All the book (update)

"The paramount consideration when drafting a law is to bear in mind the rational and the strong, rather than the weak and the drunken." - Stolypin

Various instructions, checklists, corporate codes and company standards (referred to differently across various "cultural groups") have historically been shaped as an 'antivirus' against typical issues and uncertainties. In the military, for example, it is a common saying that "regulations are written in blood!"

Here, we have decided to articulate the values of our company, which we began to formulate 25 years ago, and which have been so frequently stolen and misappropriated by others that we have called them the "Any Company Standards", meaning they would suit any firm.

This does not imply they are without an author; the author's name is on the cover, and the first open publication appeared 20 years ago. So, please do purchase and reference correctly if you use them.

Introduction

1. We work jointly, and collaboration makes sense when it is organised. We consider work to be well organised when the outcome of our collective effort exceeds the sum of our individual results. Should this benefit disappear, we shall part ways.

We deem our work to be well organised when, as a result of cooperation, our outcomes grow while our efforts reduce. There are no other reasons for us to have come together, and should this cease to function, we shall part ways.

Thus, we find it improper to complicate work. Instead of delegating, we strive to reduce each other's workload without compromising quality.

We aim to make each function more technologically advanced and easier to perform. We understand that intentionally complicating familiar and simple functions (such as making a phone call, preparing a work plan, stating deadlines for tasks, etc.) will cause Colleagues to feel psychological discomfort and suspicion, which is unacceptable.

We strive to make every communication as convenient as possible. It's one thing to "save a file" and quite another to "save a file in a way that enables a Colleague to easily find it". It's one thing to send a long "dump" from the database, which a Colleague might struggle with for hours, and quite another to present your concise yet clear conclusions about this information and explain the sources upon which these conclusions are based. It's one thing to reply to a query with "Check the remainders," and quite another to actually address the question that was truly asked.

Each of us avoids assigning superfluous, does not forget about their own tasks, does not engage in fruitless efforts themselves and certainly does not pass futile work onto Colleagues.

Each of us endeavours to ensure their work is transferable and the results are reproducible in the event of their vanishing. If this is not the case, it indicates either that the work is of poor quality or that it is not yet complete.

In situations of uncertainty, each of us makes decisions that simplify the work for Colleagues as much as possible and ensure the reproducibility of results in our absence. Each of us counts on our Colleagues to act in a similar manner.

2. Working together, we do not fret over problems (they will always exist), but rather transform each problem into a task and take pleasure in solving it. Even in handling delicate or conflict-ridden situations from which no one is immune as long as this world exists, we calmly follow procedures and company standards, not emotions or petty grievances. Thus, we operate on the principle: "problem - articulation - task - solution". Any other approach to problem-solving, regardless of anyone's will, inevitably turns into gossip. Hence, we consider it unseemly to act otherwise towards our Colleagues.

3. We have set this and other principles described below. They shape our company culture, and if you disagree with them, you're going to have to improve that or leave the company.

We refer to each other as "Colleagues," regardless of position or rank within the company hierarchy. We address each other by our full names and use the formal 'you'. For instance, "Hello, Peter (not Pete)", "Hello, Ann (not Annie)." Of course, where appropriate, it is acceptable to address someone by their first name and patronymic, or to follow local traditions. The general principle is: more respectful addressing is never a mistake, less respectful is. When we are wrong, we apologise; when a colleague is wrong, we help to improve the situation in a friendly way. When someone is being aggressive, we respond according to this Codex.

4. To start with, here are a few "candid points" that might seem harsh at first glance, but upon a second (critical) look, they will be not without sense, and on a third (careful) examination, they will appear reasonable and quite likeable.

Candid Point 1

One certain socialistic "scientific" paper asserted: "The primary function, purpose, and essence of a socialist enterprise's existence is to fulfil the needs of its employees."

Company "Any" is not a socialist enterprise. The raison d'être of Company "Any" is not to fulfil the needs of its employees, including ourselves.

At first glance, this may appear offensive, yet it is indeed the case. In the company, we meet the needs of our Customers. As for ourselves, we fulfil our own needs outside of work with the money we earn. And those who serve us during this time do not work in our business.

One should not "resign" to this; it should be understood, and then... derive pleasure from the understanding.

Candid Point 2

Upon joining Company "Any", you will lose your freedom for the duration of your employment. A demanding workweek awaits you, along with occasional weekend duties.

Should you ascend to a leadership position here, you may have to forget the notion of a fixed workday or achieve your skills to fit within its constraints - and that's not easy.

Of course, if you do not choose to refund some of your freedom during work hours, the Company will compensate you with a salary that reflects your worth. The last 3 words are useful to reread again. They make sense.

We are a trading firm. Our stores also operate in the evenings, on holidays, and over weekends. This is because people go to the stores when they are free, not when we are. We employ flexible scheduling, and almost all of us will find ourselves working an evening or weekend shift at some point. If you don't agree with this, then a career in trade is not your destiny.

Working together, we understand that, for instance, 08:00 means 08:00, not 08:15 or later.

We understand that being open at 08:00 means each of us is ready to serve the Customer, not the time we arrive. We comprehend that a collective agreement organises not just our personal day, but also our colleagues' time, and the breaking of an arrangement by one person always disorganises several people, who are not to blame at all.

Candid Point 3

If Company "Any" owes anything to anyone, it is only to provide goods and services to our Customers in exchange for money. We do not work for free, nor do we burden ourselves with unrelated "social missions". We sell a quality product, and we pay our bills on time. We believe this to be the most ethical behaviour, and all 'social evil' stems from those who act otherwise. We refuse to pay for other's sins. We count on you being one of those who will provide us with quality services promptly and will not wish to work for free.

