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The Inside Scoop: How Ben & Jerry’s Achieved Success

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The Inside Scoop: How Ben & Jerry’s Achieved Success

They turned their $5 for an ice cream making course into a successful multimillion dollar business, and they had a lot of fun in the process. But, Ben & Jerry’s isn’t just about the delicious ice cream. From taking a stand against nuclear weapons to discussing America politics and corporate social responsibility, founders Cohen and Greenfield are taking the vision for their business to the wider world. How did two anti-corporate hippies become millionaires and respected business leaders in the 21st century?

They Were Progressive: “There are a lot of people who are going into business who are frustrated,” says Greenfield. “[People think] if you try to have a business that tries to give to the people, it takes away from your ability to be successful financially.” Ben & Jerry’s proved that business doesn’t have to be all bad. They were able to both make a profit and give back to the community, and turn the business world on its head in the meantime.

They Made Work Fun: Halloween parties, Valentines Day Parties…there is scarcely a holiday that goes uncelebrated by the Joy Gang at Ben & Jerry’s. Cohen and Greenfield bet that by investing in its people – its most important resource – they would in turn invest more of their energy into the company. The gamble paid off.

They Used Their Imaginations: Nothing about Ben & Jerry’s was unoriginal. From its clever and unpretentious marketing to its product flavours, the company took every opportunity to make use of the creativity of its owners and customers alike. Because no one ever knew what to expect from the dynamic duo, they kept going back for more.

They Built a Great Team: “Our biggest disagreement was about chunks,” recalls Greenfield. “Ben came up with the flavours and I did the manufacturing, and he wanted bigger chunks and I wanted small ones with greater distribution. He said people didn’t care if you got a chunk in every bite as long as you knew that fairly soon you’d get a chunk.” Cohen and Greenfield were not without their conflicts, but with a shared commitment, they managed to work together towards their goals in an inspired partnership. “He recently admitted I was right,” jokes Cohen.

They Didn’t Back Down: They never would have thought that a corporate giant like Pillsbury could ever be afraid of them - two young hippies - but they did know that they would never be afraid of the corporate giant. When Cohen and Greenfield were challenged, they stood up in the face of their enemies and challenged them right back. It was this determination and strength that would come to define the company.

The story of Ben & Jerry’s represents the story of the American dream. Through nothing but hard work and passion, two youths who were disenchanted with corporate America, became two of the most respected corporate executives in the country. They stayed true to their vision, fought for what they believed was right, and were generously rewarded.





The Inside Scoop How Ben Jerrys Achieved Success

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Dianne Crampton

Dianne Crampton is an executive leadership coach, team culture consultant, author and president of TIGERS Success Series, Inc. Dianne has been helping CEO's and Executives connect their employees to their core values and goals for over 20 years using the trademarked TIGERS team culture process, which stands for trust, interdependence, genuineness, empathy, risk and success. To download a free white paper on behaviors that build strong teams and behaviors that will predictably tear them down go here.

Dianne's contribution to the 2010 Pfeiffer Consulting Journal (an imprint of John Wiley and Sons Publishers) entitled TIGERS Hearted Teams is available in November 2009.  Her new book TIGERS Among Us: 5 Winning Business Team Cultures And Why, Three Creeks Publishing will release in March 2010.  To receive publishing discounts, subscribe to the free TigerTracks Newsletter here.

- Visit Dianne Crampton's Website

Leanne Hoagland-Smith
Are your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website

Linda Richardson
Linda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website


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