The document explores the concept of organizational culture, emphasizing that it is often misunderstood but significantly influenced by leadership. Effective culture can enhance business results and evolve slowly over time, necessitating awareness and structured change management. Taxiforsure's culture prioritizes specific behaviors, ambitious goals, problem-solving, ownership, people, speed, trust, and data orientation to achieve long-term success.

1. Confidential
Culture at TaxiForSure
April 2014

2. Confidential2
PART-1
A Primer on Culture

3. Confidential3
The term Culture, specifically organization culture, is
widely used but hardly understood.
Have you ever tried this simple exercise?
Asking five senior executives and/or founders separately
two questions:
• Can you explain to me what organization culture
means to you in a simple and practical way?
• Can you describe to me the salient aspects of your
organization culture?

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Very likely, in most Firms, you will find
them providing unclear and
inconsistent responses.

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It is therefore very helpful to get a
working knowledge of culture in
the same way as most of us have
of, say, Strategy

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Research by IBM concludes that in any organization, or
team, seventy percent of the culture (or organization
climate as they refer to it) is driven by the leader of the
organization or team.
In addition, the right culture can swing business results by
thirty percent.
Putting two and two together, the right leader creates
the right culture, which in turn can swing business
results significantly

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A Good way to Start
Understanding Culture is to
Understand
what it is
and
what it is not

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• Culture is about who gets rewarded and promoted
• Culture is about what behaviors and values we expect from
our colleagues – behaviors that are acceptable and
behaviors that are not
• Culture is the way things are done here
• Culture is the way decisions are made – extent of
Consultation, Buy-in needed, Consensus etc.
• Culture is about how goals are set - set unrealistic goals and
aim to achieve them or set conservative goals and definitely
achieve them
What IS Culture?

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Culture is therefore what successful teams or
groups attribute their success to. Culture
therefore evolves
It is very much like evolution of life on this
planet
It takes time, takes shape slowly, is often
difficult to explain why it is what it is, and
most important of all, it is very difficult to
make quick changes

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• There is no good culture or a bad culture just as there is
no right or wrong personal style of leadership. It is not
right to conclude that one culture is superior to the other
or one works better most of the time.
• Culture is not defined by a Company‟s espoused values
or artifacts like office layouts.
• It is not easy to change culture because it evolves
slowly
What Culture Is Not?

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One may, therefore, legitimately ask: “if organizations can‟t
change „who they are‟, what‟s the whole point of understanding
culture?”
It is the same thing as asking: “if individuals can‟t fundamentally
change „who they are‟, what‟s the whole point of developing
better self-awareness”?
Self-awareness helps an individual better understand herself in
relation to the world around her, and hence, deal with situations
more effectively

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The lesson in this is that you should know what
your organization culture is even if you can‟t
change it easily.
The concept of „change management‟ which
many of us may have heard of is actually a
structured way of gradually making changes to
elements of a Firm‟s Culture that have become
dysfunctional over time

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How can We as Leaders Drive the
Right Culture?

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Let us use a Real Life Example and
Apply Elementary Game Theory

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Assume you are staffed on to a Project Team comprising
Members who all have a Day job in addition to the Project
You need to decide whether you are going to work hard
on the Project or attempt a free ride and focus on your
day job
How do you decide?
Take a look at the matrix on the next slide and see the
different consequences and outcomes

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Irrespective of what your colleagues on the Project choose
to do, it is in your interest to ignore the Project
The project fails;
nobody faulted; nobody
rewarded; at least my
line manager is happy
that my day job was
done well
The project fails I get
into serious trouble
with my line manager
for being naïve and
neglecting my day job
I do not work hard I work hard
My
Colleagues
do not work
hard
My
Colleagues
work hard
The project succeeds;
everyone gets
rewarded including a
free rider like me. I have
also done my day job
well
The project succeeds;
everyone gets
rewarded including a
hard worker like me
If My Colleagues Work Hard, I
have two choices – Work Hard or
Not Work Hard. The option of „Not
Work Hard‟ has better results as
you can see
If My Colleagues do not Work
Hard, I have two choices – Work
Hard or Not Work Hard. Again,
the option of „Not Work Hard‟ has
better results as you can see

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Let us now Change the Matrix a bit
and see how your Decision Changes

