Nathan Gwilliam Blog :: e-Business, Social Enterprise, Faith

In Built to Last, the authors identified “Visionary” companies which met very rigorous standards of sustained greatness. The authors did not find any specific ideological content as being essential in these visionary companies. However, the authors did find that it was essential that the companies have a core ideology of some sort, and that their ideology is an authentic representation of what they truly believe and that they attain consistent alignment with the ideology throughout the business. In other words, the content of the ideology was less important than its existence and alignment.

The following list shows the core ideologies of the Visionary Companies:

3M

• Innovation; “Thou shalt not kill a new product idea”
• Absolute integrity
• Respect for individual initiative and personal growth
• Tolerance for honest mistakes
• Product quality and reliability
• “Our real business is solving problems”

American Express

• Heroic customer service
• Worldwide reliability of services
• Encouragement of individual initiative

Boeing

• Being on the leading edge of aeronautics; being pioneers
• Tackling huge challenges and risks
• Product safety and quality
• Integrity and ethical business
• To “eat, breathe, and sleep the world of aeronautics”

Citicorp

• Expansionism–of size, of services offered, of geographic presence
• Being out front-such as biggest, best, most innovative, most profitable
• Autonomy and entrepreneurship (via decentralization)
• Meritocracy
• Aggressiveness and self-confidence

Ford

• People as the source of our strength
• Products as the “end result of our efforts” (we are about cars)
• Basic honesty and integrity

General Electric

• Improving the quality of life through technology and innovation
• Interdependent balance between responsibility to customers, employees, society, and shareholders (no clear hierarchy)
• Individual responsibility and opportunity
• Honesty and integrity

Hewlett-Packard

• Technical contribution to the fields in which we participate
• Respect and opportunity for HP people, including the opportunity to share in the success of the enterprise
• Contribution and responsibility to the communities in which we operate
• Affordable quality for HP customers
• Profit and growth as a means to make all of the other values and objectives possible

IBM

• Give full consideration to the individual employee
• Spend a lot of time making customers happy
• Go the last mile to do things right; seek superiority in all we undertake

Johnson & Johnson

• The company exists “to alleviate pain and disease”
• “We have a hierarchy of responsibilities: customers first, employees second, society at large third, and shareholders fourth”
• Individual opportunity and reward based on merit
• Decentralization = Creativity = Productivity

Marriott

• Friendly service & excellent value; “make people away from home feel that they’re among friends and really wanted”
• People are number 1–treat them well, expect a lot, and the rest wil follow
• Work hard, yet keep it fun
• Continual self-improvement
• Overcoming adversity to build character

Merck

• “We are in the business of preserving and improving human life. All of our actions must be measured by our success in achieving this goal.”
• Honesty and integrity
• Corporate social responsibility
• Science-based innovation, not imitation
• Unequivocal excellence in all aspects of the company
• Profit, but profit from work that benefits humanity

Motorola

• The company exists “to honorably serve the community by providing products and services of superior quality at a fair price”
• Continuous self-renewal
• Tapping the “latent creative power within us”
• Continual improvement in all that the company does–in ideas, in quality, in customer satisfaction
• Treat each employee with dignity, as an individual
• Honesty, integrity, and ethics in all aspects of business

Nordstrom

• Service to the customer above all else
• Hard work and productivity
• Continuous improvement, never being satisfied
• Excellence in reputation, being part of something special

Procter & Gamble

• Product excellence
• Continuous self-improvement
• Honesty and fairness
• Respect and concern for the individual

Sony

• To experience the sheer joy that comes from the advancement, application, and innovation of technology that benefits the general public
• To elevate the Japanese culture and national status
• Being a pioneer–not following others, but doing the impossible
• Respecting and encouraging each individual’s ability and creativity

Wal-Mart

• “We exist to provide value to our customers”–to make their lives better via lower prices and greater selection; all else is secondary
• Swim upstream, buck conventional wisdom
• Be in partnership with employees
• Work with passion, commitment, and enthusiasm
• Run lean
• Pursue ever-higher goals

Walt Disney

• No cynicism allowed
• Fanatical attention to consistency and detail
• Continuous progress via creativity, dreams and imagination
• Financial control and preservation of Disney’s “magic” image
• “To bring happiness to millions” and to celebrate, nurture, and promulgate “wholesome American values.”

Visionary companies can, and usually do evolve into exciting new business ideas, yet they remain guided by their core ideology.

It is interesting to note that none of the Visionary Companies had more than six core ideologies. More than that becomes too difficult for everyone to remember. The core ideology should be simple enough and thoroughly indoctrinated so that all team member can recite them and apply them. The core ideology should not revolve around fads or trends, or change with the market. They should be the guiding stars for the direction of the company.

Jack Welch, the legendary CEO of GE said:

Numbers and values. We don’t have the final answer here–at least I don’t. People who make the numbers and share our values go onward and upward. People who miss the numbers and share our values get a second chance. People with no values and no numbers–easy call. The problem is with those who make the numbers but don’t share the values… We try to persuade them; we wrestle with them; we agonize over these people.

Although it appears to be essential for businesses to develop core ideologies and alignment with team members to those core ideologies, businesses will not be successful with core ideologies alone. Well articulated intentions are important, however it is more important to translate those intentions into concrete goals, or “mechanisms with teeth”, which can transform a wannabe company into a sustainable great company.

Find Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies at Amazon.com.

(Source: Built to Last)

Posted on April 14th, 2008 by admin
Filed under: Book Reviews, Business Management, Entrepreneurship, Ethics, Social Enterprise, e-Business