(1) 
Corporate mission statements have come in for a lot of ridicule recently because they represent the problem of supposedly very human communication, that's designed by committee.
Not that I have anything against CVS/Caremark, but this is a pretty good, but typical statement of mission, vision and values.
Our Vision
We strive to improve the quality of human life.
Our Mission
Above all else … our mission is to improve the lives of those we serve by making innovative and high-quality health and pharmacy services safe, affordable and easy to access.
Our Values
Our Customers
We are passionate and relentless in our goal to continuously innovate and improve service to our customers … every day, every way and every customer.
Our Colleagues
We work as a team. We are committed and act with integrity. We all deserve respect as well as a supportive work environment that recognizes and rewards our contributions ... we accept nothing less.
Our Contributions
In the end, it’s all about results - achieving our financial goals as
well as giving back to the communities we serve. We hold each other
accountable for all aspects of our performance … without exception.
Compare this to the statement from Wieden and Kennedy at the top of the page- this was basically a drawing a 6 year old kid did in David Kennedy's office years back that the agency appropriated.
I also found a list of values from a pretty new start-up, Asana..
"Reason, Action in the face of fear, Honesty and transparency (internally and externally), Leverage, Pragmatism, Craftsmanship, Chill-ness, Being a mensch, Company as a collective of peers (vs. command and control hierachy), Investing in People, Perseverance, Admitting when you are wrong, Diving in and fixing problems, even if they are not yours, Intellectualism, Trust in wisdom over rules."
It's a little wild, chaotic and unstructured and tells you they are obviously not your typical corporation.
There are two huge trends that are shaping the way corporations need to think about how they talk about themselves and how they define what they believe in.
1. A new generation in the workforce who are looking for a different type of relationship with their employer and a different career path. Overall, they have very different expectations of what work should be from previous generations.
2. The rise in direct communication from corporations to consumers with Facebook and Twitter suggests that real people from companies are talking directly with their customers. This means the relationship is less abstract and more human.
While I am not suggesting that every Fortune 500 company adopts a Wieden or an Asana approach to their vision, mission, values statements, but they do need to take a look at them closely and make sure they obviously say something meaningful, but most importantly are compelling enough to make a connection to employees and consumers.
Posted by Ed Cotton
Great post! Although I believe this is so true (companies not having compelling and unique vision & mission statements), the CVS/Caremark example is even way too compelling and human to serve as a 'bad example'. I just wish the companies I dive into in my work as a brand builder had such a vision & mission. Most companies are bad, worse, worst, with statements as 'We want to be a Top 3 XYZ Company. Generic, egocentric, and nothing to do with their gift to the world. Most companies have such a gift if u dive deeper. The art is to verbalize and visualize it into a really soulfull message with which you touch the hearts of people inside and outside the company. That is what branding is all about. I suggest you read this post on the irrational separation of corporate strategy and branding: http://www.alexanderkoene.org/2010/10/your-people-are-brand.html