Operating Principles
Invisibility
We appreciate that we are guests in your organisation, who have been invited in to help you achieve your objectives.
We will support you, working with you, and through you to achieve the objectives you have set.
In ancient times a tribe that upset the King of their homeland were exiled. They wandered for many years in search of a new home, until they reached the perfect place.
The Chief of the tribe visited the King of this new land and asked him for permission for the tribe to settle.
The King asked the Chief why he should allow the tribe to live in his perfect land.
The Chief asked the King for two glasses of milk and a bowl of sugar. The King, who was a good host, ordered that they be brought to refresh his guest.
The Chief asked the King to take a sip from the first glass and tell him what it tasted like.
The King did so and announced that it tasted like the best milk in his kingdom.
The Chief then dissolved some of the sugar in the second glass of milk and asked the King to take a sip and tell him what it tasted like.
The King took a sip. The milk tasted so delicious that he drank the whole glass.
That said the Chief is the reason why you should allow us to stay in your land.
Like the sugar in the milk, you will know that we are here by the sensation we create, but we will mix so successfully that you will never be able to see us.
Influencer
We know that our role in your organisation is one of influencer.We know that our role in your organisation is one of influencer.
We appreciate that we are there as your guests, and that you expect us to deliver the results we have promised.
We know that you hold the power in your organisation.
Consequently, we also know that we will only be able to achieve those objectives by exerting influence.
To have influence, we must first earn your respect and convince you of our expertise.
Our role in your organisation is like the role of the Mouse in the story of Dumbo the circus elephant.
The elephants are much bigger than the Mouse, and have the power to destroy him, with a swing of their trunk, or by stepping on him, either deliberately or by accident.
But the elephants are also dependent on the Mouse, and some would say a little frightened of him as well.
The Mouse is responsible for ensuring that the elephants achieve their objectives, in a safe and consistent way.
He has to tell them what to do, and make sure that they are working together as a team.
The elephants, especially Dumbo, also rely upon the Mouse to give them the confidence to take the actions that will result in them achieving their objectives, and to believe that they can do it.
Honesty
We will tell you what we think you want to hear, and then we will tell you what we know you need to hear.We will tell you what we think you want to hear, and then we will tell you what we know you need to hear.
We will only worry about what you think about us, when you do not think we have been honest.
You will receive honest and complete answers to every question you ask.
Aesop’s story of the Fox and the Crow shows the stupidity of only listening to what you want to hear
One day a hungry Fox saw an ugly old Crow sitting in a tree, with a large piece of cheese in its beak.
The Fox had not eaten for some time and lacked the energy to hunt. He thought he could get an easy meal if he could convince the Crow to drop the cheese.
He shouted up to the Crow, “Good morning Crow, you are indeed the most beautiful Crow I have ever seen”.
The Crow looked down at the Fox and nodded his head in agreement and shifted slightly on his perch so that the sun would catch his feathers in a better light.
“Oh! Crow”, said the Fox, “I wish you would sing me a song, because such a beautiful bird must surely have a beautiful voice. It would make this day so perfect to have the accompaniment of beautiful music”
The silly old Crow’s ego was boosted at hearing something that he wanted to hear. He immediately opened his beak to caw and dropped the big piece of cheese to the floor.
The Fox quickly gobbled up the cheese. As he proudly walked away, he thought, I got what I wanted, by telling the Crow what he wanted to hear. I told the Crow he was beautiful. I made no comment about his intelligence.
Completion
We concentrate throughout our involvement with you on the completion of our agreed objectives.We concentrate throughout our involvement with you on the completion of our agreed objectives.
We do not consider our role in your organisation to have been fulfilled until those objectives have been completed.
We will adapt our working styles throughout our relationship to the changing needs of meeting those objectives.
We will help you to avoid being distracted from achieving those objectives. Aesop has a fable about a Fox and a Wolf, which explains the need to avoid distractions and stay focused on achieving objectives.
During a long hot summer, a fox grew thirsty. When he tried to drink from the well, he realised that the water level was too low for him to reach. He leaned further and further into the well, until with a big splash he fell headfirst down into the water.
He cried out for help, and had almost given up hope of rescue, when the face of a Wolf appeared at the top of the well.
“Mr. Wolf, Mr. Wolf”, cried the Fox, “Please help me out of the well, I have fallen in, and will drown without your help”.
“Oh! You poor creature”, said the Wolf, “I am sorry to see you have fallen down the well. How did that happen? How long have you been down there? Is the water cold? Is the water very deep?”
“Come, come”, said the Fox, “This is no time for talking, help me out and I will tell you all about it afterwards”
The Wolf helped the Fox escape from the well, because you should never stand idly talking, when there is work, to be done.
