The Fruits are in the Roots

LOOKING TO GROW YOUR BUSINESS? THEN LOOK RIGHT BENEATH YOU.

When Superman was just a baby, his father Jor-El swaddled him in a blanket and placed him in the spaceship that would save him from a doomed planet Krypton. Before takeoff, he also placed a tape recorder in the capsule.

As our young superhero hurtled through the galaxies towards earth, his father’s voice downloaded the instructions for his life. Those seeds of goodness, fairness and service to mankind would take took root in Superman, creating the ideals the young hero would always be guided by.

Today, companies and brands have realized the power of returning to their roots, rediscovering the authentic origins of their inspiration, distinctiveness, and soul so that they too can grow and prosper, guided by their unique purposes.

“Going back to go forward” and “digging down to reach higher” may sound counterintuitive, but organizations that discover what made them grow in the first place are the ones in first place. In a seminal study, Firms Of Endearment, author Jag Sheth compares S&P 500 companies to Good To Great brands and those who live by their true authentic ideals and purposes. No surprise here. Good To Great companies created three times more value than the S&Ps. But what promises to become the eureka of modern marketing is that organizations who stay true to their roots will beat Good To Great’s three-fold increase. In every company’s beginnings are the seeds of genuine greatness.

In 1928, Margaret Rudkin, a young mother of three, created a recipe for bread using unbleached flour in the hopes of preventing a life-threatening allergy from taking her eldest son’s life. The recipe worked, and in that kitchen a bread company named Pepperidge Farms was born. A billion loaves later, the company’s fledgling brand Goldfish, then #2 in the marketplace, learned of their story of origin, recognizing that they were not a cracker company but a brand that made kids healthy. Today allergies are cured over the counter, but over-scheduled, overstressed and overworked kids are not. Unprecedented degrees of anxiety are taking a toll on our children. Guided by their root belief, “When kids grow, we grow,” Goldfish decided to serve optimism to kids.

First, they took the hydrogenated oil out of their crackers. Then they created www.fishfulthinking.com, a website initiative which teaches cognitive health to kids and their parents. Check out their packaging. The first ingredient is smiles, and customers aren’t the only ones with big grins. Today Goldfish is #1, enjoying the fruits of double digit revenue increases. But most importantly, kids across the country are happier and healthier.

Southwest Airlines founder Herb Kelleher wanted to bring democracy to the skies so that we all had the freedom to fly. While other carriers are now charging for baggage, his company has announced a “bags fly free policy.” From the day they took off, Southwest’s co-ordinates have not wavered, nor has their profit.

Unearthing the roots led to real pay dirt for the world’s largest juvenile products company, Graco. Strolling back 50 years, the brand discovered a story of origin that today has their global brand rocking. Unbeknownst to Graco leadership, the company’s founder created a baby swing not for his colicky baby but to provide some much needed rest for his wife. This one archival insight gave Graco permission to expand their market from only babies to parents. Today, Graco’s Parenting and Baby Essential business has sprouted from just under a half billion to 1.3 billion in revenue.

Want to grow a fruitful company? Go back to your roots. Learn about your beginnings. Talk to the people who nurtured your organization when it was a seedling. Visit your archivist. He protects what is sacred in your organization and holds more potential power than anyone else in the company. Discover your ethos–Greek for “starting place”–and reap the new fruits of profitability.