The SHIFTPOINTS Blog

Note:  This is an excerpt from my latest book, Drive One Direction: How to Unleash the Accelerating Power of Alignment. In the One Way chapter, we highlight companies who unleashed the accelerating power of alignment with an intense focus on their corporate standards. 

Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX) has 254,000 employees working in 24,000 retail stores in 70 countries.

Although there are roughly 100,000 permutations of drinks, there is only One Way to make each One.

Coffee has always been my favorite beverage. So, when Starbucks barged on the scene in the early ’90s, I was an early adopter. I have lost count of how many Starbucks I have visited in my life. Countless portions of this book have been written in Starbucks coffee shops around the world.

In the beginning, we all had to learn how to “speak Starbucks.” Does “decaf” come before or after “grande”? Is it “two pump no whip” or “no whip two pump?” What’s the difference between a cappuccino and a Frappuccino^®?

Some people never became fluent in Starbucks and are embarrassed to go there.

Most people, however, have developed a basic level of Starbucks ordering competence.

As I am sure you have experienced, they also have a very specific process to ensure that your order is properly communicated to the barista. It is called the “Starbucks^® Beverage Calling & Cup Marking System,” and even specifies that a black permanent marker be used to write beverage identification codes on cups.

And of course, they had to teach all their baristas how to make all those drinks.

My sense is that being a Starbucks barista is a lot harder than most people think. They must memorize the Starbucks beverage manual, which contains the exact specifications for every drink. And these specifications  are extremely specific.

Did you know:

• Beverage temperature is between 150^oF and 170^oF not including Americanos. (Unless you order it extra hot.)
• An espresso shot should be 15–19 seconds for Verismo and 18–23 seconds for La San Marco.
• Blended beverages should be poured into the cup within 10 seconds of blending.

All of this is designed to fulfill The Starbucks Promise: “Your drink should be perfect, every time. If not, let us know and we’ll make it right.”

In order for Starbucks to fulfill their mission and deliver on their brand promise, they had to develop strict corporate standards.

There is only One Way to make a double-tall skim latte—my go-to drink.

Does your company have specific process standards for every product?

a·lign·ment

One word.  Three syllables.  Thousands of applications.

But, what does alignment actually mean? 

The etymology origin of “align” is French.  Webster’s says the first known use of the word was in 1693.  Some of the common uses include: 

• to arrange things or people in a straight line.
• to bring things or people into alignment.
• to bring people into agreement with a particular group, party, cause, etc.
• to bring things into a proper coordination (such as the wheels of a car).

Align is a verb.  Aligned is a past participle.  Aligning is a gerund.  Alignment is a noun.

Okay, enough of that. 

What does it mean for your company?

If your company is a global conglomerate, alignment means one thing. If your company is a dance company, alignment means a totally different thing.

In addition, our review of the research articles about alignment confirmed that even the scholars don’t have a common definition of alignment.

There are multiple reasons for this.

First, every company is radically different.  Synagogues are radically different from symphonies.  The United Auto Workers is radically different from the United Nations.  3M and IBM have one letter in common … and that’s about it.

Second, companies are in different life stages.  (See the chapter entitled One Life Stage.)  Startups are worried about survival, and spinouts are worried about cutting the corporate umbilical cord.

Third, companies have different operating models and management philosophies. (See the chapter entitled One Model.) Some companies run like denominations, and some churches run like corporations. 

Thus, every company is different, and you must define alignment in your unique One-of-a-Kind Way. 

After all, how can everyone Drive in One Direction if you don’t show them the way?

ACTION POINT:

One Way to get started is to take the One Definition challenge.

Ask a group of people to write a basic definition of the word “alignment.” Share the results around the table. Then, ask them to modify that definition as follows, “What does alignment mean for our company?”

Note:  This is an excerpt from my latest book, Drive One Direction: How to Unleash the Accelerating Power of Alignment. In the One Portfolio chapter, we highlight companies who unleashed the accelerating power of alignment with an intense focus on their product portfolio.

LEGO^® (www.lego.com) was founded in 1932 by Ole Kirk Kristiansen. The privately held, family-owned company with headquarters in Billund, Denmark, has over 19,000 employees and operates 132 LEGO brand stores.

My mom recently spent time cleaning and sorting the LEGO bricks my brothers and I played with as kids so she could donate them to a local church. These bricks are almost 60 years old and they are still viable. In fact, all LEGO bricks produced since 1958 are fully compatible with the bricks produced today.

Every year, LEGO sells over 75 billion bricks and other components that they call “elements.” There are more than 3,700 different types of pieces, including bricks, wheels, motors, swords, figures, and more.

These are manufactured with incredible precision—the molds used to produce LEGO elements are accurate to within 0.004 mm—less than the width of a single hair. This accuracy ensures that the bricks will have what LEGO calls “clutch power.”

Since LEGO’s mission is to “inspire and develop the builders of tomorrow,” they often take on special projects to demonstrate the amazing things that can be built with LEGOs.

