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If your stated company mission is not the thing that produces revenue then it will eventually be sacrificed for the mission that does produce revenue. Examples

If your stated company mission is not the thing that produces revenue then it will eventually be sacrificed for the mission that does produce revenue. Examples of mission statements that don't produce revenue: Google, Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, most news organizations. Microsoft's missions in 1980 was "A computer on every desk and in every home". Their mission produced revenue. There are lots of examples of mission/revenue alignment.

satyrnein 4y ago
Most companies exist for motive X, which they do by providing value Y, then monetizing it via method Z. X is almost always "profit" and Z is something boring like selling physical items, subscriptions, ads, etc, so the mission statement is about Y. The following statements are true but not very interesting: Microsoft was never about computers on every desk and in every home, it was really about selling software licenses to make money! The Super Bowl was never about football, it was really about selling ads to makes money! Wal-Mart was never about saving people money so they could live better, it was really about selling physical items at retail to make money! Facebook was never about connecting people, it was really about selling ads to make money! Is the Facebook one any more insightful because the monetization strategy is advertising?
- dgfitz 4y ago
  > Microsoft was never about computers on every desk and in every home, it was really about selling software licenses to make money! And how would they have made money without lots of computers on lots of desks paying subscriptions? All companies exist to make money, that’s the point. X === make money. Y === sell something to make money. Z === make money. I’m really struggling to understand your point.
  - satyrnein 4y ago
    The comment I replied (and the article itself) seem to imply that, if you monetize via advertising, that your business isn't really about whatever you say it is. I was replying that I fail to see how that's different from non-advertising-fueled businesses. For example, Facebook isn't really about connecting people, but a hypothetical competitor with the exact same feature set that charged a subscription fee instead of running ads would be about connecting people?

satyrnein 4y ago

Most companies exist for motive X, which they do by providing value Y, then monetizing it via method Z. X is almost always "profit" and Z is something boring like selling physical items, subscriptions, ads, etc, so the mission statement is about Y. The following statements are true but not very interesting: Microsoft was never about computers on every desk and in every home, it was really about selling software licenses to make money! The Super Bowl was never about football, it was really about selling ads to makes money! Wal-Mart was never about saving people money so they could live better, it was really about selling physical items at retail to make money! Facebook was never about connecting people, it was really about selling ads to make money! Is the Facebook one any more insightful because the monetization strategy is advertising?

dgfitz 4y ago
> Microsoft was never about computers on every desk and in every home, it was really about selling software licenses to make money! And how would they have made money without lots of computers on lots of desks paying subscriptions? All companies exist to make money, that’s the point. X === make money. Y === sell something to make money. Z === make money. I’m really struggling to understand your point.
- satyrnein 4y ago
  The comment I replied (and the article itself) seem to imply that, if you monetize via advertising, that your business isn't really about whatever you say it is. I was replying that I fail to see how that's different from non-advertising-fueled businesses. For example, Facebook isn't really about connecting people, but a hypothetical competitor with the exact same feature set that charged a subscription fee instead of running ads would be about connecting people?