Medtronic, Inc .

Early in Medtronic's history, co-founder Earl Bakken was overcome by the emotional response patients had to his products. They were overjoyed to regain mobility, feel better, and sometimes even to be alive as a result of Medtronic's work.

Earl wanted that human benefit to be the company's main purpose, so he and the board of directors produced a formal statement of the company's objectives. Nearly a half-century later, that Mission continues to serve as an ethical framework and an inspirational goal for employees around the world. It guides our day-to-day work and reminds us that our efforts are changing the face of chronic disease for millions of people.

• To contribute to human welfare by application of biomedical engineering in the research, design, manufacture, and sale of instruments or appliances that alleviate pain, restore health, and extend life.
• To direct our growth in the areas of biomedical engineering where we display maximum strength and ability; to gather people and facilities that tend to augment these areas; to continuously build on these areas through education and knowledge assimilation; to avoid participation in areas where we cannot make unique and worthy contributions.
• To strive without reserve for the greatest possible reliability and quality in our products; to be the unsurpassed standard of comparison and to be recognized as a company of dedication, honesty, integrity, and service.
• To make a fair profit on current operations to meet our obligations, sustain our growth, and reach our goals.
• To recognize the personal worth of employees by providing an employment framework that allows personal satisfaction in work accomplished, security, advancement opportunity, and means to share in the company's success.
• To maintain good citizenship as a company.