In 2018, they built a full-scale copy of the $3M Bugatti Chiron sports car out of LEGO bricks! It took over 13,000 man-hours to build and used over 1 million LEGO elements. It has 2,304 LEGO motors and a top speed of 12 MPH (versus 261 MPH for the real one!) The Bugatti factory test driver and multiple Le Mans champion Andy Wallace had the honor of the first drive.

The LEGO Chiron is truly amazing. But let’s just say you only have six two-by-four bricks. There are 915,103,765 ways to combine them! I spent hours as a kid building things, breaking them down, and then using my imagination to build something else.

LEGO is an amazing example of how a standardized product architecture can create alignment. There are a number of key insights that companies should consider applying.

First is backward compatibility. LEGO bricks that were built sixty years ago still interoperate with the current ones.

The second key insight is the power of modularity. People can mix and match LEGO elements to build virtually anything. Many companies struggle to create cross-divisional product portfolios. Creating a common architecture can ensure that products from division 1 interoperate with products from division 2.

It worked for LEGO. The company is worth over $7 billion, making it the world’s most valuable toy brand by far, according to consultancy Brand Finance.

Does your company have One unifying product architecture that keeps everything aligned?

CSX Corporation (NASDAQ GS: CSX), is one of the nation's leading transportation suppliers. The CSX transportation network encompasses 20,000 route miles of track in the US and Canada. They operate over 1,800 trains per day, transport more than 3.5 million carloads of material per year. Their fleet includes over 3,500 locomotives and 51,000 freight cars.

In addition, CSX employs over 23,000 people and 85% of them are represented by fourteen different unions.

Joe Hinrichs was appointed as President and CEO of CSX in September 2022. Prior to joining CSX, Hinrichs had a distinguished 30-year career in the automotive industry, notably serving as President of Ford Motor Company's global automotive business. 

During Hinrichs’ tenure at Ford, they hired Alan Mulally, an industry outsider, as CEO. Mulally implemented the famous "ONE FORD” initiative, which transformed the company.

In a striking parallel, Hinrichs was the first industry outsider brought in to run CSX. As one of his first actions, Hinrichs launched the “ONE CSX” initiative to unify and transform the company.

ONE CSX is creating a cohesive organizational culture that values every employee's contribution. By promoting teamwork, CSX is breaking down internal silos and encouraging employees to work together towards common goals.

In addition, the ONE CSX initiative is strengthening relationships with both employees and customers. As a result, CSX is improving service delivery and operational performance.

The ONE CSX initiative has also transformed the dynamic between labor and management. For example, the company recently unveiled a specially painted ONE CSX locomotive featuring the logos of the fourteen labor unions, symbolizing the company's appreciation for its workforce and commitment to unity.

“ONE CSX is all about improving the employee experience and bringing everyone together to be one team,” explained Hinrichs. “This will allow us to serve customers better and create value for all of our stakeholders.”

The ONE CSX initiative is producing results. In 2025, the company was named one of Fortune magazine’s 2025 World’s Most Admired Companies, one of America's Most Responsible Companies by Newsweek magazine, and Hinrichs was named the 2025 Railroader of the Year by Railway Age.

a·lign·ment

One word.  Three syllables.  Thousands of applications.

But, what does alignment actually mean? 

The etymology origin of “align” is French.  Webster’s says the first known use of the word was in 1693.  Some of the common uses include: 

• to arrange things or people in a straight line.
• to bring things or people into alignment.
• to bring people into agreement with a particular group, party, cause, etc.
• to bring things into a proper coordination (such as the wheels of a car).

Align is a verb.  Aligned is a past participle.  Aligning is a gerund.  Alignment is a noun.

Okay, enough of that. 

What does it mean for your company?

If your company is a global conglomerate, alignment means one thing. If your company is a dance company, alignment means a totally different thing.

In addition, our review of the research articles about alignment confirmed that even the scholars don’t have a common definition of alignment.

There are multiple reasons for this.

First, every company is radically different.  Synagogues are radically different from symphonies.  The United Auto Workers is radically different from the United Nations.  3M and IBM have one letter in common … and that’s about it.

Second, companies are in different life stages.  (See the chapter entitled One Life Stage.)  Startups are worried about survival, and spinouts are worried about cutting the corporate umbilical cord.

Third, companies have different operating models and management philosophies. (See the chapter entitled One Model.) Some companies run like denominations, and some churches run like corporations. 

Thus, every company is different, and you must define alignment in your unique One-of-a-Kind Way. 

After all, how can everyone Drive in One Direction if you don’t show them the way?

ACTION POINT:

One Way to get started is to take the One Definition challenge.

Ask a group of people to write a basic definition of the word “alignment.” Share the results around the table. Then, ask them to modify that definition as follows, “What does alignment mean for our company?”

In theory, every executive team is a team.

But in reality, most executive teams struggle with the discipline of teamwork.

