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.