The Value of Efficiency

As a differentiating value, Efficiency means skillfulness in avoiding wasted time and

effort; careful use of resources.
Some people assume that efficiency is naturally built into the DNA of a business.
The reality is that it’s more rare than spotting a Florida panther. Efficiency is neither
natural nor sustainable on its own.
Sometimes efficiency is forced upon a business through outside rules and
regulations. We see this when governments create restrictive policies, such as
water conservation, mining restrictions, or even the need to license wireless
frequencies.
A more productive way is to inject the value of efficiency into the organizational
culture. This is what a few successful companies have done.
Defining Efficiency
Here are 4 large companies that have embraced efficiency as a core value, and
how they define it.
Micro Technology outlines six expected behaviors, instead of specific values. One
of them is: Relentlessly Focus on Efficiency, which they define as follows:
Being relentlessly focused on efficiency requires a continuous improvement
mindset. A conscious effort toward continuous improvement is critical to your
personal and professional success.
Philip Morris International highlights Efficiency as one of their five values that they
look for in potential employees. They define this as follows:
Our employees strive for excellence through efficient work habits and skillful
performance. With a combination of well planned processes, smart priorities, and
agile problem solving, our people enjoy doing the job, and doing it right. The results
are often impressive.
Williams, a large oil & gas company, includes Efficiency & Effectiveness as one
of their 10 core values. While I feel these two terms don’t belong together – as one
has to do with doing things right and the other with doing the right thing – Williams’
definition shows they are clearly focused on efficiency:
We continuously collaborate with our customers and within our teams to discover
and apply safer, better, faster and more cost-efficient ways to provide the services
our customers value.
Bayer AG includes Efficiency as one of their four core values. In defining this
value, they list 7 key points:
 Manage resources smartly
 Focus on activities that create value
 Do things simply and effectively
 Deliver with appropriate costs, speed and quality
 Speed up good decision-making
 Be accountable for consistent execution
 Collaborate for better solutions
In all cases, the focus is on employee behavior. The leaders of these companies
know that their very survival is determined by their people. So, by including
efficiency as a core value means these companies are more likely to attract people
who care about this value.
In other words, people who love efficiency tend to work for efficient companies. A
key benefit for both employees and the company is knowing it will likely survive for
a long time.

Obtaining the best possible outcome in the least wasteful manner by maintaining dynamic,
relevant policies and procedures while consistently supporting a quality workforce

To effectively implement a strategic plan or carry out a complex project, a culture

of accountability needs to be developed throughout the organization. To achieve success,
everyone needs to understand the organization's strategy, their individual roles within the
company, and the specific tasks or projects that they are responsible for. Accountability is
not limited to staff - Managers and leaders must also follow through on their promises and
remain committed to their performance and organizational goals.
When accountability is absent, the effects can cascade through an entire organization,
especially with larger teams who have multiple people working in different roles on a
project. Not only will projects be delayed (or sometimes even derailed), but attitudes like
apathy, low performance, passive aggressiveness, and a lack of trust might develop. In
short, when team members don’t trust each other to follow through, both performance and
culture can suffer immensely.
If you want to lead a high-performance and committed team who take ownership for their
projects and tasks, these tips will help you get started:

To effectively implement a strategic plan or carry out a complex project, a culture

of accountability needs to be developed throughout the organization. To achieve success,
everyone needs to understand the organization's strategy, their individual roles within the
company, and the specific tasks or projects that they are responsible for. Accountability is
not limited to staff - Managers and leaders must also follow through on their promises and
remain committed to their performance and organizational goals.
When accountability is absent, the effects can cascade through an entire organization,
especially with larger teams who have multiple people working in different roles on a
project. Not only will projects be delayed (or sometimes even derailed), but attitudes like
apathy, low performance, passive aggressiveness, and a lack of trust might develop. In
short, when team members don’t trust each other to follow through, both performance and
culture can suffer immensely.
If you want to lead a high-performance and committed team who take ownership for their
projects and tasks, these tips will help you get started:

 Foster an environment of openness and trust

When mistakes or delays are strongly discouraged, or if tough conversations are avoided,
staff may feel overwhelmed and either avoid their task or rush to complete it.
When a member of your team is behind schedule or has made a mistake, it’s important that
they feel safe and comfortable to approach a team member or a leader for advice or
assistance, with enough time to rectify the issue. Though asking for help can be tough, it
can also help to build autonomy, trust and understanding, which can help develop strong
teams with high productivity.

