Every society relies on a set of basic principles to define what is right and wrong, guiding the values and behaviour of its individuals. At Novo Nordisk too, we have a 'constitution' guiding our conduct. The 'Novo Nordisk Way of Management' draws inspiration from our long-term mission and the values and principles that explain 'how we do things around here'.

The Novo Nordisk Way of Management consists of four components:

To support Novo Nordisk managers and employees in living up to these, a team of 'facilitators' has been formed. Furthermore, a set of tools relating to some of the most critical processes, such as performance appraisal, are available.

As a whole, the Novo Nordisk Way of Management is meant to 'define the playing field' and provide inspiration for managers and employees around the world. Within the cornerflags of this playing field, we leave it to Novo Nordisk's employees to create the optimal conditions for personal development and business growth.

A shared vision
Novo Nordisk's vision was shaped following the merger between Novo Industri and Nordisk Gentofte in 1989. Although the two companies had a lot in common, it became increasingly important to capture the basic elements of the spirit of the new company, Novo Nordisk: "What are we here to achieve?", "What is the long-term direction and objective of the company?" and "How should we behave in achieving these objectives?" Vision21, as we know it today, was introduced in 1993.

Introducing the Novo Nordisk Way of Management
In 1996, Vision21 was combined with ten 'Fundamentals' for management and 13 global policies. In fact this was done to increase the managerial freedom all over the company following a period of downsizing at the corporate level. The Novo Nordisk Way of Management shifted the focus from centralised processes, controlled by the top management, to local business processes controlled by local management.

The facilitators
In order to ensure that local business processes are led according to common values and standards, a team of facilitators has been formed. The facilitators focus on the continuous implementation of the Novo Nordisk Way of Management by systematically conducting reviews of Novo Nordisk units worldwide. Facilitators can also be called upon by local management to make a general review or focus on specific issues. In some cases, facilitators intervene when units demonstrate a lack of compliance with principles in the Novo Nordisk Way of Management. Following interviews with a majority of the employees, the facilitators and local management draw up a suitable action plan that is followed by local management under the facilitators' supervision.

Continuous learning
One of the most important objectives of our Novo Nordisk Way of Management is to encourage the sharing of better practices. We realise that continuous improvement of our performance relies on our ability to learn from each other's experience. Our team of facilitators and 'FACIT', an Intranet database for sharing better practices, are designed to support this exchange of knowledge across the company.

The transition from traditional hierarchies to empowered individuals and teams with a strong focus on processes will take time and entail a number of challenges. In the following sections we describe the concrete experiences we have had with the continuous implementation of the Novo Nordisk Way of Management.