Page 419 - leadership-experience-2008

CikguOnline
CikguOnline
400 PART 5: THE LEADER AS SOCIAL ARCHITECT

Exhibit 13.4 The Power of a Strong Mission

Percentage of employees who:
60%
are engaged with work
0%
47%
say they are paid appropriately
10%
82%
plan to be with the company
one year from now 27%
63%
would recommend their company
as a place to work 6%
66%
would recommend the company’s
products and services 20%
0% 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100%

Agree that the company mission makes their job important
Disagree that the company mission makes their job important

Source: Susan Ellingwood, “On a Mission,” Gallup Management Journal (Winter 2001), pp. 6–7.

example, to voluntarily remove Tylenol from the market after the cyanide poi-
soning of some Tylenol capsule users, even though this act cost the company
more than $100 million.
The mission also includes the company’s core purpose. The core
values and core purpose are frequently expressed in a mission state-
Action Memo
ment. Exhibit 13.5 shows the vision, mission, and core values of
DuPont Canada. Consider how DuPont’s specific vision grows out

As a leader, you can keep in mind what
of the company’s mission and works with it.
the organization stands for in a broader
sense—its core purpose and values—and
create the vision around that central mission.
A Framework for Noble Purpose
An effective mission statement doesn’t just describe products or ser-
vices; it captures people’s idealistic motivations for why the organi-
zation exists. Most successful companies have missions that proclaim a noble
purpose of some type, such as Motorola’s “applying technology to benefi t the
public,” Mary Kay’s “to enrich the lives of women,” or Wal-Mart Stores’ “to give
ordinary folk the chance to buy the same things as rich people.” 41
Leaders are responsible for framing a noble purpose that inspires and leads
followers to high performance and helps the organization maintain a competi-
tive advantage. People like to have a sense that what they are doing matters
and makes a positive difference in the world. Consider the purpose that inspires
employees at Genentech, which topped Fortune magazine’s list of the 100 Best
Companies to Work For in 2006.

IN THE LEAD Genentech
Genentech was the world’s fi rst biotechnology company, and after 29 years it is
the brightest star in the burgeoning industry. The company’s core purpose, which
imbues employees with idealism, has a lot to do with its success. Genentech’s
motto, In Business For Life, captures its mission to use human genetic information
to develop medicines for serious and life-threatening diseases.