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Irrespective of what your colleagues on the Project choose
to do, it is in your interest to NOW Work Hard
The project fails; there
is a stigma attached to
everyone in the team
including me
The project fails; but I am
recognized as an honest
corporate citizen who tried
her best. Myline manager
does not see me as a sucker
who could have devoted
more time to her day job
instead of to a failing project.
I do not work hard I work hard
My
Colleagues
do not work
hard
My
Colleagues
work hard
The project succeeds;
everyone who worked hard
gets rewarded (and since I
did not work hard I do not get
rewarded. Instead there is a
stigma attached for being a
free rider)
The project succeeds;
everyone who worked
hard gets rewarded
(and since I worked
hard, I am rewarded)
If My Colleagues Work Hard, I
have two choices – Work Hard or
Not Work Hard. The option of
„Work Hard‟ has better results as
you can see
If My Colleagues do not Work
Hard, I have two choices – Work
Hard or Not Work Hard. Again,
the option of „Work Hard‟ has
better results as you can see

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Did You Figure Out What
Changed Between the Two
Matrices?

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What Changed Was the Kind of
Behaviors That Were Rewarded by
The Leaders and the Firm
Culture is, Therefore, All About the
Behaviors that are Encouraged and
Rewarded

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If driving a Culture was just about
changing a few things on the Matrix,
why is it so difficult in Real Life?

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The reason why it is so difficult to
reward the right behaviors and
penalize the wrong ones is because
very often the wrong behaviors
produce some short term gains for
an organization and the right
behaviors could produce some
short term pain

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Therefore, Firms need Clarity and
Courage to bear the Short Term Pain in
exchange for the Long Term Gain.
This is a Very Difficult Trade-off

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Weak Leaders are often Reluctant to take
ownership for bringing about changes in
these dysfunctional behaviors that harm the
Organization Culture
They often rely on Peripheral and
Distracting Fixes like Compensation
Plans and Organization Structures that
they think would magically induce the
right behaviors

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PART-2
Culture at TaxiForSure

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Culture is what gives
TaxiForSure the best
chance of Long Term
Success both for our
People and Business

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Eight Aspects of Our Culture
1. We Value specific Behaviors and Skills – And we know what they are
2. We dream Big on our Goals – We would rather aim very high and
achieve partial success than aim low and beat targets
3. We Solve the Right Problems – Every time we would ask “Are we
solving the Right Problem?”
4. We Take Ownership for Everything we do – even if the Outcomes are
Not entirely in our Control
5. People are the most important Pillar – We prefer Great people plus
Average Process to Great Process plus Average People
6. Speed is as important as Quality – in everything we do
7. Trust and Personal responsibility – In all Relationships
8. We are Facts and Data Oriented – in any problem we look at
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28. Confidential
Eight Aspects of Our Culture
1. We Value specific Behaviors and Skills – And we know what they are
2. We dream Big on our Goals – We would rather aim very high and
achieve partial success than aim low and beat targets
3. We Solve the Right Problems – Every time we will ask “Are we solving
the Right Problem?”
4. We Take Ownership for Everything we do – even if the Outcomes are
Not entirely in our Control
5. People are the most important Pillar – We would prefer Great people
plus Average Process to Great Process plus Average People
6. Speed is as important as Quality – in everything we do
7. Trust and Personal responsibility – In All Relationships
8. We are Facts and Data Oriented – in any problem we look at
28

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29
Ten Behaviors and Talents We Value
Respect
for
people
Integrity Transparency
Fun at
Work
Entrepreneurial
Clarity
of
Thought
Team
Building &
Team
Working
Communication
& Influencing
Customer
Centricity
Self
Awareness

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Respect for
People
30
You are never disrespectful come what may
and whatever the provocation
You do not belittle others however silly you
think their idea may be
We can take feedback from the person who
serves you tea or the janitor in the office and
they will always say they are treated with
respect
Your language is carefully chosen – even
tough messages are communicated in a
constructive tone
You never make oblique or sarcastic
remarks

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Integrity
31
What you say is what you mean
People shouldn‟t need much tact in dealing
with you
You always communicate the other person‟s
side of the story even if she is not around
You are truthful and do not hesitate in
saying things like “I don‟t know”, or “I goofed
up”
You will give credit to others where it is due
You tend to credit others when things go
right and look in the mirror when things go
wrong and ask “is there something I should
have done differently?”

