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.