Mozilla has a mission to protect and promote the open nature of the internet.

This is a mission that is likely to last for 50 years, or even longer. This begs the question: what does a 50 year organization look like?

This page is about brainstorming on that question.

Qualities of 50 year orgs

Looking at some of the examples below, it feels like there are some commonalities:

• Clear mission and values
• Balance poetry and pragmatism, vision and concrete
• Strong, well recognized brand
• Mission endures product and environmental change
• An willingness to reinvent, and even self-cannibalize
• Looks at 'adjacent spaces' for new opportunities
• Organizational resilience beyond individual leaders
• Strong org culture, and values internalized by employees
• ...?

This doesn't mean that all these orgs are like Mozilla, or each other. But there is probably something to learn from the commonalities.

Examples

• Red Cross
• BBC
• Ikea
• Disney
• Nokia
• Tata
• Sony
• Hewlett Culture
• General Electric
• IBM
• Kellogg
• NAACP
• Adidas
• Sierra Club
• Rotary Club