There are many reasons for this. Executive teams have unique dynamics that make them unlike any other team in the organization. (More on this in the weeks to come.) Most function like a golf team, where everyone is playing their own individual game.

In contrast, high-performance executive teams operate more like a basketball team. They have a high degree of interdependency. They model unselfishness and demonstrate a “we before me” attitude.

You don’t develop this kind of teamwork by sitting in a conference room presenting PowerPoint slides to each other. You must spend time as a team working together to solve your company’s most pressing problems. You must also take time celebrate your company’s biggest victories.

A few Check Points for your consideration:

• Does your executive team have a strong foundation of trust?
• How much of executive compensation is based on overall corporate performance?
• Are you tolerating any executive behaviors that undermine teamwork?
  
  

develops high-performance executive teams - because you can't win without one.

Note:  This is an excerpt from Dave Ramos' latest book, Drive One Direction.

Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.B) is a multinational conglomerate holding company that owns 63 companies, from Acme Brick to the XTRA Corporation. The diversity of industries where they compete includes candy confectionery, retail, railroad, home furnishings, airlines, publishing, manufacturing, real estate, utilities, and more.

This eclectic mix of businesses is held together by One amazing Team.

Warren Buffett met Charlie Munger in 1959.

They have been business partners for six decades and have created billions in corporate and personal wealth.

"We've had so much fun in our partnership over the years," Buffett told CNBC in a joint interview with Munger, who called the partnership "almost hilarious, it's been so much fun."

Munger added they "don't agree totally on everything, and yet we're quite respectful of one another."

Buffett quipped that when they do disagree, Charlie says, “Well, you'll end up agreeing with me because you're smart and I'm right.”

(I tried using this line with my wife, but it did not go over very well!)

Jim Collins made “getting the right people on the bus” part of the business lexicon. But the real issue is aligning all the bus drivers to work as One Team … driving in One Direction. Fragmentation and infighting among the leadership team is one of the most caustic problems an organization can face. Yet, it is far too common.

Teamwork, alignment, and trust start at the top. The organization is never more aligned than the executive team.

But addressing executive team alignment issues will take courage. Skeletons will have to come out of the closet. Dysfunctional interpersonal relationships will need an intervention. People will have to address the conflicts they have been avoiding.

Someone will have to tell the emperor that he—or she—has no clothes.

Unfortunately, most executive teams never really deal with their misalignment issues.

Why? Because executives are afraid to speak their minds. Their need for self-preservation kicks in.

We see this all the time. We can tell that executives are holding something back. We can see their discomfort with the discussion or the decision that is about to be made. Yet, they are afraid to speak up.

Google just did a fascinating study about teams. They concluded that “psychological safety” was a key component of high-performance teams. It is this psychological safety that creates the environment for executive teams to have vigorous and candid debates about the company.

Psychological safety is the prerequisite to candor. And candor is the key to productive debates.

Creating psychological safety starts at the top. CEOs must create an environment where candor is valued, and opinions can be expressed without retribution.

How does your company’s executive team resolve conflict?

The Carlyle Group (NASDAQ: CG) is a global alternative asset manager with over 1,600 professionals operating in 31 offices around the world. They manage over $200B on behalf of over 1,925 investors from 90 countries.

Carlyle unleashed the accelerating power of alignment with their One Carlyle Culture.

At The Carlyle Group, alignment was built into the company by their three founders from Day One.

In fact, the One Carlyle Culture is a key component of how they deliver value to their customers. Glenn Youngkin, Carlyle’s Co-CEO explains it this way, “Our professionals work together across product lines, sectors, and time zones to harness the knowledge, resources, and wisdom in our global operation to help create value for our investors.”

“Carlyle has a culture of cooperation that is genetically embedded in the organization. If you look at our investment teams, we almost always have co-heads, not single heads. It is not a weird thing at Carlyle—in fact, it’s the opposite,” explained Kewsong Lee, Carlyle’s other Co-CEO.

Obviously, this idea also was used when Carlyle appointed Glenn Youngkin and Kewsong Lee as the firm’s Co-CEOs.

The private equity model has many virtues, but one foundational aspect is the alignment of interests.

Since the firm’s inception, Carlyle professionals, Operating Executives, Senior Advisors, and other professionals have committed more than $11 billion of their own money alongside their fund investors. When an investment succeeds, everyone benefits. When an investment fails, everyone loses.

“We constantly work to break down the natural silos that might exist across funds, across countries, and across sectors. In the end, we are only as good as our people,” explained Pete Clare, Carlyle’s Co-Chief Investment Officer. “And we are better when we work together in the spirit of One Carlyle.”

They also use recognition to reinforce their culture. Each year, the firm presents one employee in the world with the One Carlyle award, the highest honor that can be bestowed on an employee.

The Carlyle Group designed a culture of teamwork to deliver extraordinary value for its investors. Clearly, it has worked. The three founders are all billionaires.

Does your company have a One-Company culture?