Book excerpt: Bill Blackwood and Ray Mauser use their years of experience as executive coaches and consultants to help you define and clarify your personal values in this book. The authors present a discussion and definition of values as well as a tested, proven values clarification exercise. Values are those things that really matter to each of us—the ideas and beliefs we hold as special and will defend. Ray and Bill maintain a set of values are personal to you; no two people will necessarily have identical values. Thus, it is important that you clarify your personal set of values because your values define who you are, what you stand for, and influence your individual behavior. They provide a list of 70 values to start working with. Moreover, values drive how you gather and interpret information, frame decisions, and make choices, say the authors. Gaining an understanding of your value orientation is this book's intention. The assessment instrument included in this book is designed to help identify those values that are most important and meaningful to you. This book goes beyond clarifying your personal values. It provides the reader with exercises and techniques for validating and testing your values. You will recognize the various ways in which you engage your values in your daily life and work processes. Also, you will learn to see how you engage in value-driven actions, which may appear neutral or simply logical but nonetheless carry out your values in the way you make judgments, choices, and decisions. The authors separate and define many terms often defined as values. They provide examples of behaviors, attitudes, attributes, traits, and related terms often viewed or misconstrued as values. They also present a discussion of other classifications of values such as core values, social, political, professional, and so forth to help you distinguish these terms from your personal values. This book is a relatively short, quick read; yet hard-hitting with a practical style. While it is designed for understanding and clarifying your personal values, it is also suitable as a handbook for clarifying values in group settings, such as seminars, workshops, classrooms, and professional development venues.