From Success to Significance

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But how do you do that? Consider how two employees, both of whom are bricklayers, describe their jobs. They do the exact same job, but the first employee says his job is to lay bricks. The second says he is building a cathedral. Which employee would you rather have working for you and your organization? If it's the second employee, how are you getting him to see the cathedral each day?

The need to cultivate a workforce of cathedral-builders helps explain why more companies assert that they are "beyond" their products or "more than" their service offerings. The value of should is evident in these discussions and in what I see developing into a movement in business, which I call the "more than" and "beyond" movement that Johnson & Johnson's Credo helped to pioneer.

The Human Touch

What I have come to believe is that more companies are reflecting on the Credo, getting in touch with a deeper set of values—the humanistic, social, and environmental values I mention above—because they really are deep.

Oil and gas company BP's (BP) mission is now called "beyond petroleum." "Beyond petroleum does not mean that we are," among other things, "focusing only on the products that we produce and sell," BP asserts as part of its brand value statements. "Beyond petroleum is about…delivering performance without trade-offs…innovating, improving, making a difference."

BP's competitor Chevron (CVX) taps the power of "human energy," a phrase it has trademarked. "Meeting the world's energy needs—today and tomorrow—is an issue that concerns all of us. Only by sharing ideas and working together can we meet the challenges," Chevron explains of its willyoujoinus.com, an online-forum part of its "Human Energy" campaign that allows people to join in on the energy discussion, interact with thought leaders, and contribute to the solutions.

Cisco (CSCO) has also embraced our hyperconnectedness with the "Human Network." "On the human network," it says, "anything is possible…And see why when we're together, we're more powerful than we could ever be apart."

Dow Chemical's (DOW) campaign "The Human Element" promotes the company's vision of "addressing some of the most pressing economic, social, and environmental concerns facing the global community in the coming decade," according to a Dow press release. One of the campaign's creators explained that the assertion "is about reconnecting the company with the faces and values of the people Dow touches in a positive way."

When Dow announced "The Human Element" campaign two years ago, the company's vice-president of global communications and reputation emphasized, "This is more than an ad campaign to our company. It is a statement to the world and, more importantly, to ourselves about the future direction of our business."

What Dow seems to recognize, in essence, is that significance is not measured by merely financial success but by being other-regarding.

Proving the General Right

Skeptics may believe that pursuing significance may somehow hinder success. According to Johnson & Johnson's experience, however, the opposite is true. By getting clear on its very foundation, business leaders are inspired by a long-term view and can avoid taking action that is counter to that. By enlisting others in that vision and inspiring them to act according to shared values, they have the power to not only survive but to thrive.

There's still much work to do. Early findings from a study conducted by my company, LRN, found that when asked what kind of employee they value most, nearly 90% of executive respondents identified employees who are "inspired by a higher mission or purpose." Yet, when asked what kind of employee the company they work for values most, the number who said those who are "inspired by a higher mission or purpose" dropped to 33%, while the number who said those who "conform and do what is told" and are motivated by "personal and organizational incentives/perks" grew to 35% and 32%, respectively.

We will see—because we can see and we want to see—which organizations live up to their assertions. Regardless, a few things are becoming clear. Companies are, in essence, communities of people. Greater connectedness is driving business to become more humanistic in nature. There is little in rules that connects people. "Should" is the language that enables business to look through a human lens. All things should unite and connect people. Johnson & Johnson understood this long before it became in vogue.

"The last sentence of the Credo…is the most important sentence," Johnson & Johnson former Vice-President, General Counsel, Roger Fine, explained to me in 2005. "It says, 'When we operate according to these principles, the stockholders should realize a fair return.' What that means is that the Credo is not a brake on our success; it's the engine of our success. Everything in J&J's history proves the General right."

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Johnson & Johnson

Dov Seidman is the founder, chairman and chief executive officer of LRN, a company that helps businesses develop ethical corporate cultures and inspire principled performance, and the author of HOW: Why HOW We Do Anything Means Everything…in Business (and in Life). LRN recently announced the acquisition of leading green strategy firm, GreenOrder.