Croxford Consulting Manifesto

Creator

Rob Croxford is a local government specialist who assists and advises clients to deliver the right services at the optimal costs because he believes this is the key to improving community satisfaction levels.

Purpose

The manifesto word cloud sets out what Croxford Consulting stands for.

Manifesto

“I believe that your communities deserve to receive excellent local government services.”

Source

Rob Croxford’s Linked In Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-croxford-180521126/

Comment

This is a simple and effective way to quickly create your manifesto.

The Croxford Consulting Manifesto is a mix of values, business offers and principles simply listed and presented as a word cloud.

Word clouds present a series of words with a hierarchy of their importance. Words are displayed at different sizes depending upon their importance or how often they are used.

Here are some quick steps for creating your own Word Cloud Manifesto:

  1. Write down a list of the things that are important to you – your values eg Learn, Give, Pragmatic
  2. Write down principles or strategies that guide what you do eg Rise Early
  3. For business, write down a list of the services you provide eg Service Reviews
  4. Do a search for ‘Word Cloud Generator’
  5. Type your words into the generator and arrange them so the most important ones shine through. Use colours that reflect your brand or personality.
  6. Save your manifesto as an image file
  7. Share it on your website, blog, social media, Linked In profile etc.

One thing that can lift your manifesto is to give it a distinctive title – we want to call it something.

This may be as simple as ‘Rackspace Core Values’, which can be useful but is also generic.

Another angle is to take the title from the key words like Emily McDowell has done in her Let’s Get Real manifesto.

This starts to take your manifesto from being just about you to being a double-sided vision that your clients and community can also buy into.

Notice how you relate to ‘Rackspace Core Values’ versus ‘Let’s Get Real’. For me, ‘Let’s Get Real’ is more inclusive.

For Rob, I think the next level manifesto would be his philosophy around how to provide ‘excellent local government services.’

More

Rackspace Core Values

Apple Corporate Values

Emily McDowell – Let’s Get Real

Suzanne Mercier – Purpose to Profit

Creator

Suzanne Mercier is a Sydney-based coach, author and speaker. She works with business owners, entrepreneurs and leaders to help them recognise and develop their potential. She is considered to be Australia’s expert on identifying and moving beyond limiting mindsets including the Imposter Syndrome … a key barrier to performance.

Disclaimer: I helped Suzanne create this manifesto as part of my coaching services.

Purpose

Suzanne offers a Purposeful Coaching Program and her manifesto highlights the importance and key principles of purpose for all people in business.

Manifesto

Purpose is everything!

Purpose gets us out of bed in the morning.
Purpose allows us to find meaning even in the face of life’s challenges.
Purpose helps us live longer and happier lives.
Purpose is about making a difference and leaving a legacy.

Purpose is NOT a bandaid

Purpose is not something you add into the mix.
Purpose is an organising principle – the central tenet of your business upon which all other business goals and levers are based.

Purpose is the only path to sustainable business success

Profit is necessary for sustainability. But profit isn’t the reason we’re in business.  We need to breathe to stay alive. But we don’t exist to breathe.
Focus on profit leads to short-term decisions with longer term consequences.
Purpose emotionally engages stakeholders at a deeper level, inspiring them to make their own unique contribution.
Purpose reframes barriers as challenges, not stop signs.

Purpose multiplies Profit

It provides authenticity, clarity, focus and a filter for business decisions.
Purpose delivers the highest influence on employee engagement, increasing bottom line.
Purpose is the key principle to align all goals and inspired actions within the business, maximising impact and profit.

Purpose is certain in an uncertain world

Purpose is a fundamental truth for your business.
It is the foundation NOT a bandaid slapped over existing elements of your business model.
Purpose holds true in dynamic business environments, although its expression and delivery may change.
Purpose provides the foundation for both evaluation and recalibration in the face of significant change.

Purpose inspires your brand

Purpose is an expression of the service you are dedicated to providing to others including clients.
The best brand positioning provides a strong emotional connection.
Finding your Purpose naturally guides development of your value proposition.