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Transparency
32
You don‟t put on Masks. What people
see is what they get
You genuinely get the affected parties
involved in issues and their resolution
even if you know they may ask you
hard questions
You do not encourage and participate
in too many side conversations. You
prefer open discussion with all the
parties involved

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Fun at Work
33
You genuinely try and make the work
place a fun place for your team and
colleagues
You make it fun in your own way – help
others learn, help teams let down their
hair and build camaraderie and trust

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Entrepreneurial
34
You make things happen. You
demonstrate Risk Taking, Initiative and
Self Leadership
You can handle Ambiguity and Thrive
in Chaos
You can make the right Assumptions
and Approximations. You can take
decisions in the face of incomplete
information
You demonstrate Execution Excellence

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Clarity of
Thought
35
You think strategically, and can articulate what you
are, and are not, trying to do
You Seek insights and ask insightful questions
You can cut through the noise and smoke to
quickly reach the underlying truth or root cause
You always step back to take a big picture view,
foster strategic thinking in the organization, and
understand interdependencies
You can often find simple solutions to complex
problems

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Team Building
and Team
Work
36
You Set high standards for Yourself and
the Team
You would Proactively address and
resolve conflict
You will hire great people. You will hire
people who can push you and push the
envelope. You won‟t hesitate to hire
people who are more competent than you
himself/herself
You understand when to delegate and
when to micro-manage
You can give and receive feedback in a
constructive way

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Communication
and Influencing
37
You are an active listener
You Communicate with energy and
passion and have the ability to articulate
complex concepts in a way that is simple
to understand
You can use analogies and stories to add
clarity and meaning to communications
You treat people with respect independent
of their status or disagreement with you
You maintain calm poise in stressful
situation
You can give and receive feedback in a
constructive way

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Customer
Centricity
38
You take personal responsibility for
correcting customer service problems
You recognize internal customers and treat
them as if they were external customers
You will follow through on customer inquiries,
requests, and complaints
You can set expectations with customers and
don‟t make promises that cannot be delivered
You are an active listener and ask a lot of
questions for understanding a customer
requirement
You can give and receive feedback in a
constructive way

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Self Awareness
39
You sincerely seek feedback and act on it
Your assessment of yourself is aligned
with others‟ assessment of you. In other
words you have an accurate assessment
of your strengths and weaknesses. You
can actually your weaknesses as
effortlessly as you articulate your
strengths
Your aspirations are in line with your
capabilities
You do not put on masks while interacting
with people
You always ask yourself in a self-
appraisal, “What could I have done
better”, “Have I really met this Goal”

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Eight Aspects of Our Culture
1. We Value specific Behaviors and Skills – And we know what they are
2. We dream Big on our Goals – We would rather aim very high and
achieve partial success than aim low and beat targets
3. We Solve the Right Problems – Every time we will ask “Are we solving
the Right Problem?”
4. We Take Ownership for Everything we do – even if the Outcomes are
Not entirely in our Control
5. People are the most important Pillar – We would prefer Great people
plus Average Process to Great Process plus Average People
6. Speed is as important as Quality – in everything we do
7. Trust and Personal responsibility – In All Relationships
8. We are Facts and Data Oriented – in any problem we look at
40

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Dream Big and Aim High
41
Good is the Enemy of Great
Jim Collins, in Good to Great

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We want Everyone to
Think Big
Think Beyond What is Possible
Think Out of the Box
Think beyond Conventional Boundaries

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We are not a Public Company, catering
to Market Watchers and Analysts,
Aiming for What is Possible and then
Beating it
We are not looking for a predictable
20% per annum increase in share
Price

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Incremental Thinking Will Get Us
Steady Growth
But, We have not Attracted the kind of
People We Have with The Promise of
Steady Growth
There is no Fun Living on the
Horizontal Sections of the “S” Curve

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Eight Aspects of Our Culture
1. We Value specific Behaviors and Skills – And we know what they are
2. We dream Big on our Goals – We would rather aim very high and
achieve partial success than aim low and beat targets
3. We Solve the Right Problems – Every time we will ask “Are we solving
the Right Problem?”
4. We Take Ownership for Everything we do – even if the Outcomes are
Not entirely in our Control
5. People are the most important Pillar – We would prefer Great people
plus Average Process to Great Process plus Average People
6. Speed is as important as Quality – in everything we do
7. Trust and Personal responsibility – In All Relationships
8. We are Facts and Data Oriented – in any problem we look at
45

46. Confidential
Solving the Right Problems – Alice
in Wonderland
46
Alice: Which Door Should I take?
Rabbit: That Depends Upon Where You Want to Go
Alice: I don‟t know where I want to go
Rabbit: Then it doesn‟t matter which door you take
If you are solving the wrong problems, it does not
matter how well you solve them

