At IP Centrum we question everything. Just because something is done a certain way, doesn’t mean it should be. Often, the answers are hidden in plain sight, and the (sometimes obvious in retrospect) questions are waiting patiently to be asked.
It isn’t necessary to change everything just for the sake of it, but if you start from a position of assuming everything you “know” is wrong, and you can cope with the fatigue this brings about, then it also leaves the door open for creativity and revolutionary thinking.
Genuinely raising the bar, and achieving extraordinary levels of performance is hard. It cannot happen by thinking of things in the same way as everyone else.
We work hard to build this into the culture of our company, and as part of that we have a re-imagined set of guiding principles which form the core of our DNA. On the surface some of them may seem obvious, but hidden in plain sight is a depth of extraordinary challenge that help us to do more, faster, and to a greater level of quality.
A lot of corporate policy and practice is the way it is simply “because it is”. We don’t think that’s a good enough reason.
It is no accident that across hundreds of thousands of filings we have an unprecedented zero-fail rate. Or that despite our volumes and relatively small team we generally respond to clients within a few minutes, rather than hours or days.
These guiding principles form a key part of our internal Manifesto which is given to all new team members. I hope you enjoy them:
- Unrushed velocity
We get huge amounts of work done, at high velocity, but we never rush, and we never cut corners. We achieve this through extraordinarily well devised processes, by prioritising, being organised, and by maintaining focus. - Brutal honesty, without a trace of malice
We respect people enough to tell them straight, but we are compassionate that this may not always feel great. - You die, we die
The shared mission always supersedes any personal objectives. We actively seek ways to support each other and other departments. When one of us is in trouble, we do everything in our power to help. - “Average” isn’t going to cut it
There are much easier ways to make a living. IP Centrum is a GREAT place to work, not an EASY place to work. We do better and achieve more by consistently over delivering in every conceivable way. - “Integrity” is a real part of who we are
Just about every company states integrity as a core value. It’s hard to do the right thing when it’s going to hurt to do so, but that’s the time it really matters, and the only time you discover whether you truly have it. - Our Suppliers are just as important as our Clients
We cannot survive without clients, and we cannot provide world-class support to our clients without outstanding agents and suppliers. We treat everyone fairly and work very hard to ensure everyone who engages with us has an incredible experience. We judge everyone on merit and with decency, respect and care – not on how much money they spend with us, or how much they charge us. - Be the best in the world
We only have so much time in our lives, and we will not waste that time. We will only focus our enormous effort on activities where we can be the absolute best in the world. - Impartial, independent long-term view
We would rather suffer the pain of long-term struggle, than accept a compromising quick-win. Reciprocity agreements or any kind of arrangements which could compromise our impartial devotion to performing the best possible service for our clients are rejected so we can remain pure.
We’re not perfect, and we’ve made our share of mistakes along the way. We’re learning all the time. We have an extraordinary team of just wonderful people who get up every day with determination to do the absolute best job we can to support those unsung-hero IP formalities people around the world, and we absolutely love what we do.
We’re always looking to improve, so please feel free to give me your brutally honest thoughts (ideally “without a trace of malice”!).