Get 15 Questions to Ask Your Team - Strategic Planning Questionnaire

 Understand your employees and what motivates them

While we don’t all have the same motivations and drives, there are certain culture traits that
lead to higher workplace satisfaction. When people are given opportunities to learn and
grow, develop in their roles, and to feel like their contribution matters.
To help sustain a culture that supports these values in combination with accountability and
performance, leaders can:

 Be open to communicate, but avoid micromanagement

 Encourage collaboration while supporting autonomy
 Support employee growth and education
 Continue their own education through workshops and conferences

Check out our podcast with Jeremy Bailey, the Creative Director of FreshBooks for some
great insights on how to motivate your people to do their best. (Also, Daniel Pink wrote a
great book about this topic!)

 Set clear and actionable goals with metrics for success

Whether you’ve just had your strategic planning session, or are planning a new project, it’s
crucial that your team leaves the meeting or conversation with a clear understanding of
what their specific responsibilities are.
By clearly defining tasks and timelines (together with the team who will be implementing
the steps), staff can leave the meeting with a strong understanding of which next steps to
take, how long they should spend on them, and what the end product should be.

 Track and review your progress on an ongoing basis and celebrate both failure
and success

For employees to know when a project or task is complete and to the level of quality
expected of them, there needs to be a tracking method in place, with clearly defined
definitions of success.

Make sure to monitor your progress on a regular basis (for example, weekly or monthly) to
determine that the project is still attainable, on track, and within scope. During your
tracking and monitoring meetings, encourage your team to share their failures and
successes. This will help the team understand what works and what doesn’t, allowing them
to move forward with their tasks with confidence.

 For leaders to remain accountable to their organization and teams, it is

beneficial to work with a facilitator or a strategy partner

Even leaders need help to stay accountable! When leading an organization, leaders may
become too focuses on day-to-day tasks that they lose sight of the big picture, or they may
keep such a wide scope that they have difficulty understanding the finer intricacies of the
organization.
On a short-term basis, these won’t always present a problem, but leaders experiencing
either of these extremes on an ongoing basis may not maintain accountability to the
organizational strategy, their teams, or their tasks.
Working together with an external facilitator or strategy partner can offer multiple benefits,
such as:

 Helping leaders to maintain momentum and an understanding of where the business

is going.
 Motivating leadership teams and their employees to remain aligned with the vision
and strategy across the organization.
 Empowering leaders to recognize possible roadblocks and risks before they become
problems.
 Developing leaders to understand how to manage performance and lead a high-
functioning and high-performing team.
 Encouraging leaders to seek support and coaching when they find themselves out of
their scope, or needing assistance to stay on track.
 When leaders are committed to their accountability, they can make a positive impact on
their organization’s culture, leading to alignment and success across the entire organization.
8 Reasons to use a facilitator for your next meeting
Having accountability in the workplace and in life is crucial. Being able to know you have a
responsibility or a job to do and making sure it gets done. It encompasses most everything,
from showing up on time, making sure the task put in front of you is done, and taking care of all
obligations you have.
As employees at Oak Motors, accountability is a must. If we make a mistake it’s up to us to
hold ourselves accountable and raise our hand and say “That’s my fault, and I will fix it”. The
ability to hold our co-workers accountable is also key to making sure everything is performing
at a high level. We must help others to make the best possible decision and solve problems.
Accountability is the glue that holds together our commitment to our customers, in order for
them to be successful. When our customers succeed, we as a Company succeed.
In order to be World Class we must hold each other accountable for the responsibilities and
actions that follow so we can deliver exceptional customer service. This is important as we
must be accountable to the Company Mission Statement: Oak Motors and Indiana Finance
Company are committed to providing dependable transportation to individuals regardless of
their credit history, and delivery of this product/service must be done in a financially sound and
socially responsible manner.

