Category: Corporate

Manifestos created by corporations

Easy Jet Customer Charter

Creator

Easy Jet is a low-cost British based airline with headquarters in London. It operates domestic and international services on over 1000 routes in more than 30 countries.

Purpose

Orange Spirit

Our mission has always been to make travel easy and affordable for all. When we started out over 20 years ago we challenged the status quo with the introduction of low fares. We didn’t accept the industry norms and we set about doing things differently. This ambition continues to drive us today.

But it’s not just about what we do, it’s how we do it and why we do it that shapes us as a business.

At its simplest we’re here to connect people across Europe. These days we’re not alone in doing that but we believe that by doing things in the right way and staying true to our values is good for our customers, our staff and our communities. In a nutshell we call it our Orange Spirit.

The Orange Spirit then shares charters under the following headings:

  1. Change for good
  2. Environment
  3. Diversity
  4. Innovation
  5. Accessibility
  6. Our Promise (their customer charter is shared below)
Easy Jet Customer Charter

Manifesto

Customer Charter

Our promise to you

Our five priorities keep us focused but the key is to make sure we deliver all this from the heart, with passion, ensuring our orange spirit shines through in everything we do.

Safety first – we never compromise – Your safety and security is our number one priority

On your side – we see it from your point of view – We don’t assume that we know best and we make decisions with you in mind

A big smile – friendly service is our passion – You can expect a friendly, helpful and knowledgeable service from all our staff

Make it easy – at every step – We’ll make sure you know what to expect at every step of your journey

Open and upfront – we will always be straight with you – We’ll always be truthful and will keep you informed at all times

Source

https://www.easyjet.com/en/orange-spirit/our-promise

http://corporate.easyjet.com/about/our-values

https://www.easyjet.com/en/orange-spirit

Comment

There are two manifestos on this page. The first is the purpose or mission statement and the second is the customer charter. There is also a link to the company values.

Together they show what is required to deliver purpose throughout a large organisation (with over 10,000 employees) is to provide layers of manifesto in different forms. One single manifesto may not be enough.

The challenge therefore is to keep them simple and consistent. Ideally, you want your people to be able to recite them in some way – at least in intent, if not in precise detail.

The Customer Charter is an important manifesto type for customer service across any organisation.

This one is neat and short – five principles – and in simple everyday language. Each principle is then layered. For example:

Safety first = this is a clear priority

We never compromise = this is a boundary rule – in a difficult situation, this one statement tells you what is required.

Your safety and security is our number one priority – this expands on the first statement – it’s ‘your’ safety, plus ‘your’ security’ that is important.

Could you remember this to act in a crisis? I think so.

There is also an overarching guiding principle here: the orange spirit. It is important to name your charters and principles so that people can refer specifically to them.

In this case, ‘orange spirit’ is a rallying cry for how we want our people to act – in alignment with our company values AND with ‘spirit’.

More

Fader and Toms – Customer Centricity Manifesto

Christopher Carfi – The Social Customer Manifesto

Joseph Jaffe – The Customer Service Manifesto

Gihan Perera – Nine Things Successful Leaders Do Now

Creator

Gihan Perera, author of The Future of Leadership and multiple other books

Purpose

The rules of this manifesto form the basis for a book and training for working with corporate clients.

Gihan Perera - The Future of Leadership: Nine Things Successful Leaders Do Now

Manifesto

Part One: Be a Leader they want to follow

1       Show Up: Make time to lead

2       Speak Up: Cut through the clutter

3       Step Up: Stand for something

Part Two: Build a Team they want to be a part of

4       Light Up: Foster innovation

5       Wise Up: Build their judgment

6       Tune Up: Accelerate the experience curve

Part Three: Reach out to a World that wants to help

7       Team Up: Find talent everywhere

8       Partner Up: Join forces

9       Link Up: Leverage trust

Source

The New Rules of Leadership for a Fast-Moving World

Comment

This is an elegant rule-based manifesto with a simple structure.

First, there are three parts reflecting three levels of leadership – leading the self, leading teams and leading in the wider world. This provides a neat way to provide an overview of your entire framework.

Second, there are three items for each part which provide actions steps and goals to be achieved for each item and each part.

