Our operating principles: What are they and how do they work?

As a mission-driven business, having a set of clearly defined operating principles is crucial to Eucalyptus’ success. Our operating principles create a shared expectation between team members and patients for the calibre of our work and the impact we aspire to make. 

Since we launched over five years ago, when it was just a few of us kicking around in a tiny office, we’ve taken a patient-first approach to telehealth, working to change the digital healthcare industry for the better. 

But as we stand today, with over 400 talented team members, it’s important we take the time to explain our operating principles, why we created them and how we live them day-to-day.

Our operating principles codify existing ways of working as well as model the behaviours we aspire to demonstrate. Part of distilling our operating principles is to guide the organisation towards them, so we can continue to make improvements over time. 

What are our operating principles?

Not to be conflated with our mission statement or values — both integral to the tapestry of Eucalyptus — our operating principles are designed to provide a deep, detailed and honest understanding of how we work together.

• Our values represent who we are (and who we’re aspiring to be)
• Our mission represents what we’re trying to do 
• Our operating principles represent how we work together

We feel our patients’ pain - and fix it

We make decisions that achieve the best health outcomes for patients. We treat their health data with the highest sensitivity. We give our patients the information and tools to make healthcare accessible.

We respect the data

We seek out the right expertise and data to inform and back our decisions. If the data doesn’t exist, we figure out what we need to do to gather just enough to make a directionally correct decision. We work methodically to consider trade-offs when making decisions.

We challenge tradition

We borrow the best from traditional healthcare and we challenge the rest. We seek out new perspectives. Our creative solutions eliminate obstacles. We constantly raise the bar on what we can deliver, and expect excellence from ourselves and each other. We are ambitious and supportive.

We create impact

We prioritise ruthlessly so that we can focus on important problems that have big impact. We ship instead of strategise. We test and learn in the real world. We measure impact and celebrate it.

We act with urgency

We have a bias towards action and seek efficiencies constantly. We make decisions once we’ve reached a point of conviction. We protect others’ time like it’s our own.

We get to simple

We communicate clearly and directly to our team and patients. We say the unsaid thing. We seek to understand the fundamental problem we’re trying to solve and implement the simplest and most effective solution.

We are owners

We take responsibility for the full scope of our roles. And we actively work outside our scope for the long-term benefit of Euc. We put patients’ and Euc’s interests ahead of our own career aspirations. We lead by example, bringing passion and dedication to our patients into all that we do.

We check our ego at the door

We embrace humility so that we listen more and learn faster. We assume positive intent in our teammates and accept constructive feedback with gratitude. We seize opportunities to praise our peers for their success, and we own our part in collective setbacks.

We grow from discomfort.

We identify, understand, and tackle opportunities that might feel uncomfortable. We stride into discomfort so that we can build new capabilities within ourselves, and support our team through any setbacks as they lean in and do the same.

Why are operating principles important to us?

Euc’s secret sauce is a slightly complicated recipe — every day it’s a different combination of the people, the mission, the patients, the place and the problems we’re solving. That’s why explaining ourselves to people outside of Euc can be tricky. 

This is why distilling our operating principles is so crucial.

Clarity and cohesion 

Operating principles should crystallise answers to those common yet often ambiguous questions like, “What’s it like to work at Euc?” and “How can I be sure this is the place for me?”

Also, we have a very diverse team, spanning multiple disciplines from video production to supply chain, engineering, clinical services and legal. Establishing consistent ways of working helps diverse team members collaborate efficiently. 

Culture
We had already developed a strong set of values that we felt resonated with our organisation as a whole. And while values tell us the type of people we want to be and attract, we felt they fell short when telling us how we should interact and treat each other. We saw value in getting granular about the most desirable behaviours and ways of doing things we’ve seen at Euc and elsewhere.

In order to attract and retain the best talent, we need to provide a roadmap for how we expect Eucalypts to navigate their work and succeed. Our operating principles should set the tone for both established and incoming Eucalypts, helping them understand what it means to be part of our team. This also includes what it doesn’t mean. Our ways of working aren’t for everyone but for a special few, we’re a perfect fit. Operating principles and other cultural artefacts should help to communicate this idea externally. After all, it’s better for someone to clearly understand whether our ways of working resonate with them sooner rather than later. 

Trust

Importantly, operating principles allow us to build trust — with each other and with patients. For example, one of our defining values (more on this later) is to build in the open, together. Without an explanation of how this value of transparency and accountability plays out day-to-day, our professional ethos remains difficult to digest. 

How do they complement our employee values?

Eucalyptus also has a set of beliefs that reflect what we stand for as a business. 

So, what’s the difference between the two? 

Who we are vs how we do things 

Together, our values and operating principles establish the philosophy of how we work at Eucalyptus. While hugely important to our operation, our values underscore who we are, not how we act. Our operating principles define the uniquely Euc way of doing things, essentially translating our values into actions. 

How do these operating principles impact our day-to-day work?

Having clearly defined principles is one thing, but living them out is another.

Let’s look at two principles as an example: 

• We are owners

This has both a literal and figurative meaning. All team members are offered equity and the opportunity to work on projects producing real-world results. Whether you’re a founder or our newest team member, everyone has a stake in the business and the ability to make a genuine impact. We are all encouraged to take accountability and make decisions that point towards our north star — putting patients first.

• We grow from discomfort

Growth is in our DNA. We pride ourselves on our agility and know that some of our best work has been born through iteration and experimentation. We also know that working with a test-and-learn approach in an emerging industry like digital health can produce a fair amount of discomfort. We actively lean into this uncertainty in order to build and exercise new skills. 

We’re extremely proud of our operating principles and the work they drive. Having strongly held principles like the ones outlined above has helped Eucalyptus succeed in the emerging and rapidly evolving industry of digital health. As Eucalyptus continues to grow and evolve, it’s important that these principles and ways of working are upheld, allowing us to keep thriving.