INTEGRITY IN ALL ACTIONS:

We act with integrity in all of our actions and in a manner consistent with
all applicable laws and honesty and fairness in all activities and strive for
excellence in all matters of ethical conduct. Trust is the foundation of all
good relationships. Integrity is our basis for trust.

As a differentiating value, Reliability means worthy of trust; dependable; faithful;

authentic. Note the four components of this value:
1. Worthy of trust. There’s no way around it, building trust takes time. So a start-up
company shouldn’t try and claim this.
2. Dependable. It’s about demonstrating consistent behavior until it’s predictable.
This is how lasting brands are built.
3. Faithful. The ability to stick to a set of principles or remain true to a defined
ideology is only proven in difficult times. It’s about remaining loyal and steadfast no
matter what. Unfortunately, this is rare to find in business today.
4. Authentic. When others believe “you’re the real deal” they will stick by you. You
won’t have to defend that you’re brand is the original. They’ll do it for you. It’s the
reason there is only one Coke, Kleenex, and iPhone.
Reliability in Action

If you’ve ever taken a generic drug, there’s a good

chance it was made by Mylan. Of course, you can’t buy it directly from this
company. You have to get it through your pharmacist.
When Mylan started in 1961, the two founders sold products out of the back of their
car to doctors and pharmacists. Today, the company is a global leader in the
production and distribution of generic drugs and specialty pharmaceuticals. It’s
grown to become a major force in the generic drugs business.
Here’s how Mylan defines the value of Reliability:
Dependable. Reliable. Call it what you will, we’ve made it a habit. We strive to be
there through thick and thin, rain or shine, delivering on every promise, every time.
That’s why people around the corner and across the world count on Mylan.
Regardless of your opinion about the generic drug business, one thing that you
absolutely expect from drug makers is reliability in the efficacy of the product. You
expect every pill to perform exactly the same way, every time you take it.
The problem is that not all generic drug makers are reliable. Many articles have
been written about this topic. And it’s not a new concern.
For Mylan, the value of reliability was first put to the test in 1986 when corruption
and fraudulent practices were exposed in the generic drug industry. With Mylan’s
help, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) changed their review procedures
for generic drugs and introduced new safety precautions for consumers. In other
words, the company stepped up to help solve an industry-wide problem of
reliability.
In a more recent case, Mylan filed a suit against the FDA challenging their approval
of India-based Ranbasy because of known manufacturing violations that
compromised the quality of drugs being produced. Was this a case about fighting
for exclusive rights to market a specific drug? Of course. But Mylan leveraged their
focus on reliability as the foundation for the challenge because they viewed it as a
competitive advantage.
That’s the kind of activity required from those that choose to embrace this value.
They must be willing to do whatever it takes to build trust; demonstrate consistent
behavior until it’s predictable; stick to a set of principles in difficult times; and
demonstrate that they are “the real deal.”

INNOVATION
“We constantly strive to be innovative – questioning accepted wisdom, creating
new ideas and new approaches, and never resting on our laurels. We are self-
starters with a “can-do” approach and a willingness to take prudent risks. We work
passionately to retain the entrepreneurial spirit that created our firm and to fight
against politics and bureaucracy

“We are resolute in pursing innovation that creates value for our customers and
shareholders.”

“We contribute to a world in motion by creating energy-efficient, innovative

solutions that benefit our customers and the environment.”

We believe the best is yet to be invented. We encourage purposeful creativity and

thoughtful risk taking to create value for all stakeholders.”

“We are resolute in pursing innovation that creates value for our customers and
shareholders.”