Third, there is a consistent palette of words for each item all used a single keyword combined with ‘up’ as a consistent phrase. When this works well it is simple and elegant. Be cautious of forcing words to fit as it may come across as being contrived.

More

Dr Alan Graham – A Toxic Leader Manifesto – the other side of leadership, how not to do it

Geoff McDonald – The Expert Manifesto

Napoleon Hill – Laws of Success

Opted Out Life Manifesto

Creator

Elena Mutonono and Veronika Palovsak are co-authors of Opted Out of the ‘Real Job’.

Purpose

Elena and Veronika opted out of their ‘real jobs’ and built small online businesses to have more freedom and flexibility to pursue their dreams.

Their book and manifesto is intended to encourage and assist “restless cubicle professionals” to do the same.

Manifesto

We are the mavericks and the heretics in the online teaching world. We have opted out of the stifling ‘real job’ environment, the ‘safety’ nets, the endless money chase, the hopelessness and apathy, to create value and meaning through our small and smart online businesses.

We believe that ideas change minds, lives and destinies. We want to bring our fresh creativity to the world.

We want to teach because it empowers people to improve lives, think differently, create original art and do the work that matters.

We do the impossible. We step into the unknown. We challenge limitations. We conquer our fears. We work from our core. We opt out of whining. We don’t complain.

We take the first step and we don’t turn back. We opt into courage. We strive to make a change. We fail and we stand strong. Then we do it again.

Among huge corporations that stamp cheap commodities, we make art that impacts people for good. Every day, we opt out of this world’s imposed scarcity and choose to grow abundance through the talents we’ve been given. We don’t wait until we’re smarter or more experienced or wealthier. We don’t save our art of a rainy day. We share it now because tomorrow is not guaranteed.

We live an opted out life.

Source

Manifesto

Comment

This is a classic word based set of rules for life.

While the context of helping teachers (or instructional designers) step out of their workplace cubicle and into a freelance or self-employed role is a deep niche, their manifesto reads as a general situation that could fit for many other groups.

This could be good and bad. It could be good because it speaks to a wide audience. It could be bad because it is too general and doesn’t speak closely enough to the needs, wants and desires of your intended audience and therefore may fail to engage them.

The simple key to getting this right is to test your manifesto. Once you’ve written it, share it with the your chosen market. Listen to their comments and feedback and adjust accordingly.

There is no right answer here, simply whether the manifesto you have written plays its part in helping you fulfil your desired result.

More

Flying Solo Micro Small Business Manifesto

Academic Slow Food Manifesto

Remote Year Values

Remote Year Values

Creator

Remote Work was created by Greg Caplan and Sam Pessin.

Purpose

In August 2014, Remote Year was started by two friends asking a simple question, “Who wants to travel together for a year while working remotely?” Out of that inquiry grew an incredible community with a set of shared values and a mission for impacting the world.

“Our mission is to create a more peaceful and productive world by fostering genuine human connections across diverse cultures and people.”

Remote Year - Travel the World while Working Remotely

Manifesto

Work-Life Flexiblity

Championing location independent productivity.

We don’t just advocate for it, we live it. Remote Year is a fully-distributed company, meaning each of our employees works remotely, either from their home or on the road. We give our team the opportunity to do great work – on their teams.

Global Perspective

Appreciating the world’s diversity and interconnectedness.

No two people are the same – and that is what makes the world so inspiring. We believe in seeking out similarities and celebrating differences. No matter where we are, we seek to understand those around us and aim to build bridges where before there were walls.

Empathy

Expanding our capacity to care for others.

We have a penchant for pushing ourselves out of our comfort zones. This lifestyle connects you with people that you may have never met otherwise, local residents in the cities that you travel to or fellow Remotes. We live for the moment that an internal light bulb clicks on, illuminating the way toward making decisions that take all perspectives into account.

Community

Coming together with a purpose.

It’s not about what you can do on your own, it’s about what we can do as a whole. Our team lives by this ethos as members of the Remote Nation, creating meaningful connections and building lasting bonds as we pursue a life of productivity and positive impact.

Being Present

Embracing awareness and gratitude for the moment.

Every day presents opportunities for reflection – only if you’re prepared to notice them. We strive to appreciate every moment of awe, inhale every bit of inspiration and take a break whenever life feels like it’s moving too quickly.