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The Interesting thing is that
Most People who are Busy
Solving the Wrong Problems
Don‟t Even Realize that

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People Solve the Wrong Problems for
a Variety of Reasons:
1. They haven‟t figured out the right problems
2. Solving the wrong problems is easy
3. Nobody has questioned them for solving the wrong
problems – in fact they have been recognized as good
problem solvers

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Solving the Wrong Problems Manifests itself
Commonly in Three Different Ways:
1. Solving problems that someone in your team should be
solving
2. Jumping to conclusions (wrong conclusions) – on what
is the cause of something – and working hard to fix it
3. Working hard to improve something (may be a process)
– when the right thing to do may have been to eliminate
the process itself. The inherent assumption being that
the process (in this case) is NECESSARY. The broader
fault is about defining the boundaries incorrectly

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Therefore, Every Time You and/or Your
Team Are Solving a Problem,
Ask Yourself (Yourselves)
“Are We Solving the Right Problem?”

51. Confidential
Eight Aspects of Our Culture
1. We Value specific Behaviors and Skills – And we know what they are
2. We dream Big on our Goals – We would rather aim very high and
achieve partial success than aim low and beat targets
3. We Solve the Right Problems – Every time we will ask “Are we solving
the Right Problem?”
4. We Take Ownership for Everything we do – even if the Outcomes are
Not entirely in our Control
5. People are the most important Pillar – We would prefer Great people
plus Average Process to Great Process plus Average People
6. Speed is as important as Quality – in everything we do
7. Trust and Personal responsibility – In All Relationships
8. We are Facts and Data Oriented – in any problem we look at
51

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Taking Ownership
52
Most Outcomes or Goals in Organizations
have Different Levers.
Each Lever is only Partially Controlled by
any One Team (or Individual)
It is Very Difficult to Structure Work in
Ways that result in all the Levers being in
the Hands of Only One Team (or one
individual)

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Taking Ownership when things are
Even Partially (Not Entirely) in Your
Control is an Attitude
We WANT our Teams and Team
Members to demonstrate this
Attitude

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This Does Not Mean, we are
Encouraging Collective
Responsibility or Asking You to Own
up for Something You were Not
Responsible for

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It Just Means that We will Work
as Real Teams and Collaborate
without Boundaries

56. Confidential
Eight Aspects of Our Culture
1. We Value specific Behaviors and Skills – And we know what they are
2. We dream Big on our Goals – We would rather aim very high and
achieve partial success than aim low and beat targets
3. We Solve the Right Problems – Every time we will ask “Are we solving
the Right Problem?”
4. We Take Ownership for Everything we do – even if the Outcomes are
Not entirely in our Control
5. People are the most important Pillar – We would prefer Great people
plus Average Process to Great Process plus Average People
6. Speed is as important as Quality – in everything we do
7. Trust and Personal responsibility – In All Relationships
8. We are Facts and Data Oriented – in any problem we look at
56

57. Confidential
People are our Most Important Pillar
57
Therefore Hiring is THE most important
thing we do
Great People in the Wrong Structure can
Make it Work. It may be a Little Sub
Optimal that‟s all
Great People can make a Weak Process
Work. Again, it may be a Little Sub Optimal
that‟s all

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We will Differentiate based on
Performance and Talent
We can try and keep Everyone Happy by a
Socialist Approach, but a Socialist
Approach results in a Socialist Growth
Rate and Results. As a result, Good
People will Leave and Average People
would be Loyal.

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We Sincerely believe that the most important Job
of Managers is to Hire, Manage and Motivate
their People
We expect them to spend a significant part of their
time in Setting Goals, Clarifying Roles, Evaluating
Performance, Providing Feedback and above all,
helping them Learn and Grow in their Career
We want everyone who works at TaxiForSure to be
able to enhance the quality of their CV

60. Confidential
Eight Aspects of Our Culture
1. We Value specific Behaviors and Skills – And we know what they are
2. We dream Big on our Goals – We would rather aim very high and
achieve partial success than aim low and beat targets
3. We Solve the Right Problems – Every time we will ask “Are we solving
the Right Problem?”
4. We Take Ownership for Everything we do – even if the Outcomes are
Not entirely in our Control
5. People are the most important Pillar – We would prefer Great people
plus Average Process to Great Process plus Average People
6. Speed is as important as Quality – in everything we do
7. Trust and Personal responsibility – In All Relationships
8. We are Facts and Data Oriented – in any problem we look at
60

