Raising The Bar...

I finished the book Raising the Bar last week. It had some great insights that can be applied to our business and personal lives…

They took a long bike ride they called the “epiphany ride”- during this ride, Gary Erickson (the owner of Clif Bar) pushed himself to the limit. He only had Power Bars to eat- six of them. He had to eat something because if how far they had pushed themselves, but he could not bring himself to eat another Power Bar, this is when the idea for Clif Bar was born. Had they not pushed themselves to the limit, Gary probably would not have come up with the idea of Clif Bar. When we push ourselves, we require ourselves to be creative in coming up with solutions we would not have otherwise thought of.

“life should be enjoyed-it is not only about the finish line”

Clif Bar went through a very busy time- they felt like their culture suffered because of it- they started doing more things together as a company and their feeling of unity returned. There is no reason why we cannot work hard, play hard and have fun along the way.

“When someone spends $1.50 on an energy bar, they are buying a piece of their identity, not just a convenient snack food. These people want to associate themselves with companies, products, and brands that they feel good about.”

The Road Less Traveled-

There are many things that Clif Bar did and that we are doing, that are not “mainstream”. Doing things different may require more explanation to our partners, more communication to really understand among ourselves what we are trying to accomplish- but the view from the road less traveled is much better. The journey is much more fun.

“We grow at a rate that we can sustain- we don’t over-invest, and we hire at a rate that preserves our corporate culture.”

“A good leader remains composed, stays in the moment, focuses on one good move, then the next. You must keep your cool at all times.”

“Free yourself from feeling you have to have all of the answers and just start asking the right questions.”

“Try to model the value of knowing nothing, but asking the right questions to help others better know.”

75% of Clif’s advertising is grass roots- they use mass media- but just as an ancillary strategy to back up their focus on connecting directly with their customers.

Clif has some great scorecards that they review at the end of the year on how they are sustaining and developing the following things…
1- their brands
2- their business
3- their people
4- their community
5- our planet