Dreaming

Creating the optimistic future you envision.

We’re leading the way in remote work and ushering in a new era of location-independence. At Remote Year we believe in breaking away from the status quo and changing the possibilities — that means changing what’s possible for both the future work as well as the possibilities for each and every one of our participants on our programs.

Source

https://remoteyear.com/mission

Comment

Having a set of values to live by is one way to declare what you intend for the future.

By definition, your values are what you deem to be important – to be valuable. They are like a compass rather than a map because they set a direction without being prescriptive about what needs to be done.

In the context of the manifesto, I’m not a great fan of simply having values. I don’t think they go far enough. I think they become generic.

In particular, I think the Remote Work mission fails because it is like most mission statements – it’s generic in that hundreds of similar organisations could state a similar objective. It lacks audacity.

For me, a manifesto has a stronger intent. It’s not just a point of view; it’s a strong belief. The US Declaration of Independence says it best: “We hold these truths to be self-evident…”

What is your truth?

I think this is an opportunity that Remote Work could take much further by describing the world they want to see. (This is particularly relevant to me because I’m considering going on one of their adventures.) And their values don’t speak the full power of the opportunity they are offering.

For me, remote work is the catalyst for three major opportunities:

  • Inspire the careers of future global leaders – consider how your career would be transformed by working abroad for the next 12 months. What would you see? Who would you meet? And most importantly, who would you become?
  • The future of work – The future of work is here today. For the first time in human history, a large group of people on the planet has the tools of production in their backpacks – their laptop and smartphone. That changes everything about work – in particular what we can do and where we can do it. Work is no longer about a job, it’s about a life worth celebrating. Build your life’s work.
  • Build a new nation – Our planet is artificially divided based on natural land features and historical tribes that no longer match the global way we live and interact in a digital economy. Remote Work is not just a rambling feel good community, it’s a nation of people committed to peace, prosperity and cooperation. Take Remote Nation to another level! Take it to the literal level you have described in these words – a new nation. (This is the one I like – it’s bold, edgy and courageous – the three personal qualities you would need to embody to want to take on a year of Remote Work.)

Hopefully, you can see my point. There is an opportunity to elevate Remote Work into a much bigger movement and the key is to create that possibility through a more potent manifesto.

PS: I’d also add a visual to share the message more freely and widely. If you want us to become a ‘card-carrying’ member of your tribe then we need a card we can carry. We need an easy way to say ‘I’m proudly part of this.’

More

Manifesto for Smarter Working (remote work in organisations)

Haydn Shaughnessy – The New Work Manifesto (addressing the lack of engagement in the workplace)

Timothy Ferriss – The Four Hour Work Week – a radical look at how we could live and work

Fader and Toms – Customer Centricity Manifesto

Creator

Peter S Fader and Sarah E Toms, authors of The Customer Centricity Playbook: Implementing a winning strategy driven by customer lifetime value

Fader is a Professor of Marketing at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Toms is co-founder and Executive Director of Wharton Interactive.

Purpose

Fader and Toms believe that your most value business asset is to understand your best customers. This means treating them as individuals.

They have adapted the Customer Centricity Manifesto from the Manifesto for Agile Software Development, which is the focus of Chapter Six in their book.

Peter Fader and Sarah Toms - The Customer Centricity Playbook: Implement a winning strategy driven by Customer Lifetime Value

Manifesto

Celebrating customer heterogeneity is our mantra. 

This tenet of customer centricity is a realistic view of the world, and is one that seeks to capture, understand, and build action in tune with these naturally occurring variances.

Cross functional uses of customer lifetime value (CLV). 

A truly customer-centric firm will seek to establish a variety of use cases across the organization that demonstrate the strategic advantages that a focus on CLV (and related predictive analytics) can provide. 

Metrics that reflect customer equity. 

We want to see firms adopt a broader set of metrics that directly or indirectly reflect customers’ propensities to be acquired, buy repeatedly, maintain the relationship, refer others, respond to the right messages, and so on.     

Clear Communications with external stakeholders. 

Customer centricity creates a natural alignment to get internal and external stakeholders to agree on metrics that are helpful for day-to-day operational purposes as well as the evaluation of a firm’s long-run health.