61. Confidential
Speed is as important as Quality
61
We operate in Markets, and in Times,
where Speed, as much as anything else,
Decides Who Wins and Who Gets to be
the Leader
We don‟t have the Luxury of Trading off
Speed and Quality
Both Matter Equally

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Speed is often a Question of Clarity of Thought
It is in being able to Cut through the Clutter and
Figure out the 2-3 Most Important Drivers, Levers or
Parameters in Any Given Situation and NOT get
Distracted by the Noise and the Low Impact Levers
or Drivers
We therefore, expect all our People to be able to
Make the Right Assumptions and Approximations.
Expect them never to get Stuck in an Analysis-
Paralysis Situation

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Any Decision is Better than Indecision
We will never have All the Information to Make a
Decision. If we had All the Information, We wouldn‟t
be needed.
Therefore we Value Informed Judgment
(this is part of being Entrepreneurial)

64. Confidential
Eight Aspects of Our Culture
1. We Value specific Behaviors and Skills – And we know what they are
2. We dream Big on our Goals – We would rather aim very high and
achieve partial success than aim low and beat targets
3. We Solve the Right Problems – Every time we will ask “Are we solving
the Right Problem?”
4. We Take Ownership for Everything we do – even if the Outcomes are
Not entirely in our Control
5. People are the most important Pillar – We would prefer Great people
plus Average Process to Great Process plus Average People
6. Speed is as important as Quality – in everything we do
7. Trust and Personal responsibility – In All Relationships
8. We are Facts and Data Oriented – in any problem we look at
64

65. Confidential65
We Sincerely Believe that while Controls and
Process prevent a Firm from Imploding, they
Never lead it to Greatness
Smart People join us for the Freedom we
provide

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Creating Alignment Thru’
• Values, not Rules
• Culture, not Procedures
• Goals, not Paths
Great Execution Thru’
• Decentralization, not
Centralization
• Empowerment, not Control

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67
Freedom to Execute
Decentralization • Low Center of Gravity of the Organization
• Branches are our execution engines, and every one else
aligns to support them
• Limited „Corporate Staff‟ but of high quality
• „Corporate Staff‟ mind-set is one of creating value for
internal customers
• Decisions made at the point where there is maximum
information
Empowerment • Process-Owners can seek inputs but will have to take
decisions
• Frameworks, not Rigid Rules
• Don‟t make Commitments without thinking, but meet
Commitments Always
• Always behave responsibly
• Treat Company Expenses as if you would treat your
Personal Expenses

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Trust and Personal Responsibility applies to
Everything We Do
We will Never Have the Time, and Do Not Intend,
Checking and Monitoring Everything
Therefore, Spend Company Money like you would
Spend your Own
Keep Commitments.
Stick to Company Policy. If you Disagree, ask for a
Review, but Adhere to it as long as it is in place

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Eight Aspects of Our Culture
1. We Value specific Behaviors and Skills – And we know what they are
2. We dream Big on our Goals – We would rather aim very high and
achieve partial success than aim low and beat targets
3. We Solve the Right Problems – Every time we will ask “Are we solving
the Right Problem?”
4. We Take Ownership for Everything we do – even if the Outcomes are
Not entirely in our Control
5. People are the most important Pillar – We would prefer Great people
plus Average Process to Great Process plus Average People
6. Speed is as important as Quality – in everything we do
7. Trust and Personal responsibility – In All Relationships
8. We are Facts and Data Oriented – in any problem we look at
69

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Facts and Data Orientation
70
In God we Trust; All Others Must
Bring Data
Unknown

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Discussions become Meaningless without
Data, and we are Never Sure if our
Decisions are Right

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However, there will be Situations when we
may not have All the Data needed to reach
a conclusion
We expect Managers to Figure out and
Differentiate between Situations where
we need to Look for more Data and
Facts and when to Make an Informed
Judgment

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In Summary, Facts and Data based Analysis
IS part of our DNA

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Culture takes Root Through our Collective
Efforts
Encouraging the Right Behaviors and Discouraging
the Wrong Behaviors
Demonstrating through Actions
Walking the Talk
We hope Each of you becomes a Torch Bearer
of the TaxiForSure Culture
In Conclusion

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THANK YOU
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Visit us at www.taxiforsure.com