5 ms·

My assumption with mission statements was that they were always bullshit made up by a marketing team or some exec and I wouldn't expect them to have much relati

My assumption with mission statements was that they were always bullshit made up by a marketing team or some exec and I wouldn't expect them to have much relation to reality. Was I in the minority?

samplatt 8y ago
Not at all, but it's important to know that they're not universally bullshit. The last two companies I've worked for (both <1k people) have genuinely valued their mission statements, and finally incentivise results that exemplify it.
ryanbrunner 8y ago
Ironically I think Facebook is one example that (at least in the early days) had values that actually had teeth. "Move fast and break things" isn't just a feel-good truism like most values that companies come up with are. It's something that at least some people are going to disagree with, and it's something that can actually be instructive when making a decision at that company. I don't personally agree with it, but I respect that at least in the past Facebook was willing to take a stance on how they developed products that wasn't some saccharine feel-good BS that values usually are.
- jnwatson 8y ago
  "Break things" like democracy, I guess.
  - bryanrasmussen 8y ago
    Move fast and say oops, we'll try to do better.
  - jrockway 8y ago
    It might actually be that things like election interference came up so quickly that their problem was not moving fast enough to stop it before it was a problem. If their motto was "observe the problem for a year and have at least thirty-three planning meetings before making a decision", would they have addressed the problem better? Probably not. The problem was that they didn't move fast enough and break enough things.
  - MaxBarraclough 8y ago
    Move fast and hurt people
- ma2rten 8y ago
  That was their motto, but didn't they also have a mission statement that was about connecting people?
  - nnd 8y ago
    That was just TED talk style marketing fluff.
    - deadbunny 8y ago
      So every company mission statement ever?
- o_____________o 8y ago
  That's more of an operating mode than a purpose.
- halfdan 8y ago
  "Move fast and break things" sounds more like humanity's approach to global warming than a wise and sustainable business approach.
  - Majestic121 8y ago
    That's the point of the parent : at least the motto has a point and mean something that you can debate, a nice change from marketing meaningless bullshit like "Imagination at work" (GE) or "Energy lives here" (Exxon)
- chrisweekly 8y ago
  It unofficially changed a couple years ago to: "Move fast and break things. And fix your shit." (source: my brother, who worked there for a few years following acquisition)
ethbro 8y ago
Tech is generally worse. Mostly because there's no check on hyperbole. Most businesses have an official mission statement to the effect of: "Help people do {x} at a competitive price." Only a 23 year old CEO says things like "Changing the world by connecting people."
- nemothekid 8y ago
  Amusingly enough, I’d argue Zuckerberg nailed that mission.
  - AWildC182 8y ago
    We grew up wondering how we'd change the world but never stopped and thought about whether or not what we had in mind was all that good of an idea...
    - philpem 8y ago
      There's a Jurassic Park quote in here somewhere...
      - SixGunMojo 8y ago
        "Clever girl"
      - deadbunny 8y ago
        "Hold onto your butts"
samstave 8y ago
Think of them as the "objective" section on a resume, something you really only tend to have early on in your career... as you get more experienced, you dont have an "objective" section any longer - and you realize that the only true objective-statement on a resume is "to get a paying job"...
lrem 8y ago
I work in Google and the mission statement seems to be followed.
- variable11 8y ago
  Don't be evil... ...except when helping the Chinese government oppress and spy on its citizens.
  - lrem 8y ago
    That is not the mission statement.
- nojvek 8y ago
  Show the ads to the most users with the highest bid price ? What is Google's mission nowadays? I don't see them following a lot of "Organize the world's information and make it open". There's a ton of closed walls, they even acquired companies like freebase and then their stuff went behind closed doors.
  - jkaplowitz 8y ago
    If I remember right from when I worked there (years ago), the wording is "Organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful." I can definitely see interpretations of that which require direct and open access to the raw data and others which just require universal and useful access to an assistive/suggestive product or service that leverages the data. To be clear, I prefer the first interpretation, but I realize open data geeks (and those who would use the raw data if granted access) are far fewer than ML geeks (and those who enjoy the automagic suggestions) and the gap is only widening.
    - jrmg 8y ago
      If I’m interpreting you correctly, both those approaches involve Google housing (owning?) the data. In the early days of Google, I assumed that to organize and make accessible meant to index and link to information presented by others - and not to ‘own’ the data. It saddens me that that interpretation is no longer correct - and perhaps never was?
mabbo 8y ago
Amazon has "Leadership Principles". Lots of them. And they (we? I work there) do seem to take them seriously. Hiring? Every interviewer is trying to gain insight into one or two of those specific leadership principles. Promotions? Better have demonstrated them and have documentation to prove it. It's not perfect, but the company tries really hard to make them not be bullshit.
thoughtexplorer 8y ago
Mostly, but not always. Patagonia seems to genuinely follow their mission statement: "Build the best product, cause no unnecessary harm, use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis." https://www.patagonia.com/company-info.html https://www.patagonia.com/company-info.html
- cmrdporcupine 8y ago
  By making clothes out of plastic?
  - MrTonyD 8y ago
    They make clothes out of plastic in order to recycle. It is a conscious choice they make. (I read the book by the founder.) Patagonia may be the only company I trust.
    - mooreds 8y ago
      This was the book, I suspect: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22155.Let_My_People_Go_Surfing https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22155.Let_My_People_Go_S... Powerful read that also happens to be interesting. Recommended.
    - jondubois 8y ago
      They probably also contribute to microplastics pollution when the clothes slowly break down during washing. Intentions don't matter anywhere near as much as results. In the real world, you get rewarded only for achieving results, not for trying.
      - rusk 8y ago
        I'll take intentions over wilful ignorance any day
        dbdjfjrjvebd 8y ago
cthulha 8y ago
That's a cynical position, and tends to be correct! A real one does have a _huge_ effect on the culture of the organisation, above and beyond what is achievable otherwise. I've seen one be transformative at a former workplace. I hope you have the opportunity as part of your career. That outlier quality is why they are seen as important, even if they get cargo-culted in most instances. Maybe it's the flip side of the hustle mentality that the mission statement is used to manipulate rather than a genuine expression of shared values and goals?
pandapower2 8y ago
>My assumption with mission statements was that they were always bullshit made up by a marketing team or some exec In my experience they are concocted by a dozen people from across the company sitting in a room all day filling white boards with feel good, businessy words that only vaguely relate to their employer. Agreement on the mission statement has to be unanimous within this group as well as being signed off on by several execs who will not be present during its drafting. The requirement for consensus ensures that only something incredibly tepid can get over the line.