Source

The Manifesto: http://customercentricitymanifesto.org

The Book: https://wsp.wharton.upenn.edu/book/customer-centricity-playbook/

Comment

The thing that stands out for me around this manifesto is the language used.

In the field of Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) they identify that some words show a link to our sensory systems. For instance, the words ‘look, hear, feel, touch, taste and smell’ represent the senses of ‘sight, sound, feelings (kinesthetic), gustatory (taste) and olfactory (smell)’.

Other words that don’t fit the senses are known as ‘Auditory Digital’ or non-sensory words. These are concept words such as: system, belief, customer and communication.

Typically, we all have preferences around the words we use. Some people use more ‘visual’ words and others more ‘feeling’ words. Academics tend to use a lot of concept words and this is consistent with this manifesto.

While this is a powerful approach, as with all things, it has its limits.

If your manifesto is just for you, then you can use any words that you like. However, if you want to engage, enrol and invite others to join you in your manifesto journey, then using words that will appeal to a wider audience are worth considering. For example, do you know what the word ‘heterogenity’ means? I had to look it up. (It means ‘being diverse in character’.)

One strategy for this is to have different palettes or different language styles for your manifesto. For example, having a formal palette and a casual one.

Compare this to the simple and casual language in Emily McDowell’s Let’s Get Real manifesto.

The current manifesto by Fader and Toms could be their formal language manifesto. And it may be complemented by a simpler, more casual version such as this:

  1. Customers come in lots of different shapes and sizes. Celebrate this.
  2. Give your customers different paths to walk down. Create this.
  3. Notice the value your customers give you. Measure this.
  4. Talk with your customers and your team in the same way. Align this.

Consider that you may need to create different versions of your manifesto to appeal to different audiences. This might also include both a visual and a written form.

Four Ways to Make Your Manifesto Visually Appealing

More

Agile Software Manifesto

Christopher Carfi – The Social Customer Manifesto

Joseph Jaffe – The Customer Service Manifesto

FRESH Speakers

FRESH Speakers Logo

Creator

FRESH Speakers

“Established in 2014, FRESH represents the next generation shaping 21st century thinking – and action – with fresh ideas and groundbreaking work.” (From their website)

“FRESH Speakers, Inc. is a next-generation speakers bureau, uniquely representing women and people of color – two groups historically left off the public stage. Our speakers range from business leaders to artists, scientist to athletes. They have given ground-breaking TED talks and written best-selling books, but, more importantly, their wisdom comes from real world, lived experiences. FRESH speakers routinely grace the world’s biggest thought leadership stages, host nonprofit benefits, and keynote Fortune 100 corporate retreats, university lecture series, leading tech conferences, grassroots organizing convenings, and countless other venues, the world over.” (From their website)

Purpose

The FRESH Speakers manifesto is a core part of their brand positioning. It states: this is why we are different to other speakers’ bureaus.

Manifesto

Thought leadership needs a refresh.

21st century speaking should be about sharing great ideas, and converting those ideas into action. That’s what audiences are hungry for–fresh ideas, action, and impact.

Too many speakers derive authority from fancy titles, overhyped books, and relationships formed within elite institutions and events.

This outdated and homogenous culture not only breeds boredom and myopic thinking, but also reinforces structural inequalities.

Not everyone worthy of being heard has written a best-selling book or been to Davos.

It’s time to uncover and elevate the voices of extraordinary individuals making impact in the world, both locally and globally.

Wisdom also comes from years spent in the classroom, or organizing on the ground.

It derives from profound personal pain as well as transformative collective healing.

It is rooted, not in the number of years one has been on earth, but the creativity and innovation with which one has approached their calling.

It’s about time we honored that kind of wisdom.

It’s time to evolve beyond the antiquated “speaker circuit,” and create an ecosystem of thought leaders who are young, brilliant, diverse, and making a mark in the world.

This isn’t just talk. It’s about fresh ideas and more just world.

Source

Manifesto
FRESHSpeakers.com/about/manifesto

Comment

For me the great strength here is the consistency of message. On this page I’ve collected three ‘manifestos’ from the FRESH Speakers websites that points to this conviction.

