Google’s Mission Statement Evolving As CEO Looks To Future Goals Besides ‘Don’t Be Evil’ Mantra
Larry Page, Google co-founder and CEO speaks during the opening keynote at the Google I/O developers conference at the Moscone Center on May 15, 2013 in San Francisco. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
MOUNTAIN VIEW (CBS SF) — Google’s co-founder and chief executive is acknowledging that the company’s original goals of dominating Internet searches while not being ‘evil’ may no longer be applicable to its much loftier goals.
In an interview with The Financial Times, Larry Page indicated Google is looking to capitalize on its success in its search business by staking claims in developing markets such as robotics, biotech and other industries that can have direct benefits to quality-of-life issues.
“We’re in a bit of uncharted territory,” Page told The Financial Times. “We’re trying to figure it out. How do we use all these resources . . . and have a much more positive impact on the world?”
Page insisted in the interview that the company’s societal goals are still primary, even though “we’ve not succeeded as much as we’d like.”
Google’s original mission statement was “to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.” It’s unofficial motto was “Don’t be evil,” a phrase which appears on its Code of Conduct page for employees and investors.
Page suggested the Internet giant is due for a change to mission statement. “I think we do, probably,” Page told The Financial Times. “We’re still trying to work that out.”
Google has often been skewered over it’s ‘Don’t be evil’ mantra as its market dominance grew over the years, generating criticism over copyright issues, censorship, privacy and the company’s cooperation with U.S. spy agencies.
