Our Core Values

Dominic - Founder & Director

Dominic - Founder & Director

CHANGING THE WORLD ONE LETTER FLAP AT A TIME

Starting any business is fraught with challenges and involves constant learning and the odd tumble; sometimes from high places! As the stakes get higher there are moments of doubt, moments when it looks impossible, however, a desire to succeed and a strong belief in your dreams keeps you going.

In moments like these, you realise that there is something else down deep inside of you. It is like a lighthouse during the darkest night, leading you to the safe harbour. What is it, you ask?

It’s the same thing which guided companies like Zappos, Netflix, Airbnb, and Apple from being humble start-ups to some of the most powerful and valuable businesses in the world. It’s the same thing which unified so many people in the past around an idea, dream or vision allowing them to achieve truly great things, very often succeeding against all odds.

There are some things that you learn; from your family, passed to you by your parents or grandparents. There are some others you learn from sports (basketball in my case), from successes and defeats in your private and business life. Things that make you strong and give you the tenacity to keep going when times get tough - your values.

I truly believe that for our business to grow and thrive, we need to harness the power of our values - as an organisation and as individuals on the team. These values need to form part of our daily lives, our communications, our decisions and the service that we give our customers.

Strong values will build us a family. A family which supports its members through the hard times and celebrates their wins. A family that creates a safe and inspiring environment for all to thrive and grow, both professionally and as individuals. Our core values are essential to this family.

Yes, all of them! Not just the ones you like. All the core values are vital, so accepting them, and living them daily, is a key part of being a valuable member of our team. With our core values, not only will our business grow, but you will too.

Woodrow Wilson, the President of the United States, who led the country during the First World War, said to motivate his countrymen: “We cannot be separated in interest or divided in purpose. We stand together until the end.” I truly hope that our core values will resonate with you and you will stand together with us to take Letterbox4you on to greater success.

Dominic

Founder of Letterbox4you Limited

OK IS NOT ENOUGH

Strive for the best results and never get satisfied with the status quo. Always think “Can I do it better?”

Imagine the world around you where people are satisfied with OK and everyone accepts that as the highest achievement. Pilots land their planes safely only 9 times out of 10, only 60% of patients survive an operation and firefighters respond to 8 out of 10 emergencies. In this world, there would be no inventions, no new cures for illnesses, no technological advancement and no social justice. People in this world would be satisfied with the status quo and nobody would care enough to make things better.

At Letterbox4you we do not accept that kind of world. We live in a world where OK is not enough. In our world, when we complete a task we immediately think: “How can I make it even more efficient and beneficial to our clients?”, “How can I make it even more profitable for our business?”. We ask ourselves - did I do my best on this project, talking to that customer, planning my week or trying to hit my target? If the answer is no, we thrive on the desire to make it better.

With our products and services, we aim to change the world one letter flap at a time. But once we do, we immediately start our preparations to do it again; improved in every possible way.

PASSION IN ALL WE DO

Show passion for our business and your job. This will be the foundation to build something great.

“Passion is a strong desire that can get you to do amazing things. Passion is an emotion to be acted upon. Without action, passion yields no worthwhile results. Passion is the fuel in the fire of action. When you have passion for something, you love it even when you hate it”.

Here, at Letterbox4you we are passionate about our business, our customers and our products. We fully commit the hours we spend every day at work (or some of you even outside of work too) to drive our company to greatness and success.

Being a passionate person does not automatically make you passionate about our business. It also has nothing to do with “working hard” or “being reliable”- these are necessary but will bring spectacular success only when combined with a real passion for what you do.

Having a passion for our business can be represented in many ways. It could be a keen interest in all new developments and changes or even initiating them. Sometimes it’s exceptional knowledge of the products or our systems. Sometimes just always being ready to step in and help a colleague. One thing is certain, we can only achieve our success as a business if we are all fuelled by a real passion for it.

BE AN EXPERT

Be the person of knowledge and expertise in your field who is the one everyone turns to for help and guidance.