  1. The opening description
  2. The formal manifesto
  3. The note below

“FRESH Fact: We dedicate part of our commission to a special fun that supports speakers to visit communities that couldn’t normally afford to bring them. We think all audiences deserve to experience what our speakers have to offer.” (From their website)

Writing your manifesto is often the fun and easy part. The tougher task is to take consistent action in line with your declaration and your intention.

As FRESH Speakers state: “This isn’t just talk.”

Gordon Gecko, Greed is Good

Creator

Gordon Gecko is a character portrayed by Michael Douglas in the movie Wall Street (1987).

The movie was directed by Oliver Stone, produced by Edward R Pressman and written by Oliver Stone and Stanley Weiser.

Purpose

The story of the movie is about a wealthy corporate raider Gordon Gecko played by Michael Douglas and his interactions with the young stockbroker Bud Fox, played by Charlie Sheen.

Douglas won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Gecko.

The character Gordon Gecko is said to be a composite of several people – including Stone’s father who was a stockbroker on Wall Street during the Great Depression.

The film portrays an archetypal view of 1980’s success. The lead character famously states: “greed, for lack of a better word, is good”.

It contrasts the desire for a quick-buck or fast result epitomized by Wall Street as compared to the traditional steady, hard work approach of many companies and individual workers. 

Gordon Gecko - Greed is Good - Wall Street Movie 1987

Manifesto

The manifesto or philosophy of the movie is best captured in a scene where Gecko (Douglas) speaks to the stockholders of the fictional company Teldar Paper.

Here is an extract from that speech:

I am not a destroyer of companies. I am a liberator of them!

The point is, ladies and gentlemen, that greed – for lack of a better word – is good.

Greed is right.

Greed works.

Greed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit.

Greed, in all of its forms – greed for life, for money, for love, knowledge – has marked the upward surge of mankind.

And greed – you mark my words – will not only save Teldar Paper, but that other malfunctioning corporation called the USA.

Source

Comment

Does a manifesto have to be ‘real’ to be valuable? Not in this case.

The success of this manifesto is that it was able to capture and speak to the prevailing mood of the 1980s – it simply presented it in as an easy to digest movie morsel.

In particular, this fictionalized account has a licence that a true story based on specific individuals probably would not have been able to – except with a certain promise of a law suit.

Interestingly, while the purpose of this manifesto was as a social commentary, it did have the unexpected side-effect of inspiring many people to work on Wall Street – based on the number of comments that Stone, Sheen and Douglas received over the years.

Also, it shows that a manifesto always sits within a wider context of people, story and narrative. It highlights that some will adhere to your viewpoint, others will not and there will be consequences for the actions that follow.

Derek Sivers – A New Kind of Entrepreneur

Derek Sivers - Anything You WantCreator

Derek Sivers the founder of CD Baby once the largest seller of independent music on the web with more than $100 millon in sales for over 150,000 musician clients. He later sold this business for $22 million.

Purpose

Given his success, a lot of people were asking Derek for advice on how to approach their lives or their business. This is his experience and philosophies from the ten years he spent starting and growing a small business.

Manifesto

  • Business is not about money. It’s about making dreams come true for others and for yourself.
  • Making a company is a great way to improve the world while improving yourself.
  • When you make a company, you make a utopia. It’s where you design your perfect world.
  • Never do anything for the money.
  • Don’t pursue business just for your own gain. Only answer the calls for help.
  • Success comes from persistently improving and inventing, not from persistently promoting what’s not working.
  • Your business plan is moot. You don’t know what people really want until you start doing it.
  • Starting with no money is an advantage. You don’t need money to start helping people.
  • You can’t please everyone, so proudly exclude people.
  • Make yourself unnecessary to the running of your business.
  • The real point of doing anything is to be happy, so do only what makes you happy.

Source

In a chapter titled ‘What’s your compass?’ of Derek Sivers’ book Anything You Want he offers the above words as some of his common themes. (Pages 2-3)

Comment

A classic rule based manifesto.

What I like about this one is that it’s a personal manifesto he applied to his own business. As he suggests in his book, “This is most of what I learned in ten years, compacted into something you can read in an hour.” (Page 1)

More

If you want more the sub-title of the book is: 40 Lessons for a new kind of Entrepreneur – read the rest of the book. It’s short, engaging and insightful.