Understanding
We understand that every organisation we work with is as unique as we are.We understand that every organisation we work with is as unique as we are.
Before we make any comment, we must get to know you, just as you must get to know us.
We have to understand your company, your environment, your history, and why you have invited us into your business.
Many people find it difficult to understand the perceptions and behaviours of others.
The native people of North America try to live in harmony with their environment, and with each other. Their daily lives are governed by the changes of the seasons, and the behaviour of the animals on which they depend for survival.
Just like in every other society the young are often frustrated by the traditional ways of the older generation.
The tribal elders allow the youngsters some freedom to try their own thing, but always bring them back to the tried and tested traditional ways.
Their logic is simple. They know that with age comes experience, and that with experience comes understanding.
For them it is simple. You should not be critical of other people until you have walked in their moccasins.
Workability
We focus in every relationship on the creation of solutions that are as unique as the challenges faced by our clients.We focus in every relationship on the creation of solutions that are as unique as the challenges faced by our clients.
We are not interested in solutions that impress our colleagues, or earn us awards, but are completely unsuitable for a working environment.
We are only interested in ensuring that every solution, will work in your environment, and more importantly will work after we have left.
Aesop’s story of the Stag who looked, into the water shows the importance of valuing things that work rather than just look good.
The Stag was drinking water from the lake when he saw an image of himself reflected in the water as clear as if he had been looking in a mirror.
He was impressed by how beautiful he looked, particularly his antlers, which he thought gave him a very majestic appearance, Oh! He thought to himself if only the rest of my body was as majestic looking as my antlers. His legs he thought looked so thin, just hanging underneath him, so spindly and weak looking.
Just then he was shaken from his thoughts by the sound of a hunt. He bounded swiftly away on his spindly legs. Getting tired he turned into the wood so that he could recover some energy. As he entered the wood his antlers got caught in the thin lower branches of the trees and trapped him.
The hunt quickly caught up with the Stag who was unable to escape either the twigs or the hounds.
As he was dying, he said to himself, “Now I see the antlers of which I was so proud are the cause of my death, whilst the legs I was so unhappy with could have been my salvation”
The Stag learnt to late that it is better to focus on the benefits things offered by things we dislike, rather than the image that can be created by adornment.
Teamwork
We believe that working as a team is essential to the success of our relationship.We believe that working as a team is essential to the success of our relationship.
Teamwork for us means starting from a position of shared and clearly communicated objectives.
Clear and frequent communications throughout our relationship are the key to maintaining our teamwork.
It is easy to maintain teamwork when plans are proceeding well. Real teamwork is only tested and proven if events do not go as planned. Aesop’s story of the Donkey, the Dog, and the Wolf clearly explains how working as a team delivers the most benefits if events do not go as planned.
A baker used his Donkey to carry bread to the market in the next town. As always, whenever he left his home village, he took his large Dog with him.
The journey was quite long and in the heat of the summer’s day the Donkey and the Dog grew hungry. The Donkey stopped occasionally to eat the grass, which grew at the side of the road.
This only made the Dog even hungrier, and he asked the Donkey to shake one of the loaves from his back that he might eat it.
Despite the Dogs pleading the Donkey refused. He insisted that if the Dog was hungry, he must find his own food.
The travellers continued their journey in silence.
After a few miles, a wolf appeared on a rock in the distance.
The Donkey immediately started to tremble with fear, as he eyed the glinting teeth of the predictor. “Dog”, he said, “I hope you will stand by me and protect me if that wolf should attack me”.
“No”, shouted the Dog, “Those who eat alone will have to fight alone”.
Sharing
To be successful we rely on everybody who is involved in a project sharing his or her knowledge and experience.To be successful we rely on everybody who is involved in a project sharing his or her knowledge and experience.
We know, that for the success of the solutions we create to continue after we have left, we must also share the knowledge of how we created that solution.
Whether the project is large or small, a one off or on going, we will always share the knowledge that helped us deliver success
Aesop told the story of the Horse and the Donkey to explain that in the long term we gain nothing by being selfish.
A Horse and a Donkey were travelling along a road together with the man who owned them both.
The Horse had nothing on his back, but the Donkey had such a heavy load that he could hardly keep moving. So, he begged the Horse to share the load.
The Horse was an ill-natured selfish beast and refused.
A few miles further down the road the Donkey fell, exhausted to the ground. The man tried his best to relieve the Donkey, but it was too late, the Donkey died.
Distraught the man took the load the Donkey had been carrying, and put it on to the horse’s back, together with the skin of the dead Donkey.
Because the Horse refused to give a small kindness to the Donkey created even more work for himself, and a great deal of trouble.
We gain nothing by being selfish with our expertise.
