Axioms are the foundations of ‘grammars’.  They are the givens, things we don’t have to question, that we can take for granted, that are (at least to us) self-evident.  Otherwise it would be nigh-on impossible to get anything done.  Imagine a whole orchestra having to agree what ‘C’ means before they start playing, or having to define exactly what you mean by a ‘metre’ on every page of a set of building drawings.

For a business it’s different.   Remember,  “When you make a business, you get to make a little universe where you control all the laws.  This is your utopia”(Derek Sivers).

That means you define your own business axioms – how many times it’s acceptable to let the phone ring before you answer it, who is most important, the boss or the customer, how much it’s legitimate to care about the environment in relation to how your busines makes money.

If the grammar of your business can be written down as what I call a Customer Experience Score, the axioms that govern what that score looks, sounds and feels like are what I call your Promise of Value.

Both are unique to your business.   Together, explicit or otherwise, they are the reason your best clients buy from you, stay loyal to you, and tell their friends about you.  Both are worth writing down.