I was fortunate enough to work directly with a founder on defining the brand values at my current role. I gave him a list of 200 virtues/qualities and asked him to circle 10, which we then narrowed down to 4 over the course of a couple hours in a meeting. (I picked my own, apart from him, and most of what we selected was the same, but there were some we had to debate!). It helped me understand what drives him emotionally at a deeper level.
That's such a great exercise—as with many things, it's often easier to have something to react/respond to vs. try to think up something on the spot. And I love that you weren't afraid to start broad; I think that really helps stakeholders feel a greater level of authorship over the outcome than if you'd already whittled down a list and said "Here you go!" (even though you got to the same place anyway, it's the process that matters).
I was fortunate enough to work directly with a founder on defining the brand values at my current role. I gave him a list of 200 virtues/qualities and asked him to circle 10, which we then narrowed down to 4 over the course of a couple hours in a meeting. (I picked my own, apart from him, and most of what we selected was the same, but there were some we had to debate!). It helped me understand what drives him emotionally at a deeper level.
That's such a great exercise—as with many things, it's often easier to have something to react/respond to vs. try to think up something on the spot. And I love that you weren't afraid to start broad; I think that really helps stakeholders feel a greater level of authorship over the outcome than if you'd already whittled down a list and said "Here you go!" (even though you got to the same place anyway, it's the process that matters).