Monday, March 17, 2014

Policy vs. Shared Values

I got an email tonight from a team mate traveling in Korea. He is there to do some customer training for our representatives there as well as to suss out some new business. Among the routine administrivia of the message, he mentioned that the hotel our rep put him in was too expensive, and that he was moving to a less expensive one.
There is not a lot of news (or blog) worthy information in this mail, except that is shows something about the culture we try to build at SABIA.
First, he is in Korea of his own accord. He had an opportunity to find a cheap flight to Seoul during a break from visiting customers in Beijing and spend 3 days there doing training and working relationships with our reps there. Though he works for me, I found out about it after arrangements were made through some routine communication. We do not have a travel authorization policy. Second, we do not have a policy that specifies what sort of hotel employees can use. We have zero travel forms, beyond an expense report used to document expenses for reimbursement.
What we do have is a set of shared values. One of them are that we value service to our customers and reps, and we do everything humanly possible to give them the best service we can. We are also very responsible with the company's money, treating it as our own.
There are nothing inherently wrong with policies and procedures. There are some areas of the business like manufacturing processes, where they are critical. SABIA has these where appropriate. What we do not try to do is to try to use policies and procedures to legislate company values.
Shared values, with training and talent, allow for employees to make the right decision without lots of expensive paperwork to slow down our response to our customers. it allows us to move faster that our competitors and provide a better solution for our customers
Insuring that employees share our values is critical to SABIA's success. We have shown over years that values trump policy every time

In Defense of Being Irrational






I am watching some of my friends go through times of transition, loss of job, loss of key relationships, loss of residence, sometimes all of the above. Their allowing me to share in their journey is inspiring to me. Sometimes I like to think that I am further along this road of transition than they are.  Sometimes I’m not so sure. 

Recently Donna and I went to visit the Sagrata Familia in Barcelona. We were completely taken by the incredible environment created by Antoni Gaudi. To be inside it is to know that this building was this man’s act of worship. As with many great places in the world, pictures do not do it justice. I could go on for pages describing it, but this is not what this is about.

As I walked through the building I learned about the man. I tried to picture myself in his shoes. Having spent a lot of time managing projects, I know it is important to focus on budgets, and politics, and constraints and control. I learned quickly how little Mr. Gaudi and I have in common. I thanked God that he put Gaudi in charge instead of me.

He started the project when he was 30 years old and worked on it until his death at age 72, while knowing the whole time that…
  • ·      It would not finish until long after he was dead.
  • ·      He did not have the money for the project, indeed he could not even calculate how much was needed because
  • ·      The building he wanted to build was impossible using technology available at the time.
This was a man who was not limited anyone’s idea of what was possible. He was a man who stepped out in faith to meet his destiny. Certainly his destiny must have seemed ridiculous at the time. Still he dreamed big; big like his Creator.

He had an innumerable number of technical problems, a lot of them seemingly unsolvable. He failed…. countless times and in so many ways. Still he dreamed big; big like his Creator.

He was at the mercy of donors, and was harassed on all sides by his many detractors, including is ostensible client, the Catholic Church. Still he dreamed big; big like his Creator.

In his later years he lost virtually everyone who meant anything to him in less than 10 years. He was broke, had no clients, and lived and looked like a pauper. His reaction to his misfortune is shown below.

My good friends are dead; I have no family and no clients, no fortune nor anything. Now I can dedicate myself entirely to the Church.

He was a man who understood opportunity. He was dreaming big; big like his Creator.

In the last few years God has seen fit to take me from that transitional place of no job no money no relationship to a place of success in all those areas. I am grateful, for sure, but now I wonder, am I thinking big enough? big like my Creator?

Are you?