Expertus (expert) in Latin means tested, proved and experienced. None of us becomes an expert by default; it is a journey. The mechanic servicing Formula One cars did not just switch jobs from the local MOT centre yesterday. The engineer servicing the space shuttle before the flight did not join the team having serviced microlite planes at the local airfield. The captain of a huge container ship did not get his job after completing a sailboat training course. All these people worked hard, trained hard and set their minds on becoming experts in their chosen fields. Often, success is realised through sacrifice, focus and commitment, because you do not become an expert by doing just an “OK” job or being a jack of all trades.

It’s equally important to note that to stay an expert, you have to keep learning. The world is constantly changing, technology is changing and even history is changing when we discover new information unknown to us before. You need to keep up, and actively seek new information and knowledge! To be a real expert you need to keep becoming one every single day, again and again.

Your job with Letterbox4you is like being the captain of a huge ship or the person responsible for the safety and success of the space mission; if you fail, we fail. So, take responsibility for your ship and become an expert every day, we all depend on you!

CHANGES LEAD TO GREATNESS

Embrace changes, ask for them and drive them. It’s the only way to build a truly great organisation.

John F. Kennedy said: “Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future”. Throughout the history of mankind, these simple, yet powerful words have been found true. Great and proud nations like the Romans and the Greeks fell from ruling the world to obscurity because they refused to accept and embrace changes.

Dinosaurs died because they were unable to evolve quickly enough to survive the climate changes around them. Big and powerful businesses ceased to exist because they stopped looking forward and got stuck in the past, resisting changes happening around them. Nokia, Blackberry, IBM, My Space – once well known, now anonymous to the majority of the younger generation.

However, others, including Apple, Facebook and Samsung changed their mission statements. Their purpose is to change the world, by constantly changing themselves and always developing new offerings for their customers. By constantly changing ourselves as individuals and as a business we will gain a crucial advantage over our competitors and be ready for an ever-changing environment around us. We will become not a good but a truly great business.

SUCCESS BUILT ON CONTRIBUTION

We cannot make it happen without your contribution. Show every day that you are instrumental to our growth and success.

We all know the famous boat race between Oxford and Cambridge Universities. There are 9 people in the boat, all with clearly defined roles and parts to play. Each is equally important to the team.  The crew is carefully selected from an even larger group of people who train all year. Only the chosen ones will have the honour of representing their University in the race for glory.

This is a perfect example of a whole team putting in 100% contribution. We need to be like these rowers, equally committed and working towards one goal and target. One of us failing means that our boat will veer off course or lose momentum. The fact that you are sitting in the boat with all of us does not mean that you contribute. Train as hard as us, work as hard as us and row with the same rhythm and power as us.

Every member of our team is crucial to our success, whether you are a salesperson, a member of the warehouse team responsible for picking or packing, customer service, or a manager. We need you to give your best and contribute.  Don’t get fooled, other boats will have their crews as determined as ours. Only when we all give 100% will we find glory and success after the finishing line. History remembers the winners, not those that pass the finish line in second place.

FUN AND POSITIVITY START WITH YOU

Bring a smile and positive attitude with you to work each day and those around you will respond positively to you.

Letterbox4you is your home away from home. You make your home feel welcoming by creating a pleasant atmosphere.  The same rule applies here; make your work environment positive and enjoyable for you and others. Do not look around and wait for others to make it happen for you. It’s your home too and it is down to you to make a start.

A kind word, a smile and a good idea about how to celebrate your colleague’s exceptional sales last month or the best quarter for our business. It is very difficult sometimes to leave our personal problems outside of work and put on a different mask. We have all been there; nobody has a monopoly on bad life experiences.  We will always be there for you when you need help and support. However, we all need to be aware of how easily a negative mood can affect not only colleagues but also our customers.

According to a study by scientists at the University of Portsmouth, “human beings are able to differentiate vocal intonation not only between a smile and a non-smile but also among different types of smile”? We want to be recognised as a fun and positive organisation, a place where working hours are filled with laughter and happiness. So please, smile to yourself and your colleague, as well as on the phone to your customer, let’s make Letterbox4you the happiest place to work this side of the equator!