Source

PurposeToProfit.com.au

Comment

The six points of this manifesto present a clear and simple statement of why purpose in business is important.

This is a crucial point for business people presenting their ideas to the marketplace: you need to make it really clear why your clients need what you offer.

And I don’t mean: sell, sell, sell. Instead, through your manifesto you can educate your audience about what they might need in their business. In this case, Suzanne believes every business needs purpose.

The six statements claim this space well.

The first is strong, clear and definitive: purpose is everything. In other words, without purpose you have nothing. That’s bold.

Also, I like that they are a mixture of statements.

Sure, they all start with the word ‘purpose’ – this gives a consistent rhythm to the message. Most are only 3-5 words in length – short, sharp declarations.

There is also a ‘not’ statement here: ‘Purpose is NOT a bandaid’. When you’re dealing with something that everyone knows something about (eg purpose), you need to be strong and clear about what you believe it is and what you believe it is not.

This is part of claiming your territory and leading people through you view of the world.

More

Studio Co-Creative: The Anti-Marketing Manifesto

Apple: We Are the Crazy Ones

Sister Corita Kent – Ten Rules for Students and Teachers

Studio Co-Creative: The Anti-Marketing Manifesto

Creator

Studio Co-creative is a Canadian based ‘anti-marketing marketing agency’. Robyn Hounjet is the Founder and CEO, Mikayla Grace is the Creative Director and COO, and Lexie the Westie is their littlest Co-Creative.

Purpose

“We believe that the best brands are built from the soul up.” That’s the slogan for Studio Co-creative and this sums up the purpose behind their manifesto.

Studio Co-creative

Manifesto

Everywhere you look, you’re seeing the product of marketing. In a world where you’re constantly encouraged to buy more, we believe there is a new way, a way that’s rooted in connection and co-creation.

Entrepreneurs are faced with an interesting challenge in today’s technology-based world. It’s never been easier to create a business, but all of the tools and platforms that we have access to can be overwhelming. There’s always a new trend, a new strategy, a new tip to try.

Heart-centred entrepreneurs have an even harder challenge to overcome. How do we allow our gifts – our light – to translate into the online sphere? How do we balance traditional “marketing strategy” with nontraditional business?

We won’t argue that mainstream marketing strategies work. But even with the most technically perfect strategy, if it doesn’t resonate with the heart and soul of your business – let’s find a different way. Through being more real, less perfect, more relatable and approachable, we find our purpose and impact.

We believe in energy. vibration. resonance. We believe in what we call the lighthouse effect: your tribe will arrive in your harbour, so long as you are authentically shining your light. And ultimately, we believe in co-creation (in case you couldn’t tell). Co-creation means not only collaborating with each other and others to help you shine, but also co-conspiring, if you will, with forces seen and unseen. The earth. The cosmos. The seasons and cycles. The true source of inspiration.

So, what does this mean for you? It means that we want to uncover the best and truest version of your brand. The best and truest version of you. Chisel it away, polish it up, and put it out in the world so that those who need you can find you.

We won’t promise you perfect, but we can promise you beauty. Because beauty is found in truth.  In purpose. In service. And in great Instagram grids.

We are an anti-marketing marketing agency.
We are the ones who do things differently.
We are inspired and we are inspiring.
We are spiritual AND bad-ass.
We are beauty-makers and visionaries.
We are co.creative.

Principles

  • Empowerment
  • The Heart + Head
  • Spirit
  • Unfiltered You
  • Working Smart
  • Co-Creation

Source

https://studiococreative.com/about

https://studiococreative.com/begin-flash-sale

Thanks to Suzanne Mercier for sharing this one

Comment

While this is a good manifesto, my feeling is that it’s merely a starting point for an ongoing deeper exploration of the issues facing marketing today.

