The Hindu Business Line : Committed people are the fifth dimension

A FEW days ago, `gardening columnist' Larry Quick wrote in The Birmingham News about the largest solar power installation in California switched on last week by FedEx Corp. "The system covers nearly 81,000 square feet of rooftop area and will generate enough energy to provide 80 per cent of the power needs of their Oakland International Airport hub," explained Quick. The power is equivalent to what 900 homes use during the daytime, one learns, and the company plans to feed into the grid any unused electricity.

The company, as you know, isn't into solar-power business. "FedEx Corp provides customers and businesses worldwide with a broad portfolio of transportation, e-commerce and business services," notes an August 19 posting on Business Wire. "FedEx inspires its more than 2,50,000 employees and contractors to remain `absolutely, positively' focused on safety, the highest ethical and professional standards and the needs of their customers and communities. For more information, visit fedex.com," it adds.

Instead of visiting the suggested URL, I decide to open the pages of Madan Birla's FedEx Delivers, from Wiley (www.wiley.com) to know "how the world's leading shipping company keeps innovating and outperforming the competition" even as it handles over five million packages every day serving 215 countries around the globe to earn revenues of $29 billion.

While creativity generates ideas by exploring `what if' scenarios, it is innovation that takes two crucial steps further, Birla explains. Thus, in step two, "a small group composed of people in departments and disciplines affected by the ideas accept and work collaboratively to develop the raw ideas into sound business plans." And in step three, a much larger group, even the whole organisation, adopts the ideas and works to develop and implement the same.

A well-implemented mediocre idea can produce great results, and vice versa is also true, points out the author. Returns are poor when great ideas are implemented half-heartedly, but what's worse, according to Birla, is not to accept and implement great ideas. "This is where companies feel the negative effects of missed opportunities for increasing the market share, reducing the cost of doing business, or improving the customer experience as their competition moves ahead of the pack."

The culture that FedEx follows is PSP — a three-legged stool comprising `people, service, profit'. FedEx puts its people (employees) first in everything it does, and as a result, FedEx employees put the customer first in everything they do, notes the book. But why are people so important? Because, despite the thorough planning by the company of operations and schedules, "the reality is that on a given day there will be delays in the system (flight delays because of bad weather, traffic delays in the city because of construction and other uncontrollable factors and so on)". It is the frontline employee who has to overcome these problems, adapting to the disruptions and still meet the company's service commitments, reminds Birla.

Essential read is a chapter titled `why organisations do not innovate', where the author identifies five `root causes' of what may be lacking. Such as: supportive leadership practices and organisational processes; understanding that innovation is imperative; collaborative thinking across departments and disciplines; balance between innovation expectation and employees' ability to deliver; and an easily understood and replicable innovation culture model.

In a different chapter, you'd see `the five dimensions of an innovation and performance culture'. Importantly, these are all people-focussed, be it in engaging, growing, securing, or collaborating. The fifth dimension reads `committed people'. Committed employees can be expected to go beyond formal job descriptions in ensuring successful implementation of the creative ideas; they go an extra mile to satisfy the customer, and put organisation's interest and goals above self-interest, elaborates the author.

"Business is more about emotions than most businesspeople care to admit. It's time to put the passion for work and the joy of creation back into business," said Daniel Kahneman, 2002 Nobel Prize winner for Economics.

Birla cites this quote and writes that employees have a need to be recognised for the quality and creativity of their work. While a plaque, a letter, a pin, a cup, or a cheque are great and are appreciated, what's important is that the recognition comes from the presenter's heart. "A smile, a kind word, a handwritten note, an honest complement — all connect at the heart level and thus tap into employees' commitment."

A book that delivers!

ManageMentor@TheHindu.co.in

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