A New Sense of Purpose: This Is Our Journey

NXP has been undergoing a fundamental cultural transformation in the past few years. Our purpose is to bring together bright minds to create breakthrough technologies that make the connected world better, safer and more secure. It’s an inspiring vision, rallying and galvanizing our employees. It gives us a strong sense of identity and mission, helping to innovate Tech for Good. But, it wasn’t that long ago that the notion of Tech for Good was met with raised eyebrows in some corners of the company. How we went from ambivalence to dedication was quite a journey.

I became involved in the eXtreme Tech Challenge (XTC)  in 2019, when NXP started sponsoring the competition with the enthusiastic support of our CEO Kurt Sievers. XTC is the world’s largest startup competition, providing an exciting global platform to showcase the most innovative and purpose-driven startups. The competition promotes Tech for Good, supported by leading corporations, venture capitalists, foundations, policymakers, universities and tech conferences, who pool their talents and resources to tackle some of the world’s toughest technological challenges.

When I first got involved in XTC, I got a lot of well-intentioned advice from some colleagues and even senior leaders who advised me not to waste my time. In their eyes, NXP was mainly focused on the bottom line and corporate sustainability wasn’t part of our DNA. They felt that activities such as XTC were merely paying lip service to good causes and window dressing. Their skepticism bothered me because I firmly believe that promoting Tech for Good is completely consistent with the true spirit of NXP.

I shared my concerns with our CTO Lars Reger, who is very passionate about NXP being a truly sustainable company. He told me that the transition from a financial-driven company to a purpose-driven one doesn’t happen overnight. It takes dedication, inspiration and perspiration from employees willing to stick their necks out and lead by example. Paraphrasing Mahatma Gandhi’s famous aphorism, “be the change you want to see,” he challenged me to be one of the guiding lights toward a new culture. Inspired by Lars’ passion, I said, “OK then, let’s dare to believe that we can make a difference to NXP and make Tech for Good a theme for our company.”

Since then, I have noticed a change of attitude within the company. For instance, in 2019 and 2020, some of the NXP colleagues who were XTC volunteers would occasionally voice doubts about how sincere we were about Tech for Good. I responded by saying that we should become the change that we want to see. By early 2021, I already sensed that the sentiment within NXP was changing as more colleagues adopted the new sense of purpose, which is becoming increasingly woven into our hearts and minds. Since 2021, no XTC volunteer has shared doubts about our company’s sincerity, which is truly inspiring to see. It shows to me that we are really on our way to becoming a more sustainable company.

Time and time again, I have found that our company's greatest asset is our skilled and good-hearted people. When they are given the opportunity to do well and to do good, they invariably choose both. This attitude provides a strong foundation for our company's sustainable growth. Now we are on an exciting journey of transformation together. I am inspired to work for a visionary company that combines a true spirit of innovation, entrepreneurship and sustainability. Together we believe that we can do well as a company and do good at the same time.

Follow along on NXP’s sustainability journey by downloading our latest issue of Sustainable Stories.