It starts with the bold statement of being ‘the anti-marketing marketing agency’. Being the ‘not-this’ in your category is a useful starting point but only until that new alternative emerges. What is the new thing that replaces that old one?

The classic example is the ‘horseless carriage’, which was an early term for the ‘motorcar’ or ‘motor carriage’. It describes the new thing in words that reflect the old thing. Now it is simple ‘a car’ and has nothing in the name to hint of its evolution from horses.

I’d love to know what the new marketing agency is – the one that goes beyond current thinking. An anti-marketing agency simply suggests something has begun but we’re not sure what that new thing is just yet.

There are some strong clues though in the Co-creation manifesto. Their tag line “the best brands are built from the soul up” offers three potential ideas:

  • A soul-marketing agency
  • A soul-branding agency
  • Or simply, a soul agency.

These ideas start to present a new concept – a new something. They are not simply ‘an anti-marketing agency’.

Another option is a ‘Co-creation Agency’. What would that look like if we took it all the way to its likely conclusion? It doesn’t speak marketing but it does say, ‘we work differently’.

I also love the ‘lighthouse effect’ concept – How about ‘a lighthouse agency’. What would that look like?

One of my benchmarks for a good new idea is to be able to say your concept to people and create intrigue and interest.

If we were at a networking event and I told you that I run ‘a lighthouse agency’, your curiosity would almost definitely be piqued and you would simply have to ask ‘what is that?’ Tell me more… thus engagement begins.

A crucial part of all manifestos is the new context you are creating and sometimes this takes courage and boldness to claim it, name it and declare it: this is that new thing.

More

Microsoft Carbon Negative Pledge 2030

Creator

Microsoft is a US based international technology company that produces both software and hardware. They are best known for their Microsoft Office software suite, Xbox video game consoles and the Microsoft Surface touchscreen computers.

Purpose

“The scientific consensus is clear. The world confronts an urgent carbon problem. The carbon in our atmosphere has created a blanket of gas that traps heat and is changing the world’s climate. Already, the planet’s temperature has risen by 1 degree centigrade. If we don’t curb emissions, and temperatures continue to climb, science tells us that the results will be catastrophic.”

Microsoft Carbon Negative Pledge 2030 launch with the senior leadership team
Microsoft President Brad Smith, Chief Financial Officer Amy Hood and CEO Satya Nadella preparing to announce Microsoft’s plan to be carbon negative by 2030. (Jan. 15, 2020/Photo by Brian Smale)

Manifesto

While the world will need to reach net zero, those of us who can afford to move faster and go further should do so. That’s why today we are announcing an ambitious goal and a new plan to reduce and ultimately remove Microsoft’s carbon footprint.

By 2030 Microsoft will be carbon negative, and by 2050 Microsoft will remove from the environment all the carbon the company has emitted either directly or by electrical consumption since it was founded in 1975.

We recognize that progress requires not just a bold goal but a detailed plan. As described below, we are launching today an aggressive program to cut our carbon emissions by more than half by 2030, both for our direct emissions and for our entire supply and value chain. We will fund this in part by expanding our internal carbon fee, in place since 2012 and increased last year, to start charging not only our direct emissions, but those from our supply and value chains.

Taking a Principled Approach

Whenever we take on a new and complex societal issue, we strive first to learn and then to define a principled approach to guide our efforts. This has been fundamental to our work around the protection of privacy and the ethical development of artificial intelligence, and it’s the approach we’re taking to pursue our aggressive carbon goals as well. We’ve concluded that seven principles, or elements, will be vital as we continually innovate and take additional steps on an ongoing basis.

