Raising the Bar E-Book

Gary Erickson

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Fachliteratur
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 365

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2004

Beschreibung

In April of 2000, Gary Erickson turned down a $120 million offer to buy his thriving company. Today, instead of taking it easy for the rest of his life and enjoying a luxurious retirement, he's working harder than ever. Why would any sane person pass up the financial opportunity of a lifetime? Raising the Bar tells the amazing story of Clif Bar's Gary Erickson and shows that some things are more important than money. Gary Erickson and coauthor Lois Lorentzen tell the unusual and inspiring story about following your passion, the freedom to create, sustaining a business over the long haul, and living responsibly in your community and on the earth. Raising the Bar chronicles Clif Bar's ascent from a homemade energy bar to a $100 million phenomenon with an estimated 35 million consumers, and a company hailed by Inc. magazine as one of the fastest-growing private companies in the U.S. four years in a row. The book is filled with compelling personal stories from Erickson's life-trekking in the Himalayan mountains, riding his bicycle over roadless European mountain passes, climbing in the Sierra Nevada range--as inspiration for his philosophy of business. Throughout the book, Erickson--a competitive cyclist, jazz musician, world traveler, mountain climber, wilderness guide, and entrepreneur--convinces us that sustaining one's employees, community, and environment is good business. If you are a manager, executive, business owner, or board member, Raising the Bar is your personal guide to corporate integrity. If you are a sports enthusiast, environmentalist, adventure lover, intrigued by a unique corporate culture, or just interested in a good story, Raising the Bar is for you.

Leseprobe

CONTENTS

Prologue

Chapter 1: Send them Home

Following the Natural Path, or how did I get to the point of selling?

The Fear Factor

Promises, Promises

Listen to your gut

Know when to take a Break: Even a walk around the block

Forks in the Road

Risky Business

What About the Money?

Redefining Shareholder Value

Why write this Book?

Chapter 2: The Epiphany Ride

From Mom’s Kitchen to Launch

Just Try It!

From Garage to RV

Don’t kill the Lawyers

Riding the Wave

The Clif Spirit

Growing Pains

Beginning to Drift

Shooting for the Luna

Almost Selling

The Walk

Chapter 3: A Drifting Boat

The End of a Fifty-Fifty Partnership

Back on Stage

Turning the Company Around

Clif Joy

Clif’s Mojo

Moving to Sustainability—Reducing our Ecological Footprint

Living in the Gray—Creating a Culture of Questioning

Swimming with the big Fish

We’re Back

Epiphany Revisited

Chapter 4: White Road / Red Road

The Right Maps

Finding the White Roads

It’s About the Destination: A Company on the Red Road

The fun of getting there is getting there: A Company on the White Road

The Right Maps Revisited

Simplicity

Your Shoes have to fit in the pack: Traveling Light

The Guided Trip

Changing Course

White-Road Surprises

Speed

Hypothermia and Knowing Exactly what to do

Keeping your tools in shape

Send that Telegram

Pushing Hard and Loving It

Facts not Fiction, or, I never Golfed with Arnold Palmer

Finding a route where there isn’t one

Leap of Faith

Chapter 5: Tales from the Road

Lesson One: Teamwork—My Cinderella Story

Lesson Two: Have the time of your life

Lesson Three: Maintain Composure, or, Darth Vader’s Revenge

Lesson Four: On Ice, shaken but not Stirred

Lesson Five: Prosciutto and Vino

Lesson Six: Know Nothing

Lesson Seven: Cause and Effect

Lesson Eight: Make a Mutant Design

Lesson Nine: Break from the Front

A Love Story with no Apparent Business Point

Chapter 6: Solo Climbing

Alpine Versus Expeditionary Climbing

How to lose your company without really Trying—Ownership Options

First Ascents: The Entrepreneur’s Route

How to save your Company—Staying Private and Keeping 100 Percent Ownership

How to keep your Company—Succession, or don’t kill the Estate Planners

Chapter 7: Sustaining our Living Company

First Aspiration: Sustaining our Brands—Keeping our Mojo

Second Aspiration Sustaining our Business—Living within our Means

Third Aspiration Sustaining our People—Live Life to its Fullest

Fourth Aspiration Sustaining our Community—Giving Back

Fifth Aspiration Sustaining the Planet–Reducing our Ecological Footprint

Stewarding the Clif Ecosystem

Chapter 8: Moments of Magic

Ensemble Playing

Listening

Spaces and Silences—Pushing the Edge

Imperfection

On Stage

Magic Moments

Improvisation: Freedom and Form

Jazz—The Soul of our Business Model

Epilogue: The Nature of Things

Appendix

Resources

Acknowledgments

Index

About the Authors

MORE PRAISE FOR RAISING THE BAR

“My son Gary’s awesome true Clif Bar story, as told in this book, brings tears to my eyes, sends chills up my spine, and gives joy to my heart.”

