Medtronic, Inc.: Mission in Motion - Project 6

“ Nothing I can say about Medtronic today makes me happier or more optimistic about the future than the fact that the Mission is deeply embedded as a permanent part of the culture.” 

--Earl Bakken, Co-Founder and First CEO of Medtronic (1957-1974)

Medtronic, Inc., headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, produces medical technologies that treat neurological and musculoskeletal conditions, diabetes, and cardiac and vascular diseases. Operating in over 140 countries, the company employees almost 50,000 individuals. In 2013, Medtronic had $16.6 billion in revenue and $3.5 billion in net earnings.

At a 1960 board meeting, Bakken first outlined the ideas that would later form Medtronic's mission. I can't help but think that Bakken was influenced by Johnson & Johnson's famous credo, written in 1943. (For an interesting analysis of crafting meaningful missions, I suggest reading "4 Rules to Craft a Mission Statement that Shapes Corporate Culture" from Fast Company.)

Medtronic Mission Statement
from A Legacy of Improving Lives: Our History

Today, Medtronic's corporate social responsibility initiatives are inspired by the sixth tenet of the mission: to maintain good citizenship as a company. To achieve their mission, Medtronic has identified five strategic pillars of their CSR program: addressing chronic disease, a collaborative culture of innovation, responsibility in the marketplace, progressive environmental stewardship, and total employee engagement. These five pillars flow from the mission and reflect the core competencies of the company. Through the Medtronic Foundation, the company donated $64.6 million in cash and in-kind donations.

In terms of environmental stewardship, Medtronic conducted an initial test of equipment recycling. They receive 1700 kilograms of material out of which $53,000 of precious metals were recovered. If they had disposed of the equipment, they would have incurred $21,000 in hazardous material fees. Because the test was so successful, Medtronic is now using the recycling protocol on all eligible equipment. Over the next ten years, they expect to generate $700,000. The program also reduces demand for raw material since the recovered precious metals can be used instead of virgin material.

CareCredit's Caring Community Program

CareCredit, a division of General Electric and one of the nation's leading health care credit cards, sponsors a number of CSR initiatives, including Give Kids a Smile, InfantSEE, Miracle Ear, FACE TO FACE: The National Domestic Violence Project, Canine Companions for Independence, and the Breast Reconstruction Awareness Fund. Although most of the initiatives take the form of grants to partner organizations, the company also promotes employee volunteerism.

Recently, employees in Southern California participated in the Orange County AIDS Walk held at Disneyland (Anaheim, California). Together, thirty-two employees and family members raised over $7,000 for the AIDS Services Foundation Orange County.

Cindy Hearn, senior vice president branding and communications, reflected, “It feels good to do good. We have a giving team who work at CareCredit — people who believe it is important to help others. As a company, we want to support our employee efforts and make it easy for them to reach out into the community and volunteer.”

In addition to promoting positive affect by helping others and by engaging in physical activity, charity walks can promote team cohesion, assist in networking, and give employees a sense of meaning. I've written more about employee-driven charity walks here.

CareCredit Press Release