YOU CAN COUNT ON US

“YOU CAN COUNT ON US”
Snapshot
• Focuses on information that is factual, real, and current
• Makes decisions based on values and their impact on people
• Is energized by the inner world of ideas and experiences
• Prefers a structured, organized, and planned environment
This type of organization feels a strong sense of responsibility
for its work, its clients, and its employees. It is at its best when
doing something where its hard work and responsibility are valued.
Bedrock loyalty and attention to detail combine to produce a
stream of top-quality work for its clients.
Decisions in this pragmatic atmosphere are made based on a clear
sense of right and wrong and concern for the common welfare.This
people orientation is tempered with a down-to-earth, commonsense
Profiles of Practicality 35
approach that takes into account lessons learned along the way.
Details from hands-on experience are meticulously filed away (both
mentally and physically) and used as a reference going forward.
Traditional and solid, this is unlikely to be a cutting-edge organization.
While products and services are usually not state of the art,
they are reliable, and the organization stands behind them. Knowledge,
ideas, and theories are highly valued in this intellectual environment,
but ideas will always be tested against facts.
History and tradition are an important part of the organization.
Rituals, mottoes, and procedures (even if they seem odd to outsiders)
are treasured and used to help bring newcomers into the
loop.There is a strong sense of belonging in this organization, and
it makes people feel welcome, as long as they accept its traditions
and protocol.
Structured and reliable, this organization will have and religiously
use handbooks and procedures. It will provide sensible answers to
employees’ and clients’ questions about any issue that arises. Meetings
take place to discuss policies and to preserve traditional rites,
but not often to brainstorm or discuss new directions or ideas.
There is a definite hierarchy in place at this organization, and
decisions may be made privately and not shared with others. If the
employees, who are supposed to trust their superiors, lose this sense
of trust and belonging, it could lead to trouble.The group may start
reminiscing about the past and how “perfect” things used to be, or
may assume that the whole organization is falling apart.
Characteristic Strengths
Maintains a strong reputation for consistently reliable, top-quality work
Forges and maintains productive, long-term relationships
Establishes and preserves the procedures and traditions necessary for
long-term success
Churchillian determination—will never quit
An inner sense of what people want and need
A harmonious workplace that draws the best from people
Avoids unforced errors by thinking before acting
Accurately anticipates needs and problems and schedules accordingly
Characteristic Weaknesses
Inherent skepticism toward unproved ideas may translate to lowered
expectations, leading to lowered performance
Occasionally assumes too many responsibilities (e.g., excessively high
standards), overburdening its resources
36 DISCOVER
Frequently unable to appreciate the value or necessity of change
Can become perplexed or limit opportunities by avoiding solutions
requiring innovation, new theories, or dealing with ambiguity
Not uncommon to ignore business issues for people issues
May ignore the future for the present
Occasionally too rigid to respond to changing situations and opportunities
Can decide too quickly, ignoring potentially critical data
Work Environment
Harmony achieved by people caring and being cared for in a low-key
environment
Common sense and practicality
Decisions made quietly and without much collaboration
Exhibits a high work ethic; the company is always very busy
Traditions and corporate culture are prominent and celebrated
Maintains control through standards, rules, systems, hierarchies, and
procedures
Individual responsibility has high visibility
Committed to causes
Action oriented
Values
Customer
Responsibility
Tradition
Loyalty
Quality
Harmony
Control
Family
Communication Style
Centers on people in a way that addresses relationships and the past
Language is functional and will often refer to tasks and duties
Prefers to give information rather than directives
Fair, impartial, impersonal
Prefers face-to-face interaction
Concrete, step-by-step, sequential, and highly detailed
In meetings, seeks connection with people first
Begins presentations with details first
Contained, thoughtful, and reflective
Profiles of Practicality 37
Sources of Energy
Sense of belonging and family
Satisfying the customer
Serving the needs of people
Being in control
Signs of Stress
Becomes emotional
Decision-making capabilities erode
Becomes excessively pessimistic, especially about the future
Becomes mired in details and unimportant facts
Behavior during Conflict
Prefers to ignore or avoid conflict at all cost
Will determine if the company is meeting people’s needs
Will react viciously if a value has been trampled
