The story of Jerry Maguire and his infamous Mission Statement to create a company with values is at the heart of everything we do at our web design agency.
It has been nearly three decades since the release of Cameron Crowe’s film, and yet it continues to be a cultural reference point in movies and television shows worldwide. Premiering on December 13, 1996, the film featured an all-star cast including Tom Cruise, Renee Zellweger, and Cuba Gooding Jr., who received an Oscar for his outstanding performance.
Jerry Maguire’s Mission Statement
The film tells the story of a highly successful sports agent who has what could be considered a cosmic break.
Jerry (Tom Cruise) is tired of working as part of a large machine. He no longer wishes to treat clients as numbers, lying to them if ever returning their calls at all.
He proposes a better strategy.
In an exceedingly long memo, Jerry calls for the fictitious Sports Management International to significantly cut their client roster. He claims that fewer clients to focus on will result in better agent/client relationships. This will in turn bring about better quality work from each of them.
Conversely, the large agency he works for is not about to give up the revenue brought in by their clients. They respond to Maguire’s epiphany by firing him immediately.
Jerry then announces that he will start a boutique agency that will uphold all of the values set forth in his mission statement. He invites all of his colleagues to leave with him and is joined only by a 26-year-old assistant (Renee Zellweger). He also leaves with one client, football star Rod Tidwell (Cuba Gooding Jr).
“The secret to this job is personal relationships”
As the movie progresses we see Jerry’s initiative put into practice. He focuses all of his time and energy on his one client. For his part, Rod Tidwell proves to be excruciatingly difficult to manage. He is also unpopular with his football team and fans. Despite being unlikeable, his demands seem to be unreasonable as well as unattainable.
Remaining true to his mission statement to put each client and their goals first, Maguire, presses forward. He attends Tidwell’s football games. He also takes every one of Tidwell’s phone calls and honors all of his requests, no matter how outlandish. Eventually, Maguire responds by being brutally honest with Tidwell about his damaging attitude. This seems to be the turning point for both of them as Tidwell does in fact trust Maguire and takes his words to heart making the beneficial changes necessary.
The result of course is that Jerry succeeds in achieving and even surpassing Rod’s wishes. Rod is overwhelmed with joy and gratitude and they end up in a heartfelt hug in front of other athletes and sports agents. Their relationship has progressed from a strictly business one to a close personal one, which was one of the points Jerry made in his mission statement.
Athletes witnessing the moment, some of whom had read the mission statement and respect Jerry’s work with Rod come forward expressing their own interest in the budding agency and its new ideals. They then choose to sign with Maguire’s agency thus proving that there is a place for a company with values in the world of big-money sports.
Want to read the entire mission statement? Cameron Crowe later provided it for fans to read in its entirety. You can find it here.
A Company with Values
The Phoenix Road Creative team strongly believes in the principles and values portrayed in the movie “Jerry Maguire.” We approach every project with the same level of dedication and care as if it were our own. Each client is treated as a valuable team member, not just a number. Drawing from our own experiences as small business owners, we offer helpful and insightful advice and suggestions throughout each project.
Some of our values include:
- We function as an extension of your team. You will always be able to reach someone directly, who is knowledgeable about design and development (not just sales), with your questions or requests.
- Our staff is easily reachable for questions and issues because all of our work is done in-house, not overseas.
- As a small group, we are agile. That means simple changes to your website can be done in days, not weeks.
- We are fully transparent in matters of time and budget. No surprise charges or hidden fees.
Best of all, if you give us a call, we might just say “you had me at hello!” 😉