My assumption with mission statements was that they were always bullshit made up by a marketing team or some exec and I wouldn't expect them to have much relation to reality. Was I in the minority?

samplatt 8y ago

Not at all, but it's important to know that they're not universally bullshit. The last two companies I've worked for (both <1k people) have genuinely valued their mission statements, and finally incentivise results that exemplify it.

ryanbrunner 8y ago

Ironically I think Facebook is one example that (at least in the early days) had values that actually had teeth. "Move fast and break things" isn't just a feel-good truism like most values that companies come up with are. It's something that at least some people are going to disagree with, and it's something that can actually be instructive when making a decision at that company. I don't personally agree with it, but I respect that at least in the past Facebook was willing to take a stance on how they developed products that wasn't some saccharine feel-good BS that values usually are.

jnwatson 8y ago
"Break things" like democracy, I guess.
- bryanrasmussen 8y ago
  Move fast and say oops, we'll try to do better.
- jrockway 8y ago
  It might actually be that things like election interference came up so quickly that their problem was not moving fast enough to stop it before it was a problem. If their motto was "observe the problem for a year and have at least thirty-three planning meetings before making a decision", would they have addressed the problem better? Probably not. The problem was that they didn't move fast enough and break enough things.
- MaxBarraclough 8y ago
  Move fast and hurt people
ma2rten 8y ago
That was their motto, but didn't they also have a mission statement that was about connecting people?
- nnd 8y ago
  That was just TED talk style marketing fluff.
  - deadbunny 8y ago
    So every company mission statement ever?
o_____________o 8y ago
That's more of an operating mode than a purpose.
halfdan 8y ago
"Move fast and break things" sounds more like humanity's approach to global warming than a wise and sustainable business approach.
- Majestic121 8y ago
  That's the point of the parent : at least the motto has a point and mean something that you can debate, a nice change from marketing meaningless bullshit like "Imagination at work" (GE) or "Energy lives here" (Exxon)
chrisweekly 8y ago
It unofficially changed a couple years ago to: "Move fast and break things. And fix your shit." (source: my brother, who worked there for a few years following acquisition)

ethbro 8y ago

Tech is generally worse. Mostly because there's no check on hyperbole. Most businesses have an official mission statement to the effect of: "Help people do {x} at a competitive price." Only a 23 year old CEO says things like "Changing the world by connecting people."