Approaches to Managing Change
Prefers continuity and stability, maintaining what is
Will consult internal data sources (databases, experience, and vision)
to determine what part of the company should be preserved and
what part may change
Sufficient time will be allowed to reflect, analyze, and relate to historical
frameworks
Will ask if the change is practical, has worked before, and is socially
acceptable
If the change is consistent with the values of the company, will move
quickly to implement it
Change will be in the form of incremental, small steps (more like
adapting)
If change is not consistent with the integrity of the company, will
become inflexible
Ideal Clients
Produce products or services that benefit people in some tangible way
Value loyalty and seek a long-term relationship
Require attention to detail in long-term projects
Respect the high quality that comes from hard work
Value a tradition of loyalty and reliability
Enjoy being part of the corporate “family”
Relish the peace of mind that comes from being in total control of the
situation
38 DISCOVER
Case Study
The “You Can Count on Us” profile is especially well suited to
organizations that provide human services, such as the Metropolitan
Life Insurance Company.1 MetLife shares the four basic elements
of the Count on Us type: It’s energized by the inner world
of ideas and experiences, focused on information that is factual,
real, and current, committed to values and their impact on people,
and comfortable in a structured, organized, and planned environment.
MetLife’s introverted character is revealed in its serious,
traditional, and insulated sense of itself. Established in 1868, the
company has occupied a landmark building in midtown Manhattan
for generations. Its paneled boardroom has been the scene of
MetLife’s most important discussions for more than 100 years.2
Despite its comfortable preoccupation with tradition, the company
has proven itself to be a keen observer of market conditions.
The “You Can Count on Us” gift for precise measurement has
served as MetLife’s mainstay in the most important task of any
insurance firm: actuarial calculations of statistics about profit and
risk. Within this industry, sensory information-gathering preferences
provide a concrete advantage.Today, MetLife uses the same
basic observation techniques for evaluating the appeal of new
products and markets—assembling statistical data on income levels
and asking what the company can do to meet the needs of
middle-class earners.3
MetLife is in the business of caring. Among policyholders, the
company’s commitment to productive, long-term relationships is
the sine qua non of the MetLife brand. For employees of an
industry giant, however, the Count on Us inclination to promote
harmony and trust at all costs has proven more problematic. During
its 100-plus years as a mutual society, Metropolitan Life
Insurance employed a staff of managers, accountants, and sales
agents who gradually came to see themselves as something of a
privileged caste. The Count on Us commitment to values and
their impact on people reached an unsustainably extreme level
of influence, with unlimited sick days and lax standards for
performance. Under the leadership of Robert Benmosche, the
insurance giant has sharply reined in its workforce, executing
large-scale layoffs and imposing more stringent performance and
compensation standards. But MetLife remains a place where
“You Can Count on Us” feelings rule the day. Because its business
is dependent on enduring and unique relationships between
Profiles of Practicality 39
customers and agents, MetLife will always consider the individual
impact of every decision.
The insurance industry is all about planning and schedules, so
it’s natural for companies like MetLife to embrace a judging work
style preference. Being able to envision the long term and project
feasible financial outcomes requires MetLife to hold closely to a
narrow equilibrium between outlays and income.That means the
company relies on comprehensive structures and mechanisms
even when it deals with unexpectedly favorable news, such as variations
in the capital markets that increase its cash assets. In fact,
MetLife and similar institutions are so functionally tied to schedules
that they have difficulty making changes even when they recognize
the necessity (as seen in the scandal and lawsuit arising
from rate differentials for black and white policyholders—obsolete
since the 1940s, but so difficult to rectify that the company ended
up paying $150 million in damages). This tendency toward rigidity,
typical of the Count on Us type, is the downside of having consistently
reliable procedures.
Clients and investors will embrace a company that they can
count on. Within eight months of the MetLife IPO, shares in the
venerable insurer were the most widely held stock in the United
States. Its success underscores the winning combination of the
Count on Us profile: an inner sense of what people want and
need, combined with a determination to provide the best quality
of service.