Red eye flights, skinny jeans, and being tough enough to work here

Disclaimer: It is a total coincidence that I have the second post about Ford Motor Company in as many weeks. I am not on the Ford payroll. In fact, I have a Chevy truck. So there.

Mission statements, culture maps, or an articulation of the 'vision' or purpose of an organization - these are all fairly common in organizations and often mocked or at least ignored. Usually they are either so vague and obvious that they are meaningless - 'We strive to delight our customers every day', or are so specific and drawn-out that they read like marketing brochure copy - 'Our goal is to be the top-rated supplier of industrial fasteners, ties, and aluminum sprockets to the machine, engine, and turbine sub-assembly markets that we compete in around the world.'

So when you come across a mission statement or a list of operating principles that actually doesn't suck, and doesn't take itself too seriously, (I think a pre-requisite for 'not sucking') that are a part of an organization's DNA it is fairly noteworthy or at least interesting.

So the connection back to Ford, (and once more for clarity, I am a Chevy guy), is this piece from Forbes - Are You Manly Enough to Own a Ford Truck?, that provides a glimpse into some of the unique rules/expectations/operating principles that are apparently a part of the makeup of not just people who buy Ford trucks, but as you will see from some of the items on the list, also the people that work at Ford building the trucks.

Here are a few selections from the list - and I'll have some comments after the break:

• Raw meat is acceptable team food.  Raw fish is not.

• Roller luggage is expressly forbidden, except for golf bags.

• Earplugs are not permitted at NASCAR races or National Hot Rod Association events.

• No whining!

• Airport trams and moving sidewalks are off-limits in order to promote team conditioning.

• No wimpy cell phone ring tones.

• Jackets or ponchos are acceptable rain gear. Umbrellas are not.

• True BFT Truck Team members wear real jeans, not skinny jeans.

• For flights departing at 7 a.m. or later, an office appearance is expected prior to departure. Red-eye flights are expected to maximize productivity.

• There are no “travel days.”

A pretty cool list, if not totally serious, but it does go quite a bit further than most standard mission statements or organizational philosophy statements do to better describe the type of people that will actually be likely to succeed, (or at least get along), in the group.

I like the list because it is descriptive, specific, and funny. The kinds of traits that we often find lacking in most corporate-speak that passes for HR and organizational communication. Are these 'real' rules for working on the Ford Trucks team? Are they actually used in hiring and retention discussions?

I don't know for sure, but that doesn't make them less cool, and it doesn't stop any of us from thinking about our version of a similar list of philosophies, expected behaviors, and personality types of the people that we want to work with and that will succeed.

Have a great week everyone!

What matters more than money and other sick day questions

A really quick shot from me today - as I am neck deep in some kind of horrible flu/cold/whatever diseases are floating around the redeye home from Las Vegas on Saturday nights. It is gross. And no fun.

When you are feeling sick and kind of not very productive it is a natural to let the mind wander a little bit - to start questioning what you're doing and second-guess the decisions you've made. For me today the main question I'm asking is 'Who can I convince to come over and make me some chicken soup?'

Organizations too should ask themselves questions, at least that is the premise in an interesting piece on the Fast Company Co.Design site titled 'Forget the Mission Statement. What's Your Mission Question?'. The piece advocates that organizations shouldn't try to craft lofty mission statements that are often vague, shallow, and instantly forgettable, but rather should think more deeply about their cause, purpose, and reason for their existence by answering or at least contemplating several key questions.

Here are the key questions that FastCo recommends organizations should examine when seeking to better understand their mission:

1. Why are we here in the first place?

2. What does the world need that we are uniquely able to provide?

3. What are we willing to sacrifice?

4. What matters more than money?

5. Are we all on this mission together? 

I think you'll agree they are probably valid not just for organizations or corporations to evaluate - even individuals could benefit from a little self-examination as well. What do you think - should organizations take a 'sick day' from time to time and think about these big questions?

Hopefully you won't wait until you are as sick as I am to take the time to think about them as well.

(and please send me some soup)

(and if you do ask yourself these questions and decide you need to find more 'meaning' in your work, check out a site called ReWork, they have a new and interesting approach that might help.