The Journey To Selling A Billion KIND Bars

Daniel Lubetzky is a pioneer in making kindness cool.

Our friend MJ Gottlieb from Hustle Branding recently shared an insightful book: Do the KIND Thing: Think Boundlessly, Work Purposefully, Live Passionately by Daniel Lubetzky, the founder and CEO of KIND Healthy Snacks.

You might be surprised to learn that kindness carries with it a significant return on investment (ROI).

Kindness is too often mistaken for weakness. Business is supposed to be about getting ahead, right? So when people come across an entrepreneur who's trying to be kind to others and practice the Golden Rule, they will probably cynically believe the person is trying to manipulate others or hide their true motives.

For us, it’s refreshing to see someone become so successful while maintaining a kind demeanor. Being kind takes work because it is usually easier to be too direct and mean. We believe that aspect is overlooked and most people think being kind is the easy thing to do.

KIND has been making unique snack bars while at the same time inspiring good deeds and positive outcomes in people’s lives through its KIND Movement.

Daniel's company has grown substantially over the past decade, to the point that he has now sold more than a billion KIND bars. And his success is based on kindness and doing the right thing for his customers. He is, quite honestly, killing it with kindness.

In this book, Daniel details how his father’s experience surviving the Holocaust with the help of strangers inspired Daniel to create a not-only-for-profit business that continues to succeed financially and make a difference in the world. He explains the importance of building a strong brand, how to communicate well with employees and customers, why it takes more than good intentions alone to consistently sell products, and much more. “It takes strength and courage to be kind,” says Daniel in a video interview for USA Today.

“Do the KIND Thing isn’t just a behind-the-scenes tour of one company’s staggering growth,” notes Arianna Huffington, Editor-in-Chief of Huffington Post. “It’s the story of one entrepreneur’s belief that success can be built on a foundation of empathy and