J&J’s ‘Our Credo’ got me excited. Alas, since it was written in 1943 there has been some slippage
Last week I came by chance on some startlingly sharp business writing, made even more freakish as it was in an area where communication is invariably dismal – statements of values and purpose. But before settling down to extol it, I can’t resist a small fix of guff, as a reminder of how bad things have become.
Last week Barclays declared that its new purpose was: “Helping people achieve their ambitions – in the right way.” On the positive side, the words are nice and short and it’s encouraging that after 300 years the bank has decided that the right way is better than the wrong one.
The only snag is that it is hogwash. The purpose of a bank is nothing to do with ambition. It is, as I pointed out a couple of weeks ago, to keep depositors’ money safe and to lend it to people who aren’t going to run off with it.
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