Derek Sivers website – includes links to videos of his presentations

Derek’s most popular presentation – How to start a movement

Ian Berry – Changing What’s Normal

Geoff McDonald – The Expert Manifesto

The Flying Solo Micro and Small Business Manifesto

 

Manifesto for Smarter Working

Creator

Mark Grant, GTM Manager: Digital Workspace Productivity from Dimension Data

Purpose

“Many organisations are being held back from adopting smarter, more flexible ways of working due to their own cultural intransigence.”

“The benefits of flexible and remote ways of working have been well-documented, from increased productivity to improved staff morale. But there remains a tendency among some employers to view such smarter working practices with cynicism and suspicion. For many years it was believed technology was the most significant hurdle to overcome in opening up deskbound office staff to more flexible ways of working.”

Manifesto

Five points we believe employers and employees need to discuss and reach agreement on:

1 We agree the office is just one place we can work

Even the sleekest of offices only suit most of the people, most of the time. There will always be instances where the office isn’t the best environment to work.

2 We do not need excuses to work smarter

Many people feel the need to excuse remote working with reasons unrelated to work, such as waiting in for a plumber. But “I will get more work done, to a higher standard” should be the only reason anybody needs.

3 We know trust isn’t about turning up

Healthy relationships rely on trust earned through mutual respect and value. We shouldn’t have to be in an office for people to trust we’re working.

4 We believe great work can happen any time

When we do our best work is rarely dictated by what time it is. What matters most is delivering the best work possible, with consideration for others involved in the process.

5 We value working smarter over working longer

Being first in and last out doesn’t mean someone is working better or harder. We need to evolve the way we measure performance to focus on productivity, not hours and minutes.

Source

Article by Mark Grant on TheHRDirector.com – June 12, 2018

Comment

This is a great example of a simple five-point manifesto making a complex situation simple and manageable. By offering a handful of principles, a clear set of flexible and innovative actions could follow.

In particular, general rules of thumb are open to interpretation rather than being prescriptive. “We believe great work can happen any time.”

(Right now, I’m writing on a kitchen bench as I house-sit two dogs while I watch the football on a cold and wet Sunday afternoon. Great work? Maybe, may be not. You get the point!)

More

The 37 Signals Manifesto from the book Rework by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansso

Haydn Shaughnessy – The New Work Manifesto

Tim Ferriss – The Four Hour Work Week

 

Expert Manifesto – Seven Ideals

The Expert Manifesto

Creator

The Expert Manifesto was designed by Geoff McDonald. He is the creator of 1000Manifestos.com. Also, the author of The Manifesto Manifesto.

Purpose

The Expert Manifesto outlines the seven ideals of being a business expert. These ideals are for building a profitable global business around your expertise.

Business Experts: The seven ideals for creating your highly profitable global business #manifesto Share on X

Expert Manifesto

  1. Own Your Own Niche: it’s not enough to claim a niche, it’s crucial to own one that you have created.
  2. Attract Your Ideal Clients: why work with just anyone? If you set the goal of having ideal clients you can build a business that serves only them. This is likely to be more profitable and enjoyable.
  3. Unite with a Double Sided Vision: Most mission and vision statements are selfish – they’re all about you and don’t include your clients.
  4. Share a Philosophy to Buy into: Your ideal clients are not buying a mere product or service. To build lifetime loyalty you want them to buy into your philosophy for life, business or success.
  5. Build an Idea that Scales: An expert is an expert because of the things they know and the ideas they create. If your idea doesn’t scale then you severely limit your chances of building a profitable global business.
  6. Play a Game Worth Winning: It must be a game that you and your clients want to win.
  7. Write the Rules for Success: When you write the rules for success then you become the expert in the game.

Source

GeoffMcDonald.com/manifesto

Comment

This is a simple 7-part rule based manifesto for speakers, trainers, coaches, thought leaders, consultants and an internal expert within an organisation.

What do you mean by ‘a Double Sided Vision’? This is an important aspect of creating a manifesto that provokes interest and curiosity.

With the ebook it’s a good example of how a simple manifesto can become a scalable idea. As a manifesto it is a simple 7 line document that could fit neatly on a postcard or a social media image. The ebook shows that once you can easily expand the manifesto into products and services.

More

The Expert Manifesto ebook can be downloaded here: GeoffMcDonald.com/manifesto