July 25, 2013
THE MOTIVATING AND ORIENTING
POWER OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE AND P&G’S PURPOSE, VALUES AND
PRINCIPLES
Reading
Isaiah Berlin’s “The Power of Ideas,” and specifically the chapter, “The
Purpose of Philosophy,” brought a fresh and, for me, compelling perspective on
the importance and nature of the Declaration of Independence and Procter &
Gamble’s Purpose, Values and Principles.
It may seem a bit outlandish to be discussing these two documents in a
parallel fashion; but, as I hope to make clear, there is a reason
for doing this. That
reason is founded in the fact that both of these documents provide an
important framework, or "model" as Isaiah Berlin would describe it,
of how a group of people have chosen and intend to operate and
live--a model which embraces their fundamental mission or purpose; the outcomes
they seek; and the paths they will pursue to achieve them. They
do this in a decisive, concrete, aspirational and comprehensive manner,
yet one that provides the space for application of future learning. Doing this, as these two documents
do, carries great value for the future.
At
the same time, both of these statements contain important internal tensions
surrounding the relative priority of the goals and the means for achieving them.
These tensions, while bringing challenge, also bring energy and debate needed
for future progress.
Let
me quote just a portion of the chapter I refer to from Isaiah Berlin’s book to
provide context for what I am discussing here. He asserts that many who have thought about history have
seen that different epics do not differ so much based on the
“empirical content of what the successive civilizations saw or
thought as the basic patterns in which they perceive them, the models and terms
of which they conceive them, the category spectacles through which they view
them.”
Berlin illustrates
his point by observing, for example, that civilizations or
institutions which are founded on the belief that God created man for
a specific purpose, that there is an afterlife in which man’s sins will be
visited upon him, are radically different from the world of a man who believes
in none of these things, and that, as a result, the political beliefs, the
tastes, the personal relationships of the former will deeply and systemically
differ from those of the latter. To illustrate further, he observes
that two very different views of the role of the State -- one being that of “a
traffic policeman and night watchman preventing collisions", or another,
the State's being a “great cooperative endeavor of individuals seeking to
fulfill a common end” -- that these two views lead to laws, practices and
expected behaviors which vary greatly.
*****
Here
are perhaps the most famous lines of the Declaration of Independence:
We
hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they
are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights and among these
are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
This
sentence of 35 words communicates as succinct and decisive a view of the
conditions under which men should live as has ever been written. It has been a model or framework which
no matter how imperfectly realized has guided the development of our nation for
over 230 years.
Turning
to business, most businesses will view the objective facts of the world around
them in similar terms: They serve
multiple constituencies; consumers matter; people count;
a business needs to make a profit; it lives in the community and in an
increasingly global world; change is happening faster and innovation is more vital
than ever, as is disciplined execution. How these realities are priorized and internalized into an
operating set of goals and principles and values varies from company-to-company. Even more, how these principles and
values are lived varies. Some
companies will choose shareholder return as a singular focus. For others, like P&G, the consumer
will be the starting point. Some will
bring greater emphasis to the importance of people and that will show up in the
emphasis on recruiting, training and career development. Some will place greater weight on the
long-term; others on the short-term.
Here
is Procter & Gamble's Statement of Purpose:
We
will provide branded products and services of superior quality and value that
improve the lives of the world’s consumers, now and for generations to come.
As
a result, consumers will reward us with leadership sales, profit and value
creation, allowing our people, our shareholders, and the communities in which
we live and work to prosper.
Here
are P&G’s Principles: Integrity; Leadership; Ownership; Passion
for Winning; Trust.
*****
So
what about the commonality of the Declaration of Independence and Procter
& Gamble’s Purpose, Values and Principles?
Just
this: Both of these statements
express important choices as to what the institution’s goals are and what
outcomes will manifest the achievement of these goals. They also delineate certain values and behaviors
necessary to achieve these goals.
They
have had lasting impact. They are
living documents.
They
are statements that we all know are never fully fulfilled. They are stars, goals to which we
aspire. They are reference points against
which we can and must compare our current behavior and adapt and improve it to
better meet these aspirations.
They
are laced with internal tensions. P&G's Purpose, Values and
Principles, for example, espouse, at the same time, the importance of
innovation and teamwork, leaving open the case-by-case consideration of how
they will be balanced. P&G’s
Purpose intentionally melds a commitment to consumers, employees,
shareholders and our communities; but deciding how to balance these
commitments, short- and long-term, is seldom self-evident.
The
Declaration of Independence espouses equality and endowed rights of Life, Liberty and the
pursuit of Happiness for all men. Yet this leaves open the question of
the relative role of the State and the Federal Government in helping
assure each individual the realization of these ends. And what if there is conflict between what one state permits
compared to another. We lived for
almost a century under the mantel of a Declaration of Independence which
espoused equality while slavery existed in half the country. We lived
even longer with some States giving women the right to vote while others denied
it, until finally a Federal constitutional amendment was passed which made
women's right to vote a national right. And we live with the same dichotomy
today as States differ in recognizing the legitimacy of same-sex
marriage.
None
of these tensions depreciates the value of these documents, provided
we continue to hold the Purpose clear and examine, and indeed debate, how, in light
of new knowledge and today’s circumstances, we can better fulfill the
essential goals they embrace.
It is notable how few countries and how few companies actually try
to anchor their decisions on a living statement of purpose and set of values
like these. Even long-developed
nations, as in Western Europe, seldom refer to foundation documents in the way
we do in the United States. Very
few companies, in my experience, test their decisions and behaviors against a
statement of purpose and values as we do at Procter & Gamble.
As we have seen, and again referring to the Declaration of
Independence, the concept of equality has taken on different meanings over
time, whether that be racial segregation, recognition of same-sex marriage, or
women's suffrage. In the future, I personally hope our commitment to
“equality” will continue to expand and come to embrace the belief that all
children should have the benefit of early childhood development that enables
them to start life on close to an equal footing compared to those who are most
well off.
So, too, I’m sure, the actions and behaviors required to best
fulfill the Purpose of Procter & Gamble will be conceived in new ways,
hopefully wisely and consistent with new learning and the
surrounding environment, but always with the guiding principle of being
the finest consumer goods company imaginable based on fulfilling our Purpose
and living our Values.
JEP:skh
FM_DeclarationOfIndependence072513
