Jerry of Ben and Jerry's

I went to a talk at the University of Rochester last night where the speaker was Jerry Greenfield, one of the founders of Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream. The subject of the talk was Social Responsibility, and that is interesting, but I really went because I wanted to hear how a company who always seemed pretty cool, or as cool as a company can be, came to be. Ben and Jerry’s evolution to huge success was always built on having fun and being innovative. They weren’t afraid to try new things and differentiate themselves. Start an ice cream shop in frigid Burlington, VT? Probably not what the MBA’s would say was wise. Chunks of flavors in ice cream? Never been done before. A stock offering to state residents? Nope, no one had done that either.

The success of Ben and Jerry’s can be attributed to a lot of things, but leadership, creativity and willingness to let others creativity flourish are the main reasons why Jerry stood before hundreds of students and a few locals talking about giving back as a company. He talked about being a values based business, he talked about spirituality, and he talked about making money while making things better. I can sum up the main theme of the night, if you give, you will get. That can be applied on a corporate level, on a team level, and on an individual level.

Note, I didn't go for the free ice cream after the talk, but the chocolate chip cookie dough brought me back to some late night chow sessions from my high school and college days.

I was about to close this post when I looked back over Jerry’s bio. Because of who I am, this stood out to me. “Jerry created the Ben & Jerry’s Joy Gang: a group of employees dedicated to bringing more joy into the workplace through fun activities.” Ben and Jerry’s has grown immensely, made a lot of people a lot of money, and done a lot of good for the world. Not a bad way for a company to be.

Talent doesn’t always trump heart

I am a big sports fan and as I watched the opening weekend of college football, a plain as day lesson on the importance of passion and determination played out in Ann Arbor, MI. The home and #5 ranked team in the country, the University of Michigan Wolverines, charged out onto the field in front of 110,000 frenzied fans dressed in maize and blue.

On the opposing sideline was Appalachian State, a team from Boone, NC. If you were to open up a sports magazine and look for the App State Mountaineers amongst the 119 college football teams, you wouldn’t find them. That is because they are in the lower Division 1-AA system.

The Wolverines paid the visitors $400,000 to suit up for what was supposed to be a home opening yawner. I won’t go into the play by play, but if I’m writing about it, things didn’t go exactly as planned.

7-0 Michigan. 14-7 Michigan. 28-14 App State. 32-31 Michigan. Final Score: 34-32 App State!

The team that had no chance, the team that was supposed to be a cupcake warm-up for the real season, came into a hostile environment and beat the #5 team in the country. The Michigan team boasted a running back and offensive lineman rated as top three in the nation and a quarterback who started all four years and would’ve been drafted by the NFL last year. Michigan’s higher paid coaches, highly recruited players, superior training facilities, and a home crowd did not matter to App State. They came in and proved that if you mix teamwork, brains, and passion, you can run with the big boys.

Note that no Division I-AA team had beaten a team ranked in The Associated Press poll from 1989-2006. That is why the headlines asked, “Biggest upset ever?”

I write about this story in a business blog because it shows the power of team. Michigan had the bigger named talent, but they were underprepared, complacent, and overlooked the little guys. Well, your company might just be the little guy.

Big or small, to get to where you want to go, it will take all of the things App State showcased last Saturday.