Most CEOs talk a good game about company mission. Few actually live it. Başak Büyükçelen, CEO of Pressbooks, spent a decade figuring out the difference between mission statements that sit on walls and ones that actually work. Her global experience across multiple countries taught her something important: organizations that really want to make a difference need to be built differently from the ground up.
Make Your Mission Your Operating System
Too often, company missions end up buried in slide decks and forgotten by midweek. At Pressbooks, Büyükçelen makes sure that does not happen. “A mission shouldn’t sit on a slide,” she says. “It should shape how you operate.” For her, the company’s goal of democratizing knowledge is not just a nice phrase. It drives how products are designed, how teams are built, and how decisions get made. Many organizations lose sight of purpose when the pressure of tasks and deadlines takes over. Büyükçelen’s approach is different. She ensures the mission is part of everyday choices. When people understand how their work connects to a larger vision, they stop working on autopilot. They feel engaged, motivated, and committed to the outcome instead of just the process.
Invest in Inclusive Culture
Building something meaningful requires people who truly believe in the mission. That sounds simple, yet many companies still miss the mark. “A mission cannot fly without people who believe in it. That is why culture matters,”Büyükçelen explains. At Pressbooks, culture is not reduced to slogans or posters. The team made tangible changes, from adopting a four-day work week to ensuring every voice is heard in meetings. “From implementing a four-day work week to fostering a space where diverse voices are heard, we focus on creating a workplace where everyone is empowered to contribute,” she says. Her takeaway is one most leaders overlook: inclusion is not a side project. It is the foundation that drives innovation and strengthens resilience.
Align Strategy with Values
Being mission-driven does not mean ignoring business realities. Strategy still matters, but it has to reflect what the company claims to stand for. “Mission-driven does not mean mission only. Strategy still matters, but it must align with your values,” Büyükçelen says. At Pressbooks, every choice is tested against a simple question: will this move us closer to our purpose? If the answer is no, they step away, even when the financial upside looks appealing. As Büyükçelen puts it, “Community values give us the courage to say no and the clarity to scale what works.” That discipline prevents the team from drifting off course when tempting opportunities start to stack up.
Measure the Right Impact
Numbers matter, but most companies track the wrong ones. Büyükçelen realized this while shaping Pressbooks into a platform that empowers people. “Work is important, but so is measuring the right things,” she says. Traditional business metrics reveal only part of the picture when the goal is genuine change. “We track not just usage, but how our tools empower educators and learners globally.” That means looking past revenue to understand whether the work is truly meaningful. Her advice is straightforward: “Find the metrics that reflect your mission’s real impact. That is how you build trust with your team, your communities, and your funders.”
For Büyükçelen, lasting change depends on aligning words with actions. Her cross-cultural experience taught her that successful organizations exist not simply to function, but to transform. “Your mission is not what you say it is. It is what you practice every day,” she emphasizes. Her approach rests on four principles: embed the mission in operations, anchor it in culture, align it with strategy, and measure it in ways that matter. Companies that commit to this path do more than survive. They build teams that believe in the work and communities that share in its impact. As she puts it, “That is how we create organizations that inspire, include, and lead.” The result is something rare: businesses that generate profit while driving real progress.
Connect with Başak Büyükçelen on LinkedIn to learn more about building mission-driven organizations.
