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On Topic: Whole Foods CEO says the right decision isn't always easy
Michael Chevy Castranova
Apr. 14, 2013 7:00 am
Back when I worked in Chicago, I rented the first floor of a house in Oak Park, about eight miles west and an elastic 30 minutes to an hour by persnickety railroad to the nation's third-biggest city.
In the short walk between my house and the train station was what could be a golden triangle of retail possibilities - a Trader Joe's next to a fair-sized Borders, both across the street from a Whole Foods Market. Rarely a workday went by that I didn't drop by and spend far too much money in one or all of these establishments.
For those who've traveled to a Trader Joe's or Whole Foods, you know their key selling point: hard-to-find food items that also are sometimes healthy, sometimes organic and sometimes pretty darned tasty.
Now Whole Foods co-founder John Mackey has put out a book, titled “Conscious Capitalism,” that's charged with “liberating the heroic spirit of business.” His co-author, Rajendra Sisodia, is co-founder of Conscious Capitalism Inc., a not-for-profit “designed to support the elevation of humanity,” according to its website.
Or, put another way, “Conscious businesses focus on their purpose beyond profit,” the site explains.
It's with this lofty intent in mind, Mackey writes, that the Austin, Texas-based Whole Foods has tried to steer its course.
With more than 340 stores in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, the publicly traded 33-year-old chain reported $11.7 billion in sales in fiscal year 2012.
But making the “right” business decision isn't always easy or clear, Mackey notes. The tough test of leadership, he writes, quoting Joseph Badaracco, Harvard professor of business ethics, “is when ‘the choice is between right and right.'”
The answer, Mackey figures, is to ferret out a course that can “simultaneously fulfill multiple values.”
He gives the example of Whole Foods's stated commitment to selling a wide selection of “animal foods” - more than 95 percent of his customers want them - but also help customers improve their health. He points out the correlation between eating meat and obesity, heart disease and other unpleasant outcomes.
On top of this, he claims the chain wants to “improve animal welfare.”
The answer? First, the company tries to educate customers on the benefits of consuming minimally processed, unrefined plant foods. Second, the retailer pushes for better quality and welfare of the animal foods on offer - 100 percent grass-fed beef and lamb, for example.
As a vegetarian, I have to confess I'm uncertain how this amounts to a “win-win,” as Mackey writes, particularly for the animals on the receiving end of this approach.
But it is a good real-life example of what many businesses frequently face. Not so much having your cake and eating it, too, but being able to do good while doing well.
For too long, Mackey writes, businesses have been “stuck in a defensive and reactive posture.” He wants Whole Foods to be seen as creating a road map for other companies to follow, and for them to get on with it.
After all, he adds, the second best time to plant an oak tree is now.
Michael Chevy Castranova, business editor
John Mackey, founder and co-CEO of Whole Foods Markets, has written 'Conscious Capitalism,' with Bentley University marketing professor Raj Sisodia. (Austin American-Statesman/MCT photo)