ENRIQUE ABOITIZ MENDIETA
06 03 2020
“My tomato soup story, decision making — are we values-based, purpose-led, or compliance-based? Simon Sinek is a good read, Start With Why, the ‘why’ we do what we do vs. ‘how’ we do things.”
– Justo Aboitiz Ortiz
“The chair story is at AEV during the pandemic. JAO’s story is about getting it done, particularly for the customer, trumps process. The chair story is how process trumps getting it done. Which do you think will win?”
– Enrique Aboitiz Mendieta
Justito Ortiz enters a place for lunch in London. His wife and daughter serve themselves tomato soup. There was not enough left for his son. His son likes tomato soup so Tito goes to the girl and asks if there is any more. There was a little in the pot. So she removes the ladle from the pot, picks up the pot, turns it on its side, and pours the little butal into a cup and serves it to Tito’s son then tells him it’s on the house. She broke every process in the book — no ladle, pick up the pot and turn it over, and do not charge. Our HR group, compliance group, audit, and risk group would have gone bananas. So what do we do? She broke all the rules, wowed a customer, and, today, they go back over and over to that restaurant.
GETTING THINGS DONE.
THE CUSTOMER.
THEY TRUMP PROCESS EVERY TIME, THEY TRUMP COMPLIANCE EVERY TIME. THEY NEVER TRUMP CONTROL.
And now to the chair story.
I get a copy of an HR email — you can take your chair home. I was taken aback and almost fell off my chair. “What in heaven’s name is this?” I wondered and fell to laughter.
This is what I learned and I am sure that it is not correct. I will tell it in story form with poetic license so do not search for historical accuracy. This story is only to make a point.
We at Aboitiz quickly sent everyone home to work. We introduced digitization early and things worked smoothly. Probably better than most, in most cases. Now, as we sent everyone home, our people took their computers home. Of course, that is a no-brainer but it was not in the rule book that they could or could not take the computers home. All good and smooth.
Now, the story goes, one of our guys was not equipped with the proper chair to work at home. He asked his boss, apparently, if he could take the chair home. HR sent a message to all saying you can take the chair home. Just follow proper documentation and advice. Fill in a Fixed Asset Transfer.
The compliance-driven culture of that situation required Mancom approval or, at least, high approval to get a chair moved.
Firstly, if that chair was not returned, it would have been noticed — a desk without a chair. The risk of losing the chair was close to zero.
Secondly, the quantum involved was that of a couple of dinners so to speak.
What reigned here? Compliance or getting it done? Process or getting it done? Now, if we learn from this story, then the cost was well worth it.
WINNING FORMULA: GET IT DONE, BREAK PROTOCOL IF YOU HAVE TO, DON’T GIVE UP CONTROL NOR RISK LARGE AMOUNTS BUT DO SATISFY THE CUSTOMER.
JAO: PURPOSE-LED NOT COMPLIANCE-LED
ENDIKA: GET IT, GET IT DONE, OR HELP WEAKEN OUR COMPETITOR
LOSERS’ FORMULA: PROCESS OVER GETTING THINGS DONE AND/OR GETTING ALONG OVER GETTING IT DONE.
The Aboitiz Way? You decide.
The Aboitiz Soul that I grew up with: Take the chair home, leave a post-it on the table, email HR and accounting, and over.
