Our Management Approach

Johnson & Johnson is a company of enduring strength. We’ve been privileged to play a role in helping millions of people the world over be well and stay well through more than a century of change. As the science of human health and well-being has grown, we’ve been able to grow along with it. Even more important, we’ve helped shape and define what health and well-being means in every day lives. Our products, services, ideas and giving now touch the lives of at least one billion people everyday. 

We credit our strength and endurance to a consistent approach to managing our business, and to the character of our people. We are guided in everything we do by Our Credo, a management document authored more than 60 years ago by Robert Wood Johnson, former chairman from 1932 to 1963, and by four strategic principles. 

Our History 

Our Credo: Our Guiding Philosophy

The overarching philosophy that guides our business is Our Credo, a deeply held set of values that have served as the strategic and moral compass for generations of Johnson & Johnson leaders and employees. Above all, Our Credo challenges us to put the needs and well-being of the people we serve first. It also speaks to the responsibilities we have to our employees, to the communities in which we live and work and the world community, and to our shareholders. We believe Our Credo is a blueprint for long-term growth and sustainability that’s as relevant today as when it was written 

Our Credo Values 

Broadly Based in Human Health 

Being broadly based gives us a number of advantages. Our more than 250 operating companies have a local window into emerging customer needs, scientific developments, and technologies throughout the world. We turn those insights into innovative new products and sometimes whole new businesses. It allows us to transfer scientific breakthroughs, marketing insights and manufacturing expertise easily across the full range of our businesses. This broad base has helped us bring more science to the consumer health products that people use every day. 

A Decentralized Management Approach 

We are big and we are small all at once. Each of our operating companies functions as its own small business. They are strongly entrepreneurial in character, and they know that their success depends on anticipating customers’ needs and delivering meaningful, high-quality solutions. While our people operate in a small-company setting, they also have access to the know-how and resources of a Fortune 50 company. It’s like having dozens of strategic partners at their fingertips. 

Managed for the Long Term 

We focus on the fundamentals of our business, and manage with future generations in mind. While we keep our eye on social and scientific trends, we make sure our companies balance the short-term and the long-term in their strategic planning. We invest in promising new businesses while maintaining leadership positions in high growth businesses. We are focused on sustainability, and constantly review key economic, environmental, and employee health and safety indicators to ensure we are on the right path. This past year we established an internal innovation fund to keep us at the leading edge of transforming health and well-being.

People and Values 

People and values are Johnson & Johnson’s greatest assets. We know that every invention, every product, and every breakthrough we’ve brought to human health and well-being has been powered by people. Our people strive to make a difference. We believe the shared values embodied in Our Credo help us attract and keep the most talented values-driven people in the world. 

Our Credo Values
Our Caring
Our People & Diversity
Protecting Our People
Careers