Kit Crawford quotes: the Bar boss shares some gems.
“If you have the idea and you think it is good, if you are excited every time you think of it, do it! Don’t ignore your feelings! Act on your intuition. Don’t let others tell you it can’t be done. Find people that hear you and encourage you to pursue your dreams.”
“Do your best to remain organized while still allowing for freedom and the opportunity to bring the values you believe in to life.”
“Stay true to your values and take a pragmatic approach to leadership. It is important to create a culture that both inspires and motivates others to bring those same values to your brand every single day.”
“Leadership cannot exist if you are complacent.”
“I challenge myself every day to keep learning, asking questions, and opening my mind to possibilities.”
“One of the most important things a leader can do is articulate and share the company’s vision.”
“We don’t believe that leadership is dictated by an org chart. Leadership is widely distributed and exists at all levels of the organization.”
“My husband’s approach to leadership has had a great influence on me. Watching him, I learned to chase my ideas, listen to my heart, question conventional wisdom, and be open to unseen possibilities. He has mentored me into leading by example and has taught me to ask questions. We bring different passions, gifts, and strengths to our game.”
“We play off each other’s ideas and explore potential business opportunities together, and that makes it exciting to be co-CEOs together. The challenge is making sure that we each have our own pursuits in order to keep on path with our personal journeys, which helps keep our relationship and partnership intact.”
“Strive to build an environment that your employees want to be a part of and are passionate about.”
“Surround yourself with others who challenge you to do and be better.”
“I believe that strong performance arises only when people are inspired and motivated, and therefore it is my goal to create a culture and environment that encourages people to find, explore, test, and share their ideas.”
“It is my responsibility to ensure that our people have a clear understanding of Clif Bar’s values, priorities, and vision.”
“We challenge each other to do better—to make better food, to reduce our company’s impact on the planet, and to give back to the community. We have a community that embraces hard work, creativity, and play. It’s a group of people who share similar values and a common vision.”
“Identify synergies. Other than a paycheck and benefits, why do your employees choose to work at your company? By answering this question, you begin to see the intersection between employee’s personal passions and the company’s vision. This intersection is fertile ground for innovation, engagement, and performance.”
“Unlike most companies, which have one bottom line, we have five bottom lines: sustaining our people, sustaining our business, sustaining our brands, sustaining our community, and sustaining the planet. I use these bottom lines, or ‘Five Aspirations’ as we call them, as a measurement of our return on investment. Because all Five Aspirations are of equal importance, it ensures balance in our organization.”
“The interconnectivity of the bottom lines empowers our people to approach their responsibilities from a variety of perspectives, and in doing so they are able to come up with unexpected initiatives and ideas. The five bottom lines act as a decision-making framework that encourages employees to explore, create, and launch ideas that are in tune with the company’s priorities.”
“We must consider the impact of our business decisions on our people, the planet, and our community.”
“Our aspirations are ambitious and, as a result, many of our goals are ahead of the curve.”
“We have a short time on this planet, so let’s turn this company into something more than just selling widgets, just to make more money and grow and grow and grow. For what?”
“If your company doesn’t have a purpose grander than raking in money, you’re unlikely to attract passionate employees or find the sort of fervently loyal customers who look for people- and planet-minded brands.”
“When I was a little girl, my mom and dad taught me how to grow our own food. They taught me that organic farming is good for people and good for the planet. Life on the land can be hectic, it also gives us a chance to remember the passions that brought us into the business of making great food. It’s a place where we can slow down, savor long meals over a great bottle of wine and enjoy a closeness to our food source.”
“Clif Bar & Company was founded with a love of the outdoors, a passion for great food, and respect for the environment.”
“My appreciation for the environment came from exploring the natural world. My parents loved natural beauty, so they took us camping everywhere from the National Parks, to the beach, to the Sierra Nevada. Living in California and traveling each year to Canada to visit relatives gave me a passion for our planet—as the landscape swept by, I saw and experienced it each day.”
“I never in my wildest dreams thought that I would become a business owner and co-CEO. Clif Bar & Company is a wonderful place to bring my passion for the planet, but it’s also where I offer my passion for people. I feel so lucky to work with amazing, creative, intelligent and funny people, and it’s from them that I ultimately got my inspiration to lead. As a woman at Clif, there are no glass ceilings. There are no requirements to ‘lead like a man.’ I have the freedom to lead like the person I am and bring my womanhood with me.”
“It’s really not that strange to have a family business. This country was built on men and women working together. In the past, it was men who got the public and monetary recognition for the work, while the women were raising children, maintaining the home and working in the family business, often without being paid. It’s nice to get recognition for my contribution, and I think other women should be recognized for theirs.”
“We really share 50/50 our leadership, and each of us brings our strengths to the show. It works because it’s getting the best of two people.”
“Awareness of just how powerfully we can engender change with our wallets is the first step.”
“Currently, one of my greatest inspirations and mentors is Glenda Hope, founder of Safe House in San Francisco, which is a place where homeless women escaping prostitution can start a new life. Glenda has taught me to follow through on my visions. Her work inspires me to think big and see the possible in the impossible. Maybe that’s one reason I decided to accept the challenge of being co-CEO—I saw the possible in my impossible self!”
“Give back to the community whenever possible. Community is absolutely imperative to your success and will be the force that drives you.”