People are divided into those who say: 'One must share,' and those who say: 'One must exchange.' The latter never wage wars; they have created and continue to create almost everything that surrounds us. By organising exchanges, the latter create comfort, even where the former only dream of order. And these former are divided into bandits and fools, who allow the bandits to proliferate.

Without clear guidelines and principles, the latter cannot survive among the former. To prevent the former from surrounding us, we have created this Codex.

And when someone asks: 'Share…', each of us responds: 'I never share, only exchange.'

If you expect more than what was previously promised to you, then you must offer more than what was expected from you. But if you do not fulfil what you promised, the argument about your poverty will not be taken into account.

If this is disagreeable to you, we respect your freedom. If you agree, welcome aboard!

Candid Point 4

You may (or may not) have to put up with certain limitations. Sometimes, this could be the lack of a secluded workspace, its somewhat inconvenient location, or occasionally, complications due to equipment malfunctions (rare, but it happens). These situations are not intentional, and they are not permanent. The company is simply continuing to grow.

People who are able to achieve important goals despite potential difficulties and temporary inconveniences are highly valued within the company. The company will always appreciate your endeavour to align yourself with its goals. However, excuses in the style of "If I had...", "When I will have...", etc., are not considered acceptable.

What's the point of all these candid expressions?

The surest cure for all ills at once is poison, not medicines.

Although our business processes are described in great detail [1], and we are constantly refining and improving them, life is, fortunately, more complex. And on more than one occasion, there will be situations where you will need to perform an action or a function not defined in your manual.

The company expects you to act in such situations, rather than refer to the manual. The Company will always appreciate this. To make it easier for you to decide under uncertainty, follow the simple rules outlined below. They are followed by everyone in our Company, they are a description of our values, and therefore they are called Company Standards.

5. Upon careful examination of the company standards, it becomes clear that they are, in one way or another, reducible to four simple principles:

Principle I

Everything that leads to simplification is good (of course, without compromising quality). If you simplify (the work for a Colleague, the purchase for a Customer, etc.), you are right. If you make an oversight while following the first principle, no one will fault you.

Principle II

If, when dealing with complex issues, you calmly follow procedures and company standards, you are right. Should there be a failure in executing the standards, we will improve them, but no one will fault you.

Principle III

If what you do protects the company, you are right. Should you make an error in its defenсe, no one will fault you.

Principle IV

If you do more than expected of you, you are right. However, if you perform only exactly what is expected, no one will fault you.

On Time Management and the Firm

6. When a person steals another's property, decent people despise him. When someone steals time from another's life, many (including the decent ones) don't even think about it. Moreover, when they themselves steal bits and pieces of other people's lives, they are often unaware of it. However, we do not steal parts of other people's lives; we are not murderers. At least, we consciously strive not to be. And to ensure our efforts are effective, we adhere to the standards laid out here.

We believe that pointlessly lost time is subtracted from one's life, and the person biologically ages by the amount of that loss. We believe that the moment a person improves their results while reducing their efforts, they add a piece of life to themselves equal to this 'profit.' And here, we exchange such profits with one another in the pursuit of immortality. You may say, 'That's unscientific.' Well, that is our creed. And we read 'The Tale of Lost Time' to our children. [2].

When the energy stored by our intellectual experiences for several considerations at once is saved by an anecdote that simplifies them, then a resulting surplus is not saved but is immediately spent on laughter and pleasure.

However, when a compact solution saves several operations of a business process, then a resulting surplus of time is indeed the saved part of our life that used to be spent before. Now, we can dispose of it as we see fit.

7. If you come to us to apply for a management position, take into account that we identify the very management of people and even motivation with process improvement and simplification. Traditionally, these topics are separated, but our approach is different.

The purpose of a television is the cinema, not the cathode-ray tube. And the purpose of management is not a managing, but an improving.

You truly manage "whatever it may be" only if you continuously perfect your department. Everything else is an illusion. You can be democratic and you're gonna get screwed — getting upset is pointless. You can be authoritarian, but the enterprise is a system where you will be bamboozled for this all the time. Whether you notice it or not is your problem. In any country, authoritarian presidents are also bamboozled, so they then resent the whole world and even attack their neighbours - what makes you think you would be treated any differently?

The only way to manage a process is to refine it. By continually changing and improving your unit, you gain true, not just formal, authority. By continually making even small improvements, you achieve great respect and influence.

What's the point of managing a ship that is standing? Indeed, you can conduct sailors training, but most likely, the captain of a stationary ship will be reduced to a mere ordinary sailor himself, even if all the subsystems of such a vessel function properly.

The key insight is that a production or sales unit also needs to move - otherwise its manager will turn into a "ordinary sailor". "He who is riding, is he who rules" [3]. By the word "move" we now mean, not continuity of production or trade, but continuity of improvement. But if the goal of the captain is India, America or Atlantis, the goal of the manager is the ideal enterprise. Towards that ideal, the successful manager moves his business. Follow us for details.

7. Performance does not equate to work. Work is a cost; activity is the expenditure of an irreplaceable resource, and the outcome is achievement. To increase performance means to achieve more with a lesser amount of work. This is what we pay for and receive bonuses for.

A poor manager fails to monitor both work and outcomes. An average manager motivates for an increased amount of work. However, a good manager organises work in such a way that the amount of work is reduced, yet outcomes are enhanced. Enhancing performance is increasing the results using fewer resources within the same timeframe; it means adding outcomes while simultaneously reducing activities. But merely increasing the amount of work per unit of time is not an enhancement of performance but a squandering of resources and the expenditure of one’s own and others' lives.

Therefore, improvement equates to simplification. And simplification means elimination.