  1. Grounding in science and math. We will continually ground our work in the best available science and most accurate math, as we describe further below.
  2. Taking responsibility for our carbon footprint. We will take responsibility for all our emissions, so by 2030 we can cut them by more than half and remove more carbon than we emit each year.
  3. Investing for new carbon reduction and removal technology. We will deploy $1 billion of our own capital in a new Climate Innovation Fund to accelerate the development of carbon reduction and removal technologies that will help us and the world become carbon negative.
  4. Empowering customers around the world. Perhaps most importantly, we will develop and deploy digital technology to help our suppliers and customers reduce their carbon footprints.
  5. Ensuring effective transparency. We will publish an annual Environmental Sustainability Report that provides transparency on our progress, based on strong global reporting standards.
  6. Using our voice on carbon-related public policy issues. We will support new public policy initiatives to accelerate carbon reduction and removal opportunities.
  7. Enlisting our employees. We recognize that our employees will be our biggest asset in advancing innovation, and we will create new opportunities to enable them to contribute to our efforts.

Source

https://blogs.microsoft.com/blog/2020/01/16/microsoft-will-be-carbon-negative-by-2030/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft

Thanks to Carolyn Butler-Madden for sharing this with me.

Comment

This is a great example of a manifesto in action – and a good model to follow.

It starts with the motivation: “The world confronts an urgent carbon problem.”

Next is the declaration that says – this is what we are going to do about this: “By 2030 Microsoft will be carbon negative.”

Then to turn the idea into a plan, Microsoft have identified 7 key principles to follow.

The principles are the strategy for how Microsoft will become carbon negative by 2030.

This includes the key point of who is going to be involved here and what we need to do to engage and support them – empower customers, enlist employees and importantly use their voice to lead the conversation.

Finally, they point to big opportunity as impacting their entire supply chain. It’s not just a ‘we’ll look after our own backyard’ approach. Instead, it’s a holistic and ultimately collaborative approach.

This is leadership!

More

Renewable UK – Cymru Renewable Energy Manifesto

UN – Sustainable Development Goals

Qantas Customer Charter

Rackspace Core Values

Creator

Rackspace provide IT services

Purpose

“Company values provide the guiding light for our vision”

Rackspace

Manifesto

“Rackspace accelerates the value of the cloud. We meet you where you are and get you where you need to go, helping you realize the power of digital transformation without the complexity and expense of managing it on your own.

We deliver unbiased expertise through our comprehensive portfolio of managed services — across applications, data, security and infrastructure on the world’s leading cloud platforms — with proven results.

And we wrap all of our services in Fanatical Experience™: the proactive, results-obsessed approach to serving customers that has driven us for two decades.”

Values

Fanatical support in all we do
Results first, substance over flash
Committed to greatness
Full disclosure and transparency
Passion for our work
Treat fellow Rackers like friends and family

Source

http://slides.com/caillouet/rackspace-core-values#/8

https://www.rackspace.com/en-au/about

Thanks to Bill for sharing this manifesto

Comment

I’m a fan of having values and identifying what’s important to you.

I’m not a fan of the way they are typically used – particularly in organisations.

Too often I see a handful of words written on a website or even in the foyer of the main office that say grand things like: We value integrity, honesty, self-reliance…

But that is all. The values are never seen or heard of again.

If you simply leave your values at the level ‘a word’ then the meaning and benefit of having them is lost because no one knows what they mean and nobody lives true to them.

The Rackspace values are at least a short phrase. They provide greater context and sharper intent than a single word. For instance, ‘fanatical support’ is a clear intent. It’s not just ‘support’; it’s fanatical.

Also, I love the naming of their community: Rackers. It might not be the most elegant name and it is a strong call to identity. By having a name for your people it’s more likely you can call to them and ultimately unite them.

More

Apple Corporate Values

Zappos Core Values Frog

Helen Reddy – I am woman (a classic call to identity)

Bernadette Jiwa – A Love Note to Entrepreneurs

Creator

Bernadette Jiwa is a storytelling expert who has published eight #1 Amazon Bestsellers.

Purpose

To motivate, inspire and encourage entrepreneurs.

