A lot of major companies have mission/vision/purpose/positioning/values/brand statements.
Do you think there’s any merit in having these statements?
I design tender templates for major organisations here.
A lot of what is on there (especially Nike with their global figures) are what go into these tender document submissions.
Taking boring figures and turning them into infographics.
Each tender is tailored depending on the request of the tender.
But a lot of that info needs to be included - otherwise the tender won’t even be accepted.
And it could literally come down to between 2 tenders that are remaining to be decided who wins the contract.
It comes down to the font should be 9pt in size throughout and someone has put 8.5pt in a table of insignificant data to make it fit.
It can be that close in deciding who wins the tender.
It’s definitely something within tenders that I deal with often and usually a nicely portrayed outlay of figures and data is better than just pages and pages of boring text.
There’s an art to winning tenders.
I presume these multi-nationals have these as web pages as they constantly battle tenders or other similar projects.
There’s probably a logic to having it upfront on their website.
A lot of data in there for capturing web results too.
But I’d imagine these companies are constantly in the market with tenders and fulfilling sponsorships and things like this.
It’s also just plain virtue signalling.
WTF is a ‘sourcing backyard’?
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I think they are important to the organization.
As a designer, I will invest the time to read them if a client publishes or has this sort of statement available.
As a consumer, no, I’m not going to read Ikea’s mission statement. But, without consciously knowing, I do care about how Imea’s mission statement is executed. When I sit down to enjoy by Swedish meatball plate at the Ikea cafe, I don’t think, “Man, these meatballs are really on point with Ikea’s mission statement.” But having a hot, tasty, reasonably priced meal adds to the experience and makes me think about Ikea more favorably.
In companies I’ve dealt with that have had them, they’ve typically been the pet projects of the CEOs who want to encapsulate their dream of what the company could be into a short, snappy statement. I suppose they have their reasons, but I have my doubts about their value.
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Might depend on how you define “value.”
Most of these mission statements always seem to align with the trendy ‘values’ of the day. They change willy nilly with the direction of the wind and can work to the woke or can bite a company in the arse. I find them shallow and not too thought provoking, nor do they influence me in my own estimate of a brand’s worthiness.
They are simply yet another requirement for business these days. Because, just like not having a facebook page, if you don’t have a company mission statement people think, “What is wrong with you? Get with it.”
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Mission Statements are vanity, pandering to management needs - that of doing something meaningful and having a plan to follow.
If any of these companies wanted to be truthful, the mission statement would be ‘Make Money and as much of it as possible at whatever cost.’
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I think these types of idealistic statements are intended for internal purposes to ensure everyone operating in the busines is aligned with a clear vision or mission or purpose of where the business is going.
That said, I don’t think they get implemented very well - for example, if you asked somone working at Harley Davidson what the mission is, they likely wouldn’t have a clue what you’re talking about let alone spouting off:
More than building machines, we stand for the timeless pursuit of adventure. Freedom for the soul.
It’s more directed on three prong approach I think, at the customers, at the employees and finally the investors.
Keeps everyone on the same page and moves everyone forward.
It’s incredible how often these types of things are required in submitting tenders.
Things like anti-slavery statements, and other mad stuff I’ve seen throughout submissions over the years.
If it’s all in the one place for employees, customers and investors it makes it easier to communicate that across the board no matter what work is being carried out within the company.
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