nemothekid 8y ago
Amusingly enough, I’d argue Zuckerberg nailed that mission.
- AWildC182 8y ago
  We grew up wondering how we'd change the world but never stopped and thought about whether or not what we had in mind was all that good of an idea...
  - philpem 8y ago
    There's a Jurassic Park quote in here somewhere...
    - SixGunMojo 8y ago
      "Clever girl"
    - deadbunny 8y ago
      "Hold onto your butts"

samstave 8y ago

Think of them as the "objective" section on a resume, something you really only tend to have early on in your career... as you get more experienced, you dont have an "objective" section any longer - and you realize that the only true objective-statement on a resume is "to get a paying job"...

lrem 8y ago

I work in Google and the mission statement seems to be followed.

variable11 8y ago
Don't be evil... ...except when helping the Chinese government oppress and spy on its citizens.
- lrem 8y ago
  That is not the mission statement.
nojvek 8y ago
Show the ads to the most users with the highest bid price ? What is Google's mission nowadays? I don't see them following a lot of "Organize the world's information and make it open". There's a ton of closed walls, they even acquired companies like freebase and then their stuff went behind closed doors.
- jkaplowitz 8y ago
  If I remember right from when I worked there (years ago), the wording is "Organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful." I can definitely see interpretations of that which require direct and open access to the raw data and others which just require universal and useful access to an assistive/suggestive product or service that leverages the data. To be clear, I prefer the first interpretation, but I realize open data geeks (and those who would use the raw data if granted access) are far fewer than ML geeks (and those who enjoy the automagic suggestions) and the gap is only widening.
  - jrmg 8y ago
    If I’m interpreting you correctly, both those approaches involve Google housing (owning?) the data. In the early days of Google, I assumed that to organize and make accessible meant to index and link to information presented by others - and not to ‘own’ the data. It saddens me that that interpretation is no longer correct - and perhaps never was?

mabbo 8y ago

Amazon has "Leadership Principles". Lots of them. And they (we? I work there) do seem to take them seriously. Hiring? Every interviewer is trying to gain insight into one or two of those specific leadership principles. Promotions? Better have demonstrated them and have documentation to prove it. It's not perfect, but the company tries really hard to make them not be bullshit.

thoughtexplorer 8y ago

Mostly, but not always. Patagonia seems to genuinely follow their mission statement: "Build the best product, cause no unnecessary harm, use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis." https://www.patagonia.com/company-info.html https://www.patagonia.com/company-info.html

cmrdporcupine 8y ago
By making clothes out of plastic?
- MrTonyD 8y ago
  They make clothes out of plastic in order to recycle. It is a conscious choice they make. (I read the book by the founder.) Patagonia may be the only company I trust.
  - mooreds 8y ago
    This was the book, I suspect: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22155.Let_My_People_Go_Surfing https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22155.Let_My_People_Go_S... Powerful read that also happens to be interesting. Recommended.
  - jondubois 8y ago
    They probably also contribute to microplastics pollution when the clothes slowly break down during washing. Intentions don't matter anywhere near as much as results. In the real world, you get rewarded only for achieving results, not for trying.
    - rusk 8y ago
      I'll take intentions over wilful ignorance any day
      - dbdjfjrjvebd 8y ago

cthulha 8y ago

That's a cynical position, and tends to be correct! A real one does have a _huge_ effect on the culture of the organisation, above and beyond what is achievable otherwise. I've seen one be transformative at a former workplace. I hope you have the opportunity as part of your career. That outlier quality is why they are seen as important, even if they get cargo-culted in most instances. Maybe it's the flip side of the hustle mentality that the mission statement is used to manipulate rather than a genuine expression of shared values and goals?

pandapower2 8y ago

>My assumption with mission statements was that they were always bullshit made up by a marketing team or some exec In my experience they are concocted by a dozen people from across the company sitting in a room all day filling white boards with feel good, businessy words that only vaguely relate to their employer. Agreement on the mission statement has to be unanimous within this group as well as being signed off on by several execs who will not be present during its drafting. The requirement for consensus ensures that only something incredibly tepid can get over the line.