Posted on Dec 30, 2013

Can A Large Company Be Flexible?

Flexibility is often associated with small companies and start-ups. In fact, when combined with speed, it frequently creates a competitive advantage against large established companies.

What exactly does it mean to be flexible? As a differentiating value, flexibility means adaptable or variable; capable of being changed.

Not surprisingly, this is generally a difficult value to embrace for very large companies. But one such large company is trying.

Bayer AG is a US $50 billion chemical and pharmaceutical company, with more than 110,000 employees. Based in Leverkusen, Germany, Bayer has offices or a presence in over 60 countries.

This is a huge company.

Bayer AG Values

Wisely, Bayer AG has limited the number of their values to four:

Leadership
Integrity
Flexibility
Efficiency

To help everyone remember these values, you’ll notice the first letter of each value spells the acronym LIFE. In addition, this acronym plays well in support of the company’s mission: “Bayer: Science For A Better Life.” It’s brilliant.

Regardless of how one might feel about the use of acronyms or the tie-in to the mission statement, keeping it simple and easy-to-remember really works. If employees and management remember them – and more importantly apply them – they can make a huge strategic difference.

Differentiating Values Test

The values of leadership and integrity are not unique. They’re common across many businesses, especially large ones, and are what I refer to as fundamental values.

But flexibility and efficiency have the potential to create competitive advantage, particularly if Bayer’s key competitors don’t have them.

There’s a simple test to see if a value has the potential to be a differentiator. The value must be

Unique (to the company)
Relevant (to customers)
Sustainable (over a long period of time)

Considering the other large players in the same industries as Bayer, I suspect efficiency is not unique. The reason companies merge, consolidate, and become really big is exactly for that reason: to achieve greater efficiencies.

However, the value of flexibility has the potential to be a real differentiator. This is preciously the challenge that all of Bayer’s larger competitors struggle with on a regular basis.

With bigness comes a natural organizational weight or management burden. Rigidity follows defined policies and procedures. Internal competitiveness naturally occurs between groups that must compete for limited resources. All of these elements inhibit flexibility, agility, adaptability, and willingness to change.

It’s human nature.

Bayer’s Definition of Flexibility

So how does Bayer define flexibility? Here too, the company has nicely articulated this for everyone to understand, even creating a little LIFE comic for each one:

Drive change actively
Be ready to adapt to future trends and needs
Challenge the status quo
Think and act with customers in mind
Seek out opportunities and take calculated risks
Be open-minded
Embrace lifelong learning

Of course, Bayer still suffers with all the natural elements of “bigness”. However, if the value of flexibility can be incorporated into the organizational culture, it just might be the key differentiator that gives them a competitive advantage.