If you have ever watched the hit PBS Kids show “Reading Rainbow” as a child, adolescent, teen, really at any age, then you have heard the words of this post’s title sung (I personally like Chaka Khan’s version of it, but that’s neither here nor there). Anyway, we have been spending the last four or five weeks within our Book Club. The first book that we read was Steven Covey’s The Speed of Trust. Now, we are pretty much split in half in our current reading, with one half reading Raising the Bar, the story of Clif Bar, and the other half reading Let My People Go Surfing, the story of Patagonia.
This week, our reading spoke to the philosophies of each business’s founder and how these philosophies stem from their own personal morals and values and tie into their respective businesses. Within our groups, which were a mixture of students reading both books, we then pointed out and discussed any similarities that we found regarding each book.
Some of the philosophies that both groups found were in regards to environmental concern, community concern, concern for the employees health and well-being, as well as using organic materials, in Clif Bar’s case, the ingredients for the Clif Bar, and in Let My People Go Surfing’s case, the materials used for Patagonia clothing. Both the owner of Clif Bar and the owner of Patagonia speak to near-death experiences, and each speak to how these experiences shaped their mentalities on maintaining their composure in their dire situations. Each business also developed a set of principles that were shaped by many of their core morals and values, which again shaped each business’s philosophy.
All in all, each book held philosophies that can be applied not only within the business world, but also in many aspects of life. Businesses have (or should have) a duty to be good stewards of their communities, their environments, and the people that interact with the business at any capacity. Take businesses out of the equation, replace it with people, and realize that the statement still stands true.