Bernadette Jiwa - A Love Note to Entrepreneurs

Manifesto

A Love Note to Entrepreneurs

Don’t wait for permission

Change something you care about
Touch one person
Make a difference to a handful

Launch ideas form the heart
Build a legacy, not just an empire
Keep your values front and center
Understand why you’re doing this
Remember, it doesn’t have to matter to everyone

Learn how to see the world as it isn’t
Allow possibility to feed your soul
Embrace failure alongside success

Make people your inspiration
Let passion be your master
Make meaning your currency

Never allow fear to get in your way
Know the questions to ask
Don’t be afraid of the answers

If you do anything today, would ‘THIS’ be it?
If not this, then what?

Source

https://thestoryoftelling.com/if-love-note-to-entrepreneurs/

Comment

Manifestos come in many different forms.

Many are declarations about what the author wants or aspires to. This might fit that category, albeit in disguise.

Other manifestos are a call to arms to other people. This one definitely fits that – it’s a call to entrepreneurs to keep going.

It stands out because of it’s soft touch – it’s not a set of commandments or rules or even principles. Instead, it’s offered with kindness and love.

More

Derek Sivers – A New Kind of Entrepreneur

James Altucher – The 20 Habits of Eventual Millionaires

Opted Out of Life Manifesto

The Seven Rules of Done

Creator

Geoff McDonald, author of Done and curator of 1000Manifestos.com

Purpose

The Seven Rules – They are rules because they are principles, guidelines, actions, procedures and hopefully useful! They are the seven key ideas that allow us to move from the usual way of doing project planning to the more holistic view of project design.

Geoff McDonald - Done: How to finish your projects when traditional ways don't work

Manifesto

1 Stop planning!

The old saying suggests that ‘if we fail to plan, we plan to fail’. But planning is not enough – particularly when it only describes what are we are going to do. We need to stop planning and start designing to include our motivations, inspirations, and passion for our projects.

2 Don’t fix your problems

We all know what we want. But most of what we want is to fix something that went wrong in our past. This is limiting and it’s not satisfying either. Instead, we need to clear the decks of our past if we want to create a truly compelling future.

3 Inner over outer

When we fail at things we presume we are the failure. And that we are fatally flawed in some way. That’s human nature. But the real problem is we fail because we choose the wrong type of goal. We need to focus on our internal motivations to keep us going when we face the dip, an obstacle or simply when it all gets too hard.

4 Rules rule!

As the world has become more complex our plans for the future have also become more complex. Fighting complexity with more complexity is a recipe for confusion, chaos, and disaster. Instead, we need to develop simple rules to make it easier to navigate in complex situations. Think traffic lights!

5 Ship smaller sooner

Traditionally we aim to deliver one big thing at the end of our projects. The problem with this approach is the lack of feedback. This leaves us wide open for creating something that nobody wants. Been there, done that! That’s a short cut to “Why did I waste my time doing that?” Or worse, “What is wrong with these people, don’t they recognise my brilliant work?” That’s not going to lead you to a happy place. Instead, we need to create smaller versions of our final big thing to find out what will ultimately work.

6 Structure shapes success

The usual story is that we fail because of a lack of willpower, discipline or focus. This only tells part of the story as there are forces bigger than us at work impacting us in invisible ways. Therefore, we need to design our environments to promote the behaviours we want and to stifle those we don’t.

7 You have to change

When we create our projects our focus is naturally on the end result. However, if that’s all we do we miss a big opportunity. The real purpose of our project is to create a change in our situation and to make that change stick. To do that we need to change!

Source

Geoff McDonald and his book Done: How to finish your projects when traditional ways don’t work

Comment

The language we use in our manifesto is the key to giving it a decisive edge.

There’s something strong and definitive about saying things are ‘rules’. It implies following them, sticking to them and using them as boundaries.

Compare this to principles, guidelines, things… All useful but provide a different flavour to our message.

Further, the rules that follow also need to have a mix of familiarity and intrigue. I believe some need to be relatively obvious – for instance, most people will understand ‘rules rule’. It implies that rules are important.

