way we usually see, think and talk about values.”

“A great way for employees to feel a sense of belonging to the whole organization and connection with each other, irrespective of geography.”

“I found myself remembering experiences that haven’t crossed my mind for many, many years. Powerful stuff!”

Playing the game

It is quite simple to play. Just pick a values card (by choice or at random), start with the first question on the reverse and see where the conversation takes you. You can use none, some or all of the other questions and before you move on to another card, ask the final question. Be open, honest, respectful, kind and curious. Above all, listen and feel the vibe – every card is different. There are no right or wrong answers. Just share your stories and go with the flow. It’s also OK “not to know” yet. If that’s the case, see what ideas are sparked by listening to the other ValuesJammer(s). You can play with as many cards as you like. It depends how much time you have and how much fun you are having.

The initial deck is in English and we are already exploring opportunities to offer ValuesJam in several different languages. You can also produce ValuesJam card decks with your company logo on the box.

“Even the Rolling Stones practice.” Alan Williams

Supporting World Values Day

The ValuesJam card game is one of the key initiatives for World Values Day 2021. There are a series of ValuesJam introduction sessions between now and the end of October for people who are interested to know more. On World Values Day, 21st October there will be a ValuesJamathon on Clubhouse with a rolling series of one hour ValuesJam sessions starting in New Zealand and working across the time zones to the west coast of USA. We are hoping to have at people attend from all over the world and if you are interested in hosting one of these sessions let us know at jamming@values-jam.com. Lisa and Alan at ValuesJam also invite you to join them for a ValuesJam Challenge everyday 1-31 October. Then we are scheduling a monthly ValuesJam for the Valuesjammer community and newcomers or passers by to join in the magic.

You can become a ValuesJam Founder Member by signing up to receive your deck of cards and enjoy an additional free deck which we ask you to ‘pass forward’.

30% of profits will be donated to World Values Day activities around the world.

“If life isn’t about human beings and living in harmony, then I don’t know what it’s about.” Orlando Bloom

About the Authors

Alan Williams, co-founder of ValuesJam, has been working in the field of values for nearly twenty years and has co-authored three internationally acclaimed books on the topic. Alan is known for his favourite values ‘rif’ “Values are for living not laminating”.

 

 

 

Lisa Birtles coaches and mentors others to discover and live their core values every day whether doing her day job in corporate consulting or working with one of the three charities where she volunteers as a non-executive director.

 

 

 

 

ValuesJam community

You can join the ValuesJammer community here, follow @ValuesJam on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Clubhouse to join the community of ValuesJammers and share your stories on social media.

Contact us at: jamming@values-jam.com

“We hope you like jammin’ too.” Bob Marley