Consistency & creativity
Strong brands are consistent brands, but being consistent doesn’t mean we cannot be creative. Quite the contrary.
This is the DSM culture compass. It’s a navigational tool that helps us see the future we’re aiming for: creating value for our customers and shareholders, for our communities and wider society, and for each other.
The compass shows us our cultural direction and destination, while allowing each of us to find our own ways to bring it to life in our daily role, whoever we are and wherever we work. It’s a simple framework to help us do more of what we already do well, and improve those cultural areas where we can be stronger.
The compass also reflects our purpose-led, performancedriven strategy. Our purpose of creating brighter lives for all sits at the heart of the compass – it inspires everything we do. We deliver performance by demonstrating better who we are, and by taking decisions every day that show what we stand for.
The six outer elements of the compass help us define the culture we want to build, and guide our day-to-day interactions and decisions. They truly come to life when we combine them in ways unique to our own role. Let’s explore them.
Being courageous means we are willing to make tough decisions, own our actions, embrace new ideas, take a stand when needed, and support others to do the same.
Being caring means we look out for the people and environment around us, go the extra mile to value and strengthen our diverse relationships, and take care of others and ourselves, so that everyone can be their best.
Being collaborative means we always look for the best ways to work and innovate together and with others, to listen and find common ground, and to apply our knowledge and skills in an inclusive and agile way.
Delivering value means we use our speed, expertise and innovation to deliver results, meeting the needs and earning the trust of customers, employees, shareholders, communities and wider society.
Championing sustainability means we improve the quality of people’s lives by embedding sustainability in all that we do, applying our scientific know-how to address the challenges of today and tomorrow.
Taking responsibility means we act ethically and with integrity, always learning and improving, willing to be held accountable for our performance and the safety and wellbeing of the people and communities around us.
Strong brands are consistent brands, but being consistent doesn’t mean we cannot be creative. Quite the contrary.
If we want our voice to be heard above the noise it’s essential that our brand identity matches our ambition.
At this point, you may be thinking, ‘how can I best take these DSM brand elements and use them to build powerful campaigns that engage our customers’?