Developed through extensive cross-cultural research, it identifies 10 broad personal values that are universal across cultures and transcend specific situations. These core values – differentiated by their underlying motivational goals – influence where and why people engage with emerging narratives.

Advantages of diversifying the values you speak to.

By expanding our stories to resonate with different values beyond our own  – we can unlock three powerful advantages on the path to crossing the narrative adoption chasm.

1. You’re more likely to hit the 25 percent tipping point for change. 

This is because change typically spreads through less connected groups at the periphery of networks, rather than through central ‘influencers’. Because this support builds at the less visible edges, many campaigns disband without knowing they were extremely close to the 25 percent tipping point needed to accelerate their goals. By diversifying the values our stories speak to, we increase our chances of building this hidden momentum.

2. You meet people where they are, not where you’d like them to be.

We tend to form our values early in life, between the ages of 8 and 21, and they remain remarkably resistant to change. Even in situations of severe threat to life or social stability, people typically cling more strongly to their existing values rather than adopt new ones. This persistence of values explains why significant shifts in societal values tend to happen gradually, often across generations.

Instead of hoping our stories will shift others’ values, we can craft narratives that connect with the values people already hold. This approach recognises and respects that different goals might matter deeply to different people, while still building support for shared change.

3. You build strong, inclusive coalitions that lead to better innovations.

When people can bring their own stories, infused with their own values, it creates more open, participatory, and peer-driven new power movements for change – whether within organisations, sectors, or society.

While strong shared values can aid collaboration, working only with similar-minded people often triggers what’s known as the narcissism of small differences. Most people and groups like to think of themselves as unique. This sense of uniqueness becomes threatened when we encounter others similar to us, leading us to focus on narrow ideological differences that can prevent effective collaboration.

Not only does attracting more diverse collaborators avoid this fracturing of relationships, but bringing together different backgrounds, perspectives and experiences produces more innovative and inclusive change.

People “like me” vs people “not like me”. 

Tellling stories that resonate with both similar and diverse values creates two powerful pathways to the 25 percent tipping point. When “people like us” adopt an idea, it signals personal relevance and alignment with our values. When “people not like us” embrace it, it signals growing mainstream acceptance – both are dynamics that accelerate change.

Yet diversifying our storytelling isn’t easy. Our values are deeply entwined with our identities, naturally connecting us with like-minded others and defining what we stand for. This fundamental drive to belong – to mark out what makes us unique and different – can make it challenging to reach beyond our own values. 

The most transformative ideas emerge when we deliberately reach across these divides. Perhaps the greatest power lies not in changing others’ values, but in showing how different values can lead us toward the same change.