The Little Blue Book or, Living by the Guiding Principles of the Little Blue Book
Our founder and former CH2M HILL President Jim Howland wrote and published the Little Yellow Book in 1978 as a way to share management tips and quotations that capture the values upon which our founders built our firm. This pocket-sized booklet has become our cultural anchor and has been given to thousands of employees over the years.
Since joining the firm in 1981, the Little Yellow Book has been a valuable guide for me and one that I look to for advice often. It is also what has influenced our 2014 5 Guiding Principles, which include:
- Operate with trust and respect
- Pick up the pace of play
- Make crisp decisions
- Increase and improve communication at all levels
- Re-create excitement and enthusiasm
I thought it would be helpful to put the Guiding Principles in a format that’s easy to share and that feels familiar to us, so I had the “Little Blue Book” created, which incorporates both our Guiding Principles and passes along what our Global Operations Director Blake Jeffcoat has written about each principle in his bimonthly emails to staff. I shared a copy with the Water Market’s Executive Leadership team during our management meeting earlier this year as a reminder of how our team committed to operate and live by.
I encourage each of you to think about your own take on the 5 Guiding Principles and share your best practices with our team.
Sincerely,
Greg McIntyre
President, Global Water Market