The Main Goal
For the purpose of this discussion, the term goal here is not used as more commonly is, as a physical, measurable, achievable thing. What is being discussed here is the main goal, which is the basis for the ideology of a company, something that makes sense for a group’s existence.
During a trip to Novosibirsk, I asked an owner of a construction company, “What is the main goal of your company?” Without any hesitation, he replied, “We work so citizens can admire and be proud of modern Novosibirsk buildings.” His answer surprised and delighted me, since I had gotten used to the state of confusion this question usually triggers. This answer might seem counterintuitive, given that people usually conduct business in order to make a profit. However, the fact is that the main goal of the most popular, successful companies is targeted to benefit a great number of people. It is usually included in the mission statement. For example:
Apple: “To make a contribution to the world by making tools for the mind that advance humankind.”
Google: “to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.”
Microsoft: “to enable people and businesses throughout the world to realize their full potential.”
McDonald’s: “providing outstanding quality, service, cleanliness, and value, so that we make every customer in every restaurant smile.”
It might seem a little strange for people to start businesses if they benefit not just the founders but other people as well. Of course, we all have personal goals in life, things we try to achieve. It can be creative expression, achieving personal comfort, or establishing high living standards for one’s family. No matter what your job is, personal goals are equally relevant to a middle manager and to a business owner. One may be dreaming about a sports car, while the other may dream about professional acknowledgment or glory. As a rule the more a person has suffered defeat in the struggle to achieve his goals, the less his desire to achieve goals, and the fewer his personal goals.
When a business owner creates a main goal that does not go beyond his company, but stays “inside,” the company will not be able to expand and overcome obstacles. It is like trying to climb a mountain while having a goal of chatting with friends, or trying to lead an army while having a goal of looking good in a uniform. Of course, this is as silly as it sounds. That is the reason why a main goal “to become number one” inspires only an employee who has self-identification issues, for it is vitally important to such an individual to stand out from the crowd, and being an employee of a number-one company is a way of achieving this. But what does this have to do with the main goal of the group? Such a goal would be boring to people with high self-esteem who want to achieve big goals. It doesn't mean that “becoming number one” is a bad goal; it just cannot be the main goal. It is a good mid-level goal on the way to achieving something more. It is impossible to expand your influence without breaking out of your shell, working only in perfect comfort and coziness inside. I will discuss mid-level goals at greater length in chapter 12.
The main goal is relatively simple, as truth is simple. Fools are fools only because they cannot accept the truth as it is. Therefore, to perceive something closer to the truth, such people need to add some form of complexity. Only then will they look at the complexity, wrinkle their brows, and discuss it. For example, when somebody says that his personal goal is, “to increase people’s abilities,” others might ask, “What for? What is the sense?” The silliness of these questions is that the goal, on its own, is the basis for the sense. There is no clearer sense than this for the basis of the goal. What is the sense in climbing mountains, or what is the sense of competing in a contest, other than reaching the summit or triumphing in competition? Do not look for any clearer sense to a main goal than the intention to achieve that goal.
This is what the Grundfos Corporation says about their main goal: “It is our mission—the basis of our existence—to successfully develop, produce and sell high-quality pumps and pumping systems world-wide, contributing to a better quality of life and a healthy environment.” Do you see? The company aspires to achieve its main goal of “contributing to a better quality of life and a healthy environment” while producing pumps. Certainly if the water-supply and sewage-removal systems in your house work well, then the quality of your life is better. Why, exactly, is Grundfos’s goal worded as it is? Simply because this idea came to the company founder’s mind and he had the authority to make it so. There is no other reason. Why does Apple declare that its goal is “to make a contribution to the world by making tools for the mind that advance humankind.”? Because Steve Jobs decided so. Why does McDonald’s say its goal is “to make every customer in every restaurant smile”? Because Ray Kroc decided so. These main goals are not necessarily unique. Without working hard to achieve them, they would never be a key to a successful company. These goals create long-term meaning for such companies and provide clarity about what is good and what is bad, what is right and what is wrong.
A company's main goal does not need to be absolutely unique. Its purpose is usually more distinctive. Just like Grundfos strives to improve the quality of peoples’ lives, thousands of other companies and organizations seek to achieve a similar goal. This, on its own, does not weaken a company’s employees’ aspirations to reach that goal. While Visotsky Consulting helps to turn businesses around by implementing management tools targeted to improve a company's management culture and enhance its effectiveness, thousands of other consulting and business-training companies seek to achieve this same goal. However, a company’s purpose is always individual.
The Purpose
The second part of a mission statement is to define the company's purpose. Every strong company has its own individual operating style, which determines the actions of that company. For example, Apple’s purpose is to develop both software and hardware to achieve ideal compatibility with one another. Unlike Microsoft’s operating system, Apple’s OS and certain applications were designed to work only on Apple hardware. Apple was a total and self-contained package. In 1995, before Steve Jobs returned to the company, Apple’s management decided to change this purpose and sold the license to manufacture Apple-compatible computers (using Apple’s OS) to a few companies, most notably to Motorola and Power Computing. Apple then had to suffer the consequences. Abolition of third-party manufacturer licensing was one of the first things Jobs did upon his return to the company. If the main goal determines the general orientation of the company’s operations, the purpose determines a specific, particular way of operating that the group is trying to achieve. It may sound complicated, but in essence, it is very simple.
Let’s look again at the Grundfos mission statement. Its first part, “to successfully develop, produce, and sell high-quality pumps and pumping systems worldwide”, is actually a pretty clear purpose statement. It is how they are going about fulfilling the main goal of “contributing to a better quality of life and a healthy environment.” By the way, Apple has another purpose, which Steve Jobs always carried out well: The products have to be aesthetically pleasing. In fact, the design is even more important than the technical elements in manufacturing. The design of every aspect of the visible and user-function controls and ports was just as important as the technology operating inside. If Apple remains loyal to this purpose, it will never manufacture cheap products, as the low cost of such products is achieved by improving the internal technological