The Mission

The Mission

The revolution is not an apple that falls when it is ripe. You have to make it fall.
—Che Guevara
Facebook page, you’ll see that it says: “I’m
.”1 It’s a grand mission for any
. But, of course, it is essentially the mission of his company. In
Facebook’s initial public offering (IPO)
he says: “Facebook was not originally created to be a company. It
.”2 This is not the kind of mission you often associate with a
company, but all great companies are about a cosmic vision, and that vision is
always based on the power of a founder like Howard Schultz, Walt Disney,
Henry Ford, Steve Jobs, and Bill Gates. They are more than just chief executive
officers (CEOs). They are revolutionaries.
Every day, Facebook affects the lives of millions of people. It helps make
friendships strong and even leads to marriages. Facebook makes it possible to
understand different cultures and ideas. In some cases, its impact can be game
changing. Facebook is an essential communication tool in times of disaster,
such as when the horrendous tsunami hit Japan in March 2011. It can even
lead to radical changes in societies, as seen with the Arab Spring.
In Facebook’s IPO prospectus, Zuckerberg wrote:
By giving people the power to share, we are starting to see people make their
voices heard on a different scale from what has historically been possible.
These voices will increase in number and volume. They cannot be ignored. Over
1 www.facebook.com/pages/Mark-Zukerberg/156559947734345
2 “Facebook IPO Prospectus,” May 17, 2012, www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/
data/1326801/000119312512240111/d287954d424b4.htm
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