In an effort to reshape public image as Facebook transitions to Meta, CEO Mark Zuckerberg announces new company values emphasizing Meta’s vision for the future.
Zuckerberg shared the changes to Meta’s values, and explained what they mean, in a letter sent today to all company employees.
When Meta was known as Facebook, it famously operated under a mission statement of: “Move fast and break things.”
As the company matured, those values were eventually changed to: “Give people the power to build community and bring the world closer together.”
Now known as Meta, the company is not operating under a single mission statement.
Rather, Zuckerberg is introducing a list of values guiding how the company works every day.
Meta is bringing back the “Move Fast” motto — this time without the reckless abandon of “breaking things” in the process.
Explained in greater detail in the following sections, these are Meta’s new company values:
- Move Fast
- Focus on Long-Term Impact
- Build Awesome Things
- Live in the Future
- Be Direct and Respect Your Colleagues
- Meta, Metamates, Me
As it’s not readily apparent what these values mean (especially that last one), Zuckerberg breaks down what each one of them in greater detail.
Meta’s New Company Values
Move Fast
This value is about acting with urgency while removing obstacles that get in the way of high priority initiatives.
Zuckerberg stresses the importance of moving fast as a team, and not everyone moving fast on their own.
“Move Fast helps us to build and learn faster than anyone else. This means acting with urgency and not waiting until next week to do something you could do today. At our scale, this also means continuously working to increase the velocity of our highest priority initiatives by methodically removing barriers that get in the way. It’s about moving fast together — in one direction as a company, not just as individuals.”
Focus on Long-Term Impact
This value is about keeping the company focused on goals that take time to reach, and not getting distracted by short-term gains.
“Focus on Long-Term Impact emphasizes long-term thinking and encourages us to extend the timeline for the impact we have, rather than optimizing for near-term wins. We should take on the challenges that will be the most impactful, even if the full results won’t be seen for years.”
Build Awesome Things
Zuckerberg wants to ship products that are better than “good.” This value reflect the company’s goal to ship products that are as inspiring as they are useful.
“Build Awesome Things pushes us to ship things that are not just good, but also awe-inspiring. We’ve already built products that are useful to billions of people, but in our next chapter we’ll focus more on inspiring people as well. This quality bar should apply to everything we do.”
Live in the Future
Zuckerberg envisions a future where opportunities aren’t limited by one’s physical location. This value defines Meta’s dedication to being a “distributed-first” company.
“Live in the Future guides us to build the future of distributed work that we want, where opportunity isn’t limited by geography. This means operating as a distributed-first company and being the early adopters of the future products we’re building to help people feel present together no matter where they are.”
Be Direct and Respect Your Colleagues
Zuckerberg wants employees to have more meaningful conversations with each other. This value aims to guide the team in that direction, while also recognizing the need to be respectful.
“Be Direct and Respect Your Colleagues is about creating a culture where we are straightforward and willing to have hard conversations with each other. At the same time, we are also respectful and when we share feedback we recognize that many of the world’s leading experts work here.”
Meta, Metamates, Me
Zuckerberg wants Meta employees to be collectively known as “Metamates.” This value is about fostering a greater sense of togetherness.
“Meta, Metamates, Me is about being good stewards of our company and mission. It’s about the sense of responsibility we have for our collective success and to each other as teammates. It’s about taking care of our company and each other.”
In Conclusion
Zuckerberg signs off on his letter with the following statement:
“At the end of the day, values aren’t what you write on a website but what we hold each other accountable for every day. I encourage you to reflect on these values and what they mean to you as we start working on this next chapter for our company.”
Source: Mark Zuckerberg on Facebook
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