—Clifford Erickson

“I can relate to a guy who’s faced a few challenges on a bike. Reading about Gary’s adventures in the mountains, on his bike, and with Clif Bar inspires me. Gary understands the meaning of adventure in life and business.”

—Tyler Hamilton, Professional Cyclist

“Whether I’ve been climbing or just visiting with Gary, he motivates me to consider what’s possible. He has a powerful dreaming mind and a kind of vision to make our world a better place. It’s awesome to see Gary and the people at Clif Bar turn their business into a way of life.”

—Ron Kauk, Climber

“Gary Erickson is one of my heroes. His book is a story about bridging personal interests with business, about thinking big in a time when the world is encouraging us to think small.”

—Julia Butterfly Hill, Activist and Author, Conscious Choice Magazine

“If you’re disgruntled with the corruption within corporate America, you will applaud this autobiography. Raising the Bar is an inspiring story which shows that in life, sometimes the guarantee of instant financial wealth is the path not chosen. Highly recommended.”

—Chicago Athlete Magazine

“Beware. After reading this book, you may just find yourself on a long, lone bike ride, dreaming up some new company or idea or mentally arranging your resume so you can send it to Clif Bar’s human resources department.”

—Velo News

“What makes Erickson’s book worth reading is that he’s as honest about his mistakes as his successes.”

—Newsweek

“Raising the Bar is great inspiration for any entrepreneur committed to maintaining principles while raising profits.”

—Daily Court Review

“Erickson tells the fascinating story of his life. More important, he shares his beliefs about following your passion, having the freedom to create, sustaining a business, and living responsibly.”

—Des Moines Business Record

“Inspirational. Gary Erickson shows us that the many attributes that make us successful in life also make us successful in business.”

—Harvard Business School Working Knowledge

“What makes the book fresh is Erickson’s honesty and humility.”

—Businessweek

THE STORY OF CLIF BAR, INC.

Copyright © 2004 by Gary Erickson. All rights reserved.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Erickson, Gary.

Raising the bar: integrity and passion in life and business, the story of Clif Bar, Inc. / Gary Erickson with Lois Lorentzen.—1st ed.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN-10 0-7879-7365-3 (alk. paper)

ISBN-13 978-0-7879-8671-1 (paperback)

ISBN-10 0-7879-8671-2 (paperback)

1. Clif Bar Inc. 2. Snack food industry—United States. I. Lorentzen, Lois Ann, 1952– II. Title.

HD9219.U64C583 2004

338.7'6646—dc22

2004006422

FIRST EDITION

PROLOGUE

Following the publication of Raising the Bar, I traveled the country giving numerous lectures and readings. Everywhere I went, people identified with my story, including entrepreneurs, cyclists, mountain climbers, and musicians. Countless individuals sent me letters about their own white-road journeys. I felt honored that people were moved by my tale; some were even inspired to take paths that went against conventional wisdom. They told me, “I was going to work for a corporation, but now I’m going to move West and become an artist,” or “I am not going to sell my company because I read your book,” or “I too hope to ride in the Alps and take the white roads.” They chose the entrepreneurial path, uncomfortable at times but always exciting.

As I witnessed the response to Raising the Bar, I felt grateful, grateful to our past and present employees, distributors, brokers, retailers, consultants, vendors, manufacturers, and to all the consumers who believe in our product and company.

I hope you enjoy our story and are inspired to take your own walk around the block.

To Kit, My Partner in life and Business. To My Parents, Cliff and Mary, for Allowing me the Freedom to Explore Who I Am. And to Clif People for Believing in the Vision.

CHAPTER 1

SEND THEM HOME

(OR WHY WALK AWAY FROM $60 MILLION?)

Monday, April 17, 2000, and I was about to become a very rich man. Today my business partner and I would sell Clif Bar Inc., our company, for $120 million. I would have “more money than Carter has Pills,” as my dad always said. I’d never have to work again. But instead of feeling excited, I felt nauseated constantly and hadn’t slept well in weeks.

Attorneys from Clif Bar and Company X had worked feverishly all weekend. Head honchos flew in from the Midwest to finalize the details. Finally it was late Monday morning, and I stood in the office waiting to go out and sign the contract. Out of nowhere I started to shake and couldn’t breathe. I’d climbed big mountains, raced bicycles, played horn in jazz concerts: I handled pressure well, so this first-ever anxiety attack took me by surprise. I told my partner that I needed to walk around the block. Outside, as I started across the parking lot, I began to weep, overwhelmed. “How did I get here? Why am I doing this?” I kept walking. Halfway around the block I stopped dead in my tracks, hit by an epiphany. I felt in my gut, “I’m not done,” and then “I don’t have to do this.” I began to laugh, feeling free, instantly. I turned around, went back to the office and told my partner, “Send them home. I can’t sell the company.”

GARY & CLIFFORD

—STUART SCHWARTZ

Now, selling the company is a distant thought. People thought I was crazy to pass up wealth beyond my wildest dreams. Investment bankers told me the company would go under within six months. My partner thought Clif Bar couldn’t compete against the big companies and demanded that I buy her out.