20. Not Saying It, but Doing It

We cannot finish this part of the book without emphasizing something essential regarding the deployment of a model of values and a culture: saying it is not enough, it needs to be done.

What is preached must be done in the nearest way to how it is preached. Because nobody is perfect but the best are simply those that strive to be perfect. Those who, above all, believe what they say, and then do what they say.

Unfortunately, business history is full of cases of what we could call “window dressing culture”. Companies that show wonderful declarations of principles, without showing respect for them. And their top executives, the most notorious.

Today, many companies pay tribute in their words to most of Andersen culture principles. There are mentions to Unity, Integrity, Talent, Service to the client, in almost all the companies. The question is: who are truly believing it and who are really acting in consequence as well? Unfortunately, only a few.

At Andersen, the principles were assumed by all, and everybody respected them and put them into practice in their daily work. From the first partner to the last assistant. From the biggest office to the small ones. From the USA to the farthest place on earth where the Firm was present.

At Andersen, as in any company, there were some who felt and applied those principles more strongly and with better results than others, who could be less demanding in their application. It is not possible to get 100% of an organization (especially one so big) to act exactly in the same way. But nobody neglected or disregarded the basic principles. If anybody did, he was instantly dismissed and separated from the Firm.

It is not important to get a whole organization to be a perfect block in applying a philosophy, because that is impossible. The important thing is to achieve the principles of that philosophy to be clear and known to all the members, have them accepted by all, and to have in place efficient control mechanisms for its application and to solve the conflicts and deviations that may occur in their application.