What is Action policy?

What an “Action Policy” Is (and Why Companies Use It)

An Action Policy is described as a shared, commonly accepted standard of behavior for people working together in a company (the “seats,” i.e., teams/workplaces).

It clarifies:

• What actions are recommended/allowed
• What actions are prohibited/not accepted
• How work should be done so everyone has the same expectations

Business Value (Organizational Outcomes)

The video claims Action Policies help teams:

• Clarify common understanding of actions
• Improve productivity of service members
• Maximize performance by aligning daily activities to the policy
• Reduce internal miscommunication and wasted discussion
• Increase quality and customer satisfaction
• Support continuous improvement (“change for the better”)

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Action Policy “Playbook” Items (12 Listed)

The video enumerates 12 action policies. The subtitles are paraphrased and sometimes unclear, but the key items are:

1. Purpose (“Sink of purpose”): clarify the purpose behind actions
2. Cause and effect: understand consequences of actions
3. Collect & connect information: gather info and link it to decisions
4. Changes for the better: improve continuously (not just keep the status quo)
5. Maximize performance / minimize cost: optimize outcomes while controlling cost
6. Understand–act–agree: align understanding, then execute, then confirm agreement
7. Question, advise, information: actively ask, provide advice, and share relevant information
8. Imagination before action: think through before executing
9. Telling/writing/repeating/chatting: communicate clearly through multiple channels/checks
10. “Today’s 20% is better than tomorrow’s 80%”: handle issues early to avoid bigger rework
11. “Just google it”: look up information quickly when needed
12. Information first: prioritize facts before decisions/actions

Important Emphasis

The speaker stresses that it’s not enough to memorize the phrases—members must understand the meaning and apply them in daily work.

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Why Action Policies Were Introduced (Example Story)

Before Action Policy (Problem)

• People worked together but had different interpretations of “what good performance looks like.”
• When changes were requested, some people resisted (preferring “better stay the same”).
• This led to:
  • Arguing and disagreement
  • Rework
  • Mismatch between expectation vs. submitted output

The story includes a situation like:

• Person A thinks something should be improved “perfectly”
• Person B (and/or C) follows differently
• After submission (e.g., “after three days”), the output differs from expectations
• The team ends up in lengthy internal discussions (“waste of time”)

After Action Policy (How It Changes Behavior)

With the policy in place:

• Team members can reference the policy quickly (“just one word” / a brief reminder)
• If something doesn’t follow the policy, the response becomes:
  • “You should understand the action policy first.”
• For quality and continuous improvement:
  • Even if a customer is initially fine with the status quo, the team should improve for the better, not settle

The video uses an “Apple” reference (likely as a corporate example) to illustrate the shift toward clearer expectations and execution.

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Action Policy Execution Method (Communication / Control Mechanism)

The video provides a concrete operational approach to ensure instructions are actually carried out:

When assigning or ordering tasks, you must:

1. Tell (verbal instruction)
2. Write (make it explicit)
3. Repeat (confirm understanding)
4. Check (verify the result)

It also frames responsibility:

• The person who issues the order shares responsibility for ensuring correct understanding and execution—not just the performer.

Expected Outcome

This approach helps secure:

• Output quality
• Accountability
• Smooth internal communication
• Consistent team performance, because everyone uses the same standards

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Concrete Recommendation / Actionable Guidance From the Video

• Embed the 12 policies into daily work (don’t just learn them)
• Use policy references to reduce conflict and rework
• Apply early action thinking:
  • Fix issues today (20%) rather than allowing them to grow (80% later)
• Use a communication + verification loop:
  • Tell → Write → Repeat → Check
• If someone challenges or misunderstands instructions:
  • Redirect to “understand the Action Policy first”

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Key Metrics / KPIs Mentioned

• 20% today vs 80% tomorrow
  • Used as a process-quality / rework reduction principle (early resolution saves large future effort)

No explicit company financial metrics (e.g., revenue, CAC, LTV, churn) are provided.

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Presenters / Sources

• Presenter: Not explicitly named in the subtitles (speaker identity not provided).
• Company/source references: Apple is mentioned as an example, but no direct source or named case study is provided beyond that mention.