Mario Pretorius quotes a Viking creed – “Do what is right and fear no-one” – to drive home his “principles of governing staff actions towards glory”. This philosophy is built into his 10 commandments for an unconventional, but workable, approach to business. GK
What are the 10 or less PRINICPLES governing your staff actions towards glory? Are they unwaveringly accepted as fixed and fair?
The 10 commandments. Are you able to express your philosophy towards your business and all connected to it in a few pertinent, memorable sentences without sounding like a marketing-speak alien?
Fewer principles are better. My favourite is the Viking creed:
“Do what is right and fear no-one”. Persuasive. Moral. Impressive too.
In the company context this may be expanded a bit. For illustrative purposes only – this is what TeleMasters hammered out 15 years ago. It is neither extensive, nor all-encompassing nor a manual to Measure Everything By. It is a reminder of an unconventional but workable approach to business.
Our TeleMasters principles:
- CANI: Constant and Never-ending Improvement
- No Mistakes : Fix & learn or risk getting booted out
- Excellence only in RESULTS : No excellence in unproductive effort
- Values AND Performance : Not only posing or grating performance
- Do it TODAY : Time management and focus on completion
- LONG term relationships: clients and employees alike
- Measure & Report : everything, viewable by everyone, all participate
- Responsibility & Accountability: Match between tasks and authority
- Unconsciously competent: last stage up from unconsciously incompetent
- CASH is KING : no substitutes
This tip is an extract from the manuscript of “The Unconventional CEO: Common sense outside of conventional Management thinking” (by Mario Pretorius).
