Page 247 - Performance Leadership

236 • Part IV Implementing the Performance Leadership Framework

• Business performance is not the only thing that stakeholders
evaluate. Shell took a hit on its image during the Brent-Spar
affair. The company felt it was the most economical and
environmentally friendly solution to sink the Brent-Spar oil
platform, but the general public and environmental
organizations did not agree. Although the products and services
of Shell were not compromised, the company suffered from
decreased trust. Or, on more of a microlevel: The shopping
experience in a store that has great products for low prices is still
a negative one if the staff is not friendly.
• Performance and the trust scale do not always have a symmetric
relationship. Good performance for some services tends not be
noticed, while bad performance leads to immediate distrust.
Think of an outsourcing company that processes payroll. Their
service is either normal or bad.

Within daily life, trust grows when people share the same values. It
gives people the feeling that they understand the motives and behaviors
of their colleagues, friends, or partners. It works the same way within
business, where people work with people. An understanding of an orga-
nization’s values provides guidance if we feel comfortable in being open
with our partner. If we provide a transparent view, we should have the
feeling that our partner will have the same understanding that we have.
If we integrate our processes, we need to have the feeling that our part-
ner will make the same decisions on our behalf as we would.
This trust is built by understanding each other’s organizational val-
ues. Understanding the values does not necessarily mean both parties
need to share the same values. There needs to be a basic overlap: oth-
erwise the parties would probably not be attracted to each other. But
the values could also be complementary. If your strategy revolves
around product innovation, likely it is driven by values such as quality,
challenging conventional thinking, and never giving up. However,
there is no need to apply this way of thinking to all parts of the com-
pany. In this particular case, it makes sense to source logistics to a part-
ner that is driven by efficiency and discipline and with those values has
perfected an operationally excellent distribution business, something
you could never achieve since it is not part of your particular passion.