Code of Conduct for new joint venture

That was a lovely message I received from a contact on a project when I wrote a brand-new code of conduct for their brand-new business.

The company was a new joint venture, created from a $4 bn merger, and they were struggling to overcome cultural differences in their communications.

The Legal team (German) and Marketing team (Dutch) were struggling to find common ground and make precise German legal language fit with the more relaxed Dutch style of communication. They wanted an inspirational guide to working at their company, grounded in their values – but they'd become bogged down in technicalities and polite Teams calls.

So, they asked me to make some diplomatic edits. As a third party, both sides could blame me if they didn't like the result without offending any new colleagues!

I knew I needed to deliver what the two sides had in common: their original vision. So I completely rewrote the entire Code – line by line, to preserve the precise legal meaning, but with each section restructured and rewritten from the basis of the company's values.

The tone changed completely, going from a set of rules and commandments to a unifying basis for a new, exciting shared culture. My approach was to imagine the words being spoken to someone on their first day of work. Would they feel inspired? Would they understand the values this company was built on?

To my relief, both sides loved it. In fact, the quote above is from a German lawyer, which is one reason I'm so proud of it!