“We are the technology company that invents the useful and the significant.”
UnitedHealth Group (#17) – a huge U.S. health care provider (e.g. insurance and
benefit services):
“We learn from experiences of the past and use those insights to invent the future
to make the health care environment work and serve everyone more fairly,
productively and consistently.”
FedEx (#63) – a well-known provider of transportation and logistics services to
businesses worldwide:
“We invent and inspire the services and technologies that improve the way we
work and live.”
L-3 Communications (#197) – a major defense contractor to various U.S.
government agencies:
“…developing new technologies, new ideas, and new ways of thinking to deliver
the best solutions for our customers.”
Air Products (#273) – a major supplier of atmospheric gases:
“…cultivating ideas to deliver improvement and growth.”
KKR (#277) – a global investment firm:

CULTURES OF INNOVATION are naturally dynamic. Employees think of

new ideas and try them on the fly. Processes and procedures are fluid.
There often is no one right answer to a problem, but rather
experimentation drives many projects, efforts, assignments, and
ultimately opportunities for improvement.
But cultures of innovation still require some structure to guide your
decision-making and ensure your activities are helping you to reach
business objectives. Core innovation values are crucial to providing this
structure. They embody your beliefs and attitudes about innovation.
These values also help define your organization’s priorities, how
employees should go about solving problems, and your expectations for
their performance.
Companies often operate according to their core values implicitly.
However, core values can become a more powerful unifying factor in your
company when you explicitly define them and ensure all employees are
aligned with and dedicated to them.
Here are a handful of core values that are often among the most crucial to
integrate into an innovation culture. Below you will likely see a value that
puts a fine point on the beliefs you may already have about innovation.
You also might find others that describe new philosophies you want to
adopt.
1. Quality. Employees always strive to produce excellent work that pushes
the company upward. They embrace their responsibilities, enjoy the
process of solving problems, and provide effective solutions and added
value to customers. This value borrows from standards set forth
by Malcolm Baldrige, Secretary of Commerce under Ronald Reagan. He
championed principles including organizational quality, performance
excellence, and continuous improvement, which led to the creation of
the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Improvement Act of 1987. Some of the
other values here pull from Baldrige principles as well.
2. Individuality. The company deeply respects the knowledge, skills,
ideas, and capabilities that each employee brings to the team. Team
leaders discover each employee’s strengths and weaknesses, and play to
their strong points while helping support their weaker ones. Employees
own their jobs so they can hone their expertise, become subject-matter
experts, take their contributions to the next level, and better support the
organization, while also realizing the value of teamwork.
3. Trust. The work environment is open, honest, collaborative, and family
oriented. Employees feel comfortable and confident in sticking their necks
out, and trust their ideas will be well received. They know they can rely on
their colleagues to firmly support them in team projects by completing
their work on time, on budget, and with high quality. Employees do not
undermine one another, nor do they try to take credit for others’ ideas and
work. True collaboration can only exist in an environment of trust!
4. Creativity. Employees are fountains of new ideas, fueling better products,
services, and processes. The company embraces laughter, humor, and having
fun while working toward a common goal. It pools a diverse set of
perspectives and experience by assembling cross-functional teams to
collaborate on projects. The company often holds brainstorming sessions
around new themes and goals. Employees don’t take themselves too
seriously, and use their imaginations to drive innovation.
5. Leadership. Employees share the company’s vision and passion, and propel
it forward with confidence. They are less concerned about getting credit
for their ideas and accomplishments, and are instead focused on guiding
the team to the company’s goals. They know and are comfortable with
their strong and weak points. They are eager to rely on others for support
because they see how the outcome can be dramatically improved through
collaboration. Employees celebrate one another’s successes and look
forward to taking those successes to the next level together.
6. Accountability. Employees are dedicated to their work and take full
responsibility for their duties. They make well-thought-out decisions that
lead to the right changes for the right reasons. Employees care about the
company and the constituents it serves, and always act in the best interest
of all players involved.
7. Measurement. Employees track and measure the company’s innovation
activities, evaluate results, and determine what is working and what isn’t.
They incorporate lessons into the next phase of a project and into new
projects. Employees think critically to continually improve their
innovation strategies by using data and analysis, sharing findings with
colleagues, and openly communicating about results.
These are just some of the core values that can underpin a strong
innovative culture. When your people understand, agree with, and
embrace your core values, it’s usually much easier to continue moving
forward on a positive path to achieve the mission of your innovation
culture and company. What core values are integral to your culture of
innovation?