The Concentric Tenets: Daily values and behavior to aspire to

1. Our attitude and work ethic is everything

What separates us is our attitude and work ethic. Bring a positive attitude to work and be prepared to work hard.

2. We are a “Trust First” organization

We shall strive everyday to earn the trust of our customers, colleagues and partners. This does not mean we have to agree all the time but it does mean that we shall be consistently honest, upfront and reliable in our day to day engagements. We shall have each other’s backs and be fully accountable to each other

3. We are relentless in our obsession with the customer. “Customer first and Customer last”

We are here to delight our customers. We will be obsessed about their needs and make sure we do everything within our power to solve their problems

4. We are one team

While we have individual roles and responsibilities, never forget that we are one team.. As Abraham Lincoln famously stated in his House Divided speech “A house divided against itself cannot stand” Lincoln was making a case against slavery continuing by referencing the fact that the nation could not survive if half the nation believed in perpetuating slavery and half the nation believed in abolishing it.. 150 years later, it is just as applicable today for modern day work environments as it was during the Civil War

5. Focus on the journey and making good decisions

Our journey is not likely to be easy. Our best made plans may go awry for a variety of reasons. As much as we rely on skill, there are elements beyond our control that may derail our best laid plans. Don’t let that deter you. Keep making good decisions and good outcomes are more likely than not to ensue.

6. Time is the most invaluable asset

Our time is our greatest ally. Spend it wisely and we can translate our ideas into reality more efficiently and do more with less 1. Don’t be late to meetings. 2. Don’t set up 1 hour meetings if you only need 30 minutes 3. Be respectful of your time and others 4. If you are in a meeting, your full attention should be on the meeting. That is the respect you show to everyone else who is in the meeting

7. Engage, be respectful but once decisions are made, disagree and commit

Ideas and how we execute against them is what is going to allow us to WIN. There are no hierarchies for good ideas. It is also OK to have productive disagreement, which means voicing your own opinions and challenging others’. And the disagreement must remain free of personal attacks. “Be hard on the problem and respectful of the people”

8. Practice Kaizen

Kaizen: a Japanese business philosophy of continuous improvement of working practices, personal efficiency The Japanese philosophy of Kaizen that firms like Toyota have incorporated into their working philosophy. This calls for even small issues to be readily addressed without waiting for issues to escalate. In the Toyota context, it means when employees on the shop floor see something amiss, they have the authority to stop things and fix them before they become a big issue. Likewise, see something amiss, be proactive and raise attention to it before it becomes too late

9. Cultivate Soshin or a beginner’s mind

It refers to having an attitude of openness, eagerness, and lack of preconceptions when studying a subject, even when studying at an advanced level, just as a beginner would. When the entrepreneur cultivates a beginners mind they cultivate the mind of a pure innovator—-everything is possible. “In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, in the expert’s mind there are few.” — Suzuki. Cultivate a beginners mind—Shoshin

10. Conflict and where it is ok and where it is not

To borrow from the legendary Bill Campbell, conflicts fall into 2 buckets — Task conflicts (disagreements about decisions) and Relationship conflict (emotional friction) in teams. Task conflict is healthy and is important to get to the best decisions, but it is highly correlated with relationship conflict, which leads to poorer decisions and morale. How to have more of the former and less of the latter? Build trust first. Teams that trust each other will still have disagreements, but when they do, they will be accompanied by less emotional rancor. Minimize relationship based conflicts by not making every disagreement personal and recognizing task conflicts for what they are.

11. Identifying problems are great. Providing solutions are even better

We are likely to have many problems and while identifying them is important, providing solutions trumps just identifying them. Solutions may not always be apparent or not readily available and it is ok not to have one readily available but it is easy to use that as an excuse to devolve into problem identification and playing the blame game.. Find a problem.. Identify it… Escalate it.. Own it .. Provide solutions.. Fix it.

In closing

“You are what your deep, driving desire is. As your desire, so is your will. As your will is, so is your deed. As your deed is, so is your destiny”

“It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit.” – Harry S. Truman.