In April 2000, Gary Erickson, founder of Clif Bar, turned down a $120 million offer to buy his company. Now, instead of taking it easy for the rest of his life and enjoying a luxurious retirement, he s working harder than ever! In Raising the Bar, Erickson and coauthor Lois Lorentzen show that some things are more important than money.
Praise for Raising the Bar
"What makes this book worth reading is that he's as honest about his mistakes as his successes."
--Newsweek
"Best Mom & Pop business in America"
--Reader's Digest America's 100 Best
"Gary Erickson realizes that businesses have tremendous power to harm or protect the natural world, our common home. I applaud the efforts of Gary and Clif Bar to develop business practices that promote an ethic of global responsibility."
--Mikhail S. Gorbachev, chairman, Green Cross International
"Gary Erickson believes that doing good and doing business should go hand in hand. Raising the Bar tells the inspiring story of a scrappy company's battle to stay privately owned and to better its people, the community, and the planet in the process."
--Ben Cohen, cofounder, Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream, and president, TrueMajority. org
"This is a beautiful book about courage, commitment, integrity, and vision. It is also a story that reminds us that one person does make a difference by leading the way through the inspiration of the heart."
--Julia Butterfly Hill, author, The Legacy of Luna
"Gary Erickson's story is sheer inspiration. Reading it makes you want to ride a bike up a high mountain, dust off your musical instrument and join a jazz band, or launch an outrageous company. This is a life manual masquerading as a business book."
--David Batstone, author, Saving the Corporate Soul; professor of ethics, University of San Francisco
"In Raising the Bar, Gary Erickson's incredible journey raises our expectations of corporate America and most importantly our hope for a better world."
--Jeanne Rizzo, R. N. , executive director, The Breast Cancer Fund
Inhaltsverzeichnis
Prologue xi
1 Send Them Home 2
(or, Why Walk Away From $60 Million?)
2 The Epiphany Ride 28
(the Early Years of Clif Bar)
3 A Drifting Boat 68
(getting Clif Back on Course)
4 White Road/red Road 110
(a Philosophy for Life and Business)
5 Tales From the Road 174
(nine Lessons and a Love Story)
6 Solo Climbing 216
(maintaining Control for the Long Haul)
7 Sustaining Our Living Company 244
(five Aspirations Business Model)
8 Moments of Magic 298
(the Jazz of Business)
Epilogue 318
Appendix 333
Resources 335
Acknowledgments 337
Index 345
About the Authors 355
