Most profitable companies have other focuses...

              Most profitable companies have other focuses

         Caring about People, Processes and Outcomes

   British General James Wolfe assaulted the French in Quebec in 1759 by attacking the city from an indirect route, surprising and defeating the French garrison. The U.S. National Park Service uses a counter-intuitive and indirect way of fighting fires; they set smaller fires to burn the underbrush that causes larger fires.  The French scientist Louis Pasteur, whose “germ theory” revolutionized how we think about infection and the transfer of diseases wasn’t trying to discover germs or how to pasteurize milk; those were unexpected results of experiments looking for something else.   All of these examples suggest that we can attain a desired goal only by ­pursuing it indirectly.

   These examples are a lot like happiness—a goal for everybody on the planet, and happiness, too, is not best achieved by pursuing it directly. Happiness is not something we achieve by repeating actions that make us happy—but pursuing other goals whose outcomes make us happy. 

  If personal happiness is achieved obliquely—in a round about way—it may be worth considering that  business success may very well be best achieved in this manner as well—pursuing goals indirectly. The purpose of business is the pursuit of profit.  But there is ample evidence of something called the profit-seeking paradox – that the most profitable companies are not the most profit-oriented.

   A good example is Merck, the pharmaceutical and healthcare company.  The founder, George Merck focused the company on manufacturing ­"medicine for the people . . . not for profits."   During the period he headed the company, Merck was comfortably profitable. Later, with another generation of leadership, the company assumed a more ­direct approach, pledging to be a company totally focused on growth and profits; company profits dropped.  ­Similarly, when Boeing's stated purpose shifted from surmounting "technological challenges" to an explicit ­focus on "shareholder value," its stock price floundered.  Moreover, one of the reasons Jack Welch did so well for General Electric's shareholders is that he worried first about workers and customers.

   By pursuing other purposes—like pleasing customers or providing a motivating work environment to employees—businesses can also achieve other sought-after outcomes such as profitability.  Customers will use services or recommend firms and employees will go the extra mile if they believe that the company and its leaders care about their interests.

  As someone once said, “Culture shortens the extra mile.”

  LaserShip’s goal in our 25^th year is to reconnect with our core—the founding principles of our business; during this year there is a desire to re-energize and re-emphasize those principles that guide our business—guidelines that have contributed to our success; to re-communicate guidelines for conducting our business. 

  From our value statements—focusing on customers and employees—we have identified a key guiding principle: Caring about People, Processes and Outcomes.  Like Merck, like Boeing, like GE, we are putting other possible results first; believing we can attain certain desired goals by ­pursuing them indirectly.  We believe it is important to demonstrate—in our decisions and actions—a balancing of many factors: Always considering the who, the how and the why. 

   Our Organizational Trait of Caring about People, Processes and Outcomes is behaviorally based:  It is best judged by how effective we are in doing not just talking.  Supporting actions include:

v      Making decisions and taking actions that demonstrate sustainable business practices which considers our employees, our customers and our stakeholders

v      Consciously considering who is affected, what is involved and what are all the possible outcomes and consequences when making decisions, determining a course of action, or implementing plans

v      Always “closing the loop” on any decisions and actions: Following up to determine that the needs of people, processes and outcomes have been met

v      Being personally invested in any decisions: Meaning we do what we say we will; purring our names on decisions and outcomes; sacrificing resources and short term rewards to achieve desirable goals.

                                                           

v      Simultaneously developing people, improving processes and producing profits