OUR VALUES GUIDE US

Interview with Jyri Järvinen, CEO of LEDiL

Last year there was a need to look over our strategy and make decisions on where this ship is heading. At the same time we pondered over our identity and who we are. LEDiL’s staff has increased a lot during the last few years and we wanted to make sure our culture and values were clearly defined and lived by, not just at the headquarters in Salo, but by all LEDiL representatives all around the globe.

Values are not something we take lightly, so we decided to get right down into the DNA. It was important to us that every single staff member had a chance to be heard, and that every voice was given equal value and consideration. We used surveys and workshops that included all our employees to define our values, and I can honestly say the outcome has turned out to be fantastic. And since we did this together, the newly defined values now seem to be widely accepted within the company, and our staff have really taken them to their hearts.



When a decision needs to be made, the question; how do our customers benefit the most? is the first one to be asked. The answer to this question guides us and helps us see what needs to be done. “Did we put our highest level of competence into the creation of this product? What should we do to ensure our competence stays at the top, and where do we seek inspiration for thinking outside the box and seeing things from different angles? Especially when times are tough, and hard decisions need to be made, we must always be ethical and show each other respect. Everybody wins when we help each other and focus on the goal. We are in this together. Our values work as a guideline for us in our daily operative work, but also when we lay out goals and strategies for the future.

When I first came to LEDiL I immediately felt the family-like atmosphere that comes with tight team work and a long history. There is no pretence or facades, and nobody gets away with playing roles. We show our true selves, both good and bad, and allow different personalities to co-exist. This means respect, and being kind becomes even more important. I was glad to see that LEDiL is a surprisingly culturally and demographically diverse company. That is one of our biggest strengths.

Here at LEDiL we care deeply about our company and each other. Nobody washes their hands of responsibility and we don’t have strictly defined role boxes that we stay inside. Agility and stepping in where needed come naturally to us. We give instant feedback, have loud discussions and we laugh a lot too.

A company’s culture is dynamic and ever changing, impossible to steer from the top down. We all have a responsibility to treat it as a garden – water it, fertilize it, give it freedom to grow and above all, love it. By living the values, we make sure our culture garden blossoms.