How the Mars Compass Helps Us Navigate Our Path Forward
Mars has been a family-owned business for over a century.
Like any business, we set measures to track our progress. But unlike just any business, we are a company owned across generations who thinks in generations.
We guide ourselves by The Five Principles, and firmly believe what has made us successful is more than just thinking about the bottom line. A business model that focuses exclusively on financial performance is not sustainable or desirable.
We haven’t historically shared our point of view on how we measure the success of our business, which has evolved over the years. But today’s world calls for a change. We believe in business as a power for good and we’re committed to doing our part. For our 150,000 Mars Associates, the world we want tomorrow starts with how we do business today.
So, in 2018, the Family introduced the Mars Compass to ensure we’re heading in the right direction.
“Anchored by our Purpose, the Mars Compass establishes expectations from the Family for how we should lead our business and provides a clear definition of success. It ensures we link purpose and performance and gives us the freedom to think in generations, not quarters.”
– Poul Weihrauch, CEO and Office of the President, Mars
As both a principles and purpose-driven business, we’re focused on making choices that help us achieve near-term results without compromising on the world we want tomorrow.
Our Compass is a set of objectives as well as a philosophical approach. It has four quadrants which both guide our long-term strategy and measure our progress against medium term and day-to-day decisions. They are:
Financial performance
Top-tier performance that gives us the freedom to create the world we want tomorrow
Quality growth
Momentum and growth in our brands and categories, and the exploration of new opportunities, to help us grow for the next 100 years
Positive societal impact
Our commitment to helping people, their pets and the planet thrive, which in part we’re working to deliver through our Sustainable in a Generation Plan
Trusted partner
The response we see from stakeholders on how we are living up to our commitments and their expectations of Mars as a business
Victoria B. Mars, Mars Family Member and Member of the Board of Directors
"As a family we are passionate about having a positive impact on the world and we believe the best way to do that is through our business. That’s why we reinvest more than 90% of profits back into Mars, Incorporated. This allows us to deliver against our ambitions to have a positive impact on the planet, society and the communities in which we operate. Creating value that is shared is at the heart of our Mars Compass and our aspirations as a family business."
Frank Mars, Mars Family Member and Member of the Board of Directors
"A sailing ship with a clear destination in mind can only plot a course, successfully navigate the wind and the currents, and avoid the rocks if it has a trusted captain, a great crew and a compass. A business is no different. Our aim with the Mars Compass is to steer us toward creating value – for society, the planet and for Mars. A compass, or any business model, that orients only toward financial performance is neither sustainable nor desirable."
Stephen Badger, Mars Family Member and Member of the Board of Directors
"We codified our Purpose and then the question that followed was, 'How do we measure success? What does that look like?' That’s where the Mars Compass comes in. It provides us with a powerful way of holding the business to account and ensuring that we are delivering a mutuality of benefits that go far beyond financial profit."