Few companies live to the ripe old age of 100, and fewer still are more vibrant at 102 than at any other time in their history. United Parcel Service (UPS) was founded by a couple of teenagers as the American Messenger Company in 1907.  This week, two events helped me understand why the company is going strong in 2009.

First, I saw an article in the Santa Barbara News Press about UPS using bicycles to increase the agility of the delivery team while also reducing fuel waste. Over its long history, the company has experimented constantly to improve efficiency, investing in compressed natural gas vehicles and sophisticated routing software that reduces the time vehicles spend idling in left turn lanes. For a company like UPS, environmental and economic forces are well aligned with the times - fuel efficiency is good citizenship and good business.

Yet, the other event of this week was even more impressive than the company's fuel-efficiency initiatives. I encountered driver Daryl Hansen. Daryl is one of the most positive, can-do people I've ever met. He is always smiling, and takes great pride in his job. He says that he works hard to create a happy atmosphere on his route, and that other drivers love to cover for him because customers are so happy to see the UPS truck arrive. He says he always gives a smile because it increases the odds that he'll get one back - he creates his own work atmosphere.

I have no doubt that Daryl would bring the same enthusiasm to any workplace - as a cancer survivor he knows a thing or two about priorities in life. But UPS deserves some credit for maintaining a culture in which people like Daryl can thrive.

The September 2006 issue of Outlook Journal identified some of the key cultural values that help UPS "build on past successes and adapt to future challenges."

One of the values driving UPS is the company's devotion to long-term relationships. They so aggressively promote from within that one HR vice president tells his college recruiters, "You're hiring a CEO today. We don't know who it is, but somewhere, we're hiring one. So make sure you treat that person properly." The company's attitude that "we hire people for careers" finds expression in the fact that 68 percent of full-time managers were promoted from non-management jobs, while 78 percent of the company's vice presidents began their careers in non-management roles.

Another value close to my heart is the idea that "We are all owners." According to the Outlook Journal article, "Today, more than 53 percent of full-time employees own stock, and together, the company's employees, retired employees and families of the founders own more than 40 percent of outstanding shares."

Pride of ownership drives exceptional customer service, as we see when Daryl Hansen visits the Orfalea Foundations. He is very proud of his company, and his coworkers have every reason to be proud of him.