In contrast, ‘inner over outer’ is less obvious. It begs the question, what specifically is ‘in and out’ referring to? In this case it’s about inner and outer motivation styles.

Stop Planning is another interesting rule because it is provocative – it challenges our usual thinking.

Plus, we want our rules to be sexy and slightly clever (not too clever). For instance, the alliteration (using the same sound or letter) of ‘Ship Smaller Sooner’ rolls off the tongue and becomes a snappy idea. It’s much more engaging than ‘Get things done quicker’.

When you’re writing your manifesto, pay attention to the words you use – words have meaning and impact. Choose carefully. Play with a thesaurus to figure out the right ones. And test this with a live audience face-to-face to reveal their emotional impact.

More

Geoff McDonald, The Manifesto Manifesto

Geoff McDonald, The Expert Manifesto

The Cult of Done

Qantas Customer Charter

Creator

Qantas is one of the world’s oldest airlines formed in 1920 in outback Queensland. Qantas is a leading long distance airline and one of Australia’s strongest brands.

Purpose

“We are Australia’s leading premium airline and we are dedicated to being the best.

We aim to meet your expectations every time you fly, and so we continue to invest in our business and will always strive to provide you with an exceptional level of service.

With this charter, we want you to know what you can expect whenever you choose to fly on a Qantas (QF) coded service from anywhere in Australia. Below we set out our commitment to you and provide links to our website where more detailed information is available.”

Manifesto

  1. We will never compromise on safety
  2. We are committed to getting you and your bags to your destination on time
  3. We will look after you if things don’t go as planned
  4. We will look after you if you have specific needs
  5. We are always on hand to help
  6. We value your opinion
  7. We will protect your personal information
  8. We support environmental initiativies

Source

https://www.qantas.com/au/en/about-us/our-company/customer-charter.html

Comment

This is a strong clear airline specific customer charter that is consistent with what I see the Qantas brand to be.

(There is a paragraph that goes with each of the points above that I felt was too long to share all of it here.)

In comparison to the Easy Jet Customer Charter the difference in brand personality and therefore the words used in this charter are clear – Qantas is more formal, Easy Jet is more casual.

Given they are both in the same industry you would expect some similarities. The obvious one is number one for both companies: safety first – even down to the wording ‘we never compromise’.

I particularly like that where Qantas say ‘We are always on hand to help’ they share a phone that you can call and a link to further ways to contact them.

Also, under the section ‘We value your opinion’ they offer several ways to this with them – phone, website form and even Twitter. Plus, if things go badly they even share the details of the Airline Customer Advocate service.

This is all part of the ‘backend’ or supporting actions that you will want to consider when you create your manifesto and in particular your Customer Charter. You don’t want to be seen to be offering hollow words. You do want to be seen as acting consistent with what you say will you do and who you will be for your customers – especially when things don’t go as you plan.

More

Easy Jet Customer Charter

Joseph Jaffe – The Customer Service Manifesto

Christopher Carfi – The Social Customer Manifesto

Four Pillars Gin

Creator

Four Pillars Gin is an award-winning distiller of gin based in Healesville, in Victoria’s Yarra Valley, about 65 kilometres from Melbourne.

Purpose

“We established Four Pillars with a focus on gin. But great gin doesn’t just make itself. We recognised that our real focus would need to be on the craft of distilling.

If we could elevate this area of expertise in Australia, and bring a modern Australian sensibility to the process, then maybe we could make a gin worth shouting about.”

Four Pillars Gin

Manifesto

Pillar 1: The Stills
Meet Wilma, our original magnificent copper-pot still

Pillar 2: The Water
The best in the world, from our home in the Yarra Valley

Pillar 3: The Botanicals
Asian spice, Mediterranean citrus and native Australian botanicals

Pillar 4: A Little of Love
A commitment to craft and attention to detail every step of the way

Source

https://www.fourpillarsgin.com.au/distilling/our-four-pillars/

Comment

This is a deceptively simple and clever manifesto.

With only four components, it’s easy to digest. Great start!

The first (the stills) states the quality of equipment they use. The second and third pillars (water and botanicals) point to the quality of the ingredients they use. And the fourth pillar addresses the quality that the makers will bring to their craft.

Given these are all qualities it’s a highly aspirational set of company values. What I like about it is that they are practical values rather than the usual personal values (eg integrity), which can be vague when applied across an entire organisation.

The purpose statement (above) is simply included in a story about their business. For me, it’s shows that this manifesto likely started out from the maker’s perspective – these are the things we need to do to make world-class gin.

That’s a great place to start with your manifesto – what do you need to do to be successful in your chosen field? Aspire to these qualities.

However, like all great brands, these internal qualities also become the external ones that your customers measure your success against.

For me, I don’t know anything about gin. I rarely even drink it. But, I do know from reading this manifesto that there is a pursuit of quality here that is validated by the international awards they have received. As a potential customer, it gives me a reference point for trusting them and trusting their product, which makes it more likely that I would buy it compared to others that lack this.  

Also, if you read their website, there are some gentle stories which add flavour to the message.

In particular, I loved the story: “…We took delivery of our own custom-built still from Carl of Germany, and we called her Wilma (after Cameron’s beautiful but explosively tempered late mother). And Wilma turned out to be amazing, drawing extraordinary botanical flavour from a combination of rare, native and traditional botanicals.”

Now, that’s bringing your values to life for your customers!

Finally, pillars. A pillar is literally a column or upright structure used to support a building. Pillars are strong. The language you use to define your manifesto is important. Do you have values, pillars, a pledge, commandments or even a manifesto?

In this case, they have literally taken these pillars to heart and named their business: Four Pillars Gin. Now, that’s putting your manifesto in the centre of everything you do. While not essential, it is a strong statement.

Choose your words wisely because they provide an edge to your meaning and your branding.

More

Wikipedia Five Pillars

Nutiva Real Food Manifesto

Apple – We Are the Crazy Ones

Apple Corporate Values

Creator

Apple CEO Tim Cook shared the following when he was Chief Operating Officer (COO) under Steve Jobs.  

Purpose

During the period when Steve Jobs was unwell and on medical leave, financial analysts asked Tim Cook how Apple would operate without Jobs. This was his reply.

Apple Logo

Manifesto

There is an extraordinary breadth and depth in our more than 35,000 employees, who are all wicked smart. And that’s in all areas of the company from engineering to marketing, operations and sales and all the rest. The values of our company are all extremely well entrenched.

We believe that we’re on the face of the earth to make great products and that’s not changing. We’re constantly focusing on innovating. We believe in the simple, not the complex.

We believe we need to own and control the primary technologies behind the products that we make and participate only in markets where we can make a significant contribution.

We believe in saying no to thousands of projects so that we can focus on the few that are meaningful to us. We believe in deep collaboration and cross pollination in order to innovate in a way others cannot.

We don’t settle for anything other than excellence in any group in the company, and we have the self-honesty to admit when we’re wrong and the courage to change.

Regardless of who is in what job, those values are so embedded in this company that Apple will do extremely well. And I would just iterate a point Peter made in his opening comments. I strongly believe that Apple is doing the best work in its history.

Source

https://www.macobserver.com/tmo/article/apple_coo_tim_cook_lays_out_apple_manifesto_with_or_without_steve_jobs/

Comment

If we top and tail this comment we have four distinct phrases that epitomize a manifesto as a set of corporate values.

They can be summarized as:

  1. Great products (goal)
  2. Innovate
  3. Simple not complex
  4. Focus on the few
  5. Deep collaboration
  6. Cross pollination
  7. Excellence
  8. Self-honesty
  9. Courage

If you want a shortcut to writing your manifesto, then start a series of statements with the words: ‘We Believe’.

More

Apple: We Are the Crazy Ones

Mike Markkula – The Apple Marketing Philosophy

Zappos Core Values Frog