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Purpose = Profits

November 29, 2011 By 1 Comment

Check out this analysis by Morgan Stanley of some of the largest public tech companies in the world: Companies with “simple, focused” missions achieve the biggest gross margins.

Fascinating, yes?  Note that QlikView and Salesforce have the biggest gross margins AND more simple, focused missions than the other companies.

A clear mission is so valuable, but so many companies struggle with finding the courage and commitment for standing for something.  Or they fall into gobbledygook corporate speak that lacks inspiration and clarity. Or the “mission statement by consensus” process is so draining that people end up with “whatever” missions rather than something simple and great.

Big hint: If  the mission process gets painful, you have the wrong people involved.

(See the story that accompanied the chart over at Harvard Business Review, “Employee Values = Stakeholder Value” by Lars Bjork, CEO of QlikTech.)

Filed Under: Activating change, Communicating, Language, Leadership, Organizational change, Smart company stories Tagged With: , , ,

Corporate values: the last place you’ll ever want to work

January 17, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Here’s a new addition to my ongoing collection of corporate vision, mission and value statements. This one is from Yellowbook.

Yellowbook Culture: Core Values

  1. Gain Usage
  2. Build Confidence in Our Brand
  3. User 1st, Advertiser 2nd, Yellowbook 3rd
  4. Think Long Term – Act with integrity
  5. Under Promise/Over Deliver
  6. If You Can Help Enough People Get What They Want…You Get What You Want
  7. People Achieving Career and Personal Goals within the Company
  8. Career Focus – The Last Place You’ll Ever Want to Work
  9. Have Fun, Keep Score, Win!

I have to say #1 and #8 gave me a chuckle.

Values say a lot about an organization. They show the clarity of the leaders’ thinking, how connected leadership  is  to its people, and what behaviors matter most in the organization. More and more job candidates are looking at an organization’s values before making job decisions — as are potential partners.

Do your values accurately reflect your organization?

Filed Under: Activating change, Communicating, Leadership Tagged With: , , ,

Mission statements that don’t suck

August 4, 2010 By 1 Comment

I love this video so much, and see this sort of corporate blah blah everywhere. Dan Heath has some valuable advice, including my favorite, “If what you’re writing has the word solutions in it, you’re probably not done yet.”

Filed Under: Communicating, Conversational Marketing, Language Tagged With: , ,

This RFP question matters

July 6, 2010 By 1 Comment

Last week I received an RFP  with a key question: what is your organization’s mission and beliefs? I love that question because it will help the evaluators get a sense of the firms  in a way that the factual questions can not.

However, many firms struggle in answering this question. Or they play it safe. Or answer in bland language.  Having reviewed hundreds of RFPs my advice is to answer this question passionately and genuinely, in language you would use in talking with someone.

This RFP question is designed to help the evaluators get to know the personality, people and passion of your firm. Don’t waffle.  Be bold, be true to who your organization is, and use language that brings you beliefs alive.

Also, make sure your Web site includes your belief ( or purpose, or mission, or point of view; they’re really the same)  And that everyone in the firm knows it and understands how it guides your work every day.

Stuck?  Get your people together and have a thoughtful conversation around this question: why does the world need our organization now more than ever?

Filed Under: Activating change, Communicating, Conversational Marketing, Language, Point of View & Messaging Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Beliefs more useful than mission statements

June 4, 2008 By 3 Comments

Naming your organizations’ beliefs can guide decisions and inspire talent much more effectively than the traditional mission statement, which is usually pretty flat, descriptive and, well, boring.

Here are some examples of organizations’ beliefs.

Google

 

1. Focus on the user and all else will follow.
2. It’s best to do one thing really, really well.
3. Fast is better than slow.
4. Democracy on the web works.
5. You don’t need to be at your desk to need an answer.
6. You can make money without doing evil.
7. There’s always more information out there.
8. The need for information crosses all borders.
9. You can be serious without a suit.
10. Great just isn’t good enough.

Zappos

  1. Deliver WOW Through Service
  2. Embrace and Drive Change
  3. Create Fun and A Little Weirdness
  4. Be Adventurous, Creative, and Open-Minded
  5. Pursue Growth and Learning
  6. Build Open and Honest Relationships With Communication
  7. Build a Positive Team and Family Spirit
  8. Do More With Less
  9. Be Passionate and Determined
  10. Be Humble

And my firm, Beeline Labs:

  1. Deliver the wow and the whoa
  2. Activate change
  3. Go fast
  4. Try new things; OK to fail
  5. See new possibilities early
  6. Don’t compromise; the work needs to be meaningful
  7. It’s all about delivering business value
  8. Bee vs. me
  9. Integrity rules

What are your organization’s beliefs? Please share!

 

Filed Under: Activating change, Communicating, Leadership, Point of View & Messaging Tagged With: , , , ,