Page 170 - Performance Leadership

Chapter 9 Values and Culture • 159

uses, for cost control for instance, are traditional, the difference is in
how IKEA uses the insight. Revenue growth is seen as a measure of cus-
tomer satisfaction, more than a measure of enhancing shareholder
value. One of the largest cost items is staff, but IKEA is not aiming for
employee cost minimization, like some retail discounters. There have
been no massive layoffs to date and salaries are reasonable. IKEA
instead looks for ways to control staff costs by making processes more
self-service-oriented. It effectively reconciles the dilemma between cost
and quality. Cost savings even lead to an improved customer experi-
ence. Self, self-perception, and external perception closely match.

Call to Action
The values of an organization can be discovered by asking questions.
These questions should be directed not only to senior management,
but also to the people on the work floor and customers that deal with
the organization. Here are a few of the questions you can ask or answer
for your organization:

• For senior management: If you are faced with a difficult business
decision, a dilemma where two options each have positive and
negative sides, how do you weigh the options? Most likely, the
values guide managers to the right decision.
• For middle management: What behaviors help people advance
their career in this company? Be careful what you wish for with
this question, you might get answers you don’t like.
• For operational staff: Which people in the organization do you
admire for really getting things done, without banging heads?
Most likely these people live the values of the organization.
• For customers: What does the organization stand for?

Compare the answers to these questions. The more the answers are
the same, the more alignment between the self and the self-perception
can be expected. Conversely, the more the answers are different, or the
answers are cynical, the more misalignment there will be.
A good way of experiencing the impact of alignment, or lack thereof,
on the performance of an organization is to look at failed as well as