Five Mission Statements that may surprise you.

Are companies losing their way? In recent days I have been researching (fishing around with Google) various companies during my mission to re-enter the workplace as a fulltime employee. One company popped up on LinkedIn that glared at me: CrowdStrike. Is this the company that does crowdsourcing? Who are they? Then I saw this in all CAPS:

It was in red, so I knew they meant business and are not confused about who they are and what they’re about. I then researched a few other mission statements.  #1: Disney; they really intrigued me. In 2003, a blog for passionate Disney fans debated the exact content of the Disney mission statement. One person named “JeffG” claimed that the official company mission statement is “To make people happy.” Although he could not find it on the company website, he found a third-party link to a site, so he said that proved it was authentic. Thank goodness someone found it, otherwise it may have been lost forever. When I worked at Disney around the turn of the century, it was certainly not the happiest place on earth. Quite the contrary. I walked into a large office tower in Burbank as dozens of world-class illustrators were packing their bags to exit. Their last day of work coincided with my first day of work. Portfolio in hand, I blended right in but was swimming upstream.

In 2011 things came much more into focus with a new mission statement: The mission of The Walt Disney Company is to be one of the world's leading producers and providers of entertainment and information. Using our portfolio of brands to differentiate our content, services and consumer products, we seek* to develop the most creative, innovative and profitable entertainment experiences and related products in the world.  I guess this is what a large committee concocted after buying a sports team, a sports cable company, and still mending wounds after an ugly divorce from Miramax, a studio renowned for “R” rated films like Exotica that perhaps did not sit cozily alongside Mary Poppins or Snow White.  *Note, they seek to do things, but won’t go out on a limb and just say that they do these things.

In 2019, it appears Disney’s mission statement hit full stride, honed to precision: Disney’s mission statement is to entertain, inform and inspire people around the globe through the power of unparalleled storytelling, reflecting the iconic brands, creative minds and innovative technologies that make ours the world’s premier entertainment company. Finally. It leaves no doubt: This is the official mission statement because the mission statement says so. An article in the Harvard Business Review 

explains how the Disney Institute articulates the differences between a purpose statement and a mission statement. I think it is a good exercise to explore but gets complicated really fast, nor does it necessarily help you reach the end of their rainbow: I don’t recall seeing any mission or purpose statement while I worked at Disney. Brand creation has become way too complicated. Purpose statements. Mission statements. Core values. Key values. Vision statements. Guided By Good values. Who We Are statements. Ethics. Leadership values. And then we have Responsible Sourcing values, Sustainability statements, Impacting our Communities and ad hoc combinations of many of the above. 

#2: Walmart has an interesting history to their mission. Sam Walton had a mission to save people money. Years later, I guess saving people money was too simple. After all, they had grown considerably. Here’s the grown-up version posted online: Walmart Inc. helps people around the world save money and live better – anytime and anywhere – in retail stores and through eCommerce.   I’ll bet this mission statement is growing larger by the day. The Walmart website is packed with various statements, values, goals, impacts, purposes, communities, and more. Each statement seems to outdo the next, and some even one-up the other by combining statements: “We combine philanthropic and business initiatives to increase their positive impact on the communities in which we live.” I am not sure who “We” pertains to.

#3 Apple (not me—I’m Hal) will surely be the end of a rainbow for mission statements. It’s the epicenter of simplicity. And such a great name. Sadly, I was unable to find the end of this rainbow; no mission statement on the company website as I looked in every nook and cranny and corner of their website. In 2018, their annual report quoted Tim Cook as stating that …the Apple mission is to bring the best user experience to its customers through its innovative hardware, software, and services.”  If you didn’t read their 2018 annual report closely, you’d miss it. Steve Jobs kept things so much simpler. Less is more. I wrote Apple asking for their current mission statement and have yet to receive a response. So, we’re left to wander off and look to blogs or see what others suggest the Apple mission could be. In 2019 Barbara Farfan wrote in Frugal Living 

that Apple does not have an official mission statement on its website, and she goes on to suggest the last sentence on recent company press releases could serve as a mission statement: Apple revolutionized personal technology with the introduction of the Macintosh in 1984. Today, Apple leads the world in innovation with iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch and Apple TV. Apple’s four software platforms—iOS, macOS, watchOS and tvOS—provide seamless experiences across all Apple devices and empower people with breakthrough services including the App Store, Apple Music, Apple Pay and iCloud. Apple’s more than 100,000 employees are dedicated to making the best products on earth, and to leaving the world better than we found it. Good to know.

I’ve personally witnessed companies craft a mission statement, but none that could match the one above. Often, a CEO or head of corporate communications drafts something and it gets kicked around in emails, hallway discussions and group meetings to gain consensus. A mission statement is then birthed from investor relations concerns, branding gurus, attorneys, recruiting objectives, sales and customer service, and others. 

#4 The Container Store has a mission that many businesses claim and proclaim, yet only the Container Store delivers on this mission. It’s why many of us spend an hour or more in their store. Two hours at Christmas. It’s the only store where I go to shop. Every place else I go to buy something; get in and get out and try not to get lost while buying. Go shop at The Container Store. They help people organize and simplify their lives, according to their former CEO. I claim they can organize your life. It’s simpler. I hope they formalize this mission. It is part of everyday conversations in their home office and in their stores. 

#5 Herbalife Nutrition is on a mission. While working here, my CEO led with remarkable focus and clear expectations. In large meetings he often said, “We are on a mission for nutrition.” My colleagues knew it. Our customers knew it. Meanwhile, the company’s mission, vision, and values were tweaked and re-tweaked over the years. Wallet cards printed and reprinted and printed again with each tweak and nuanced alteration. Michael Johnson's words always stuck in my mind because I did not need to pull out a two-sided wallet card or name badge card written in both English and Spanish to remember what our mission statement was. Perhaps your mission statement can also be something to remember.

Hal Apple is based in Southern California. He's helped many successful businesses grow from start-ups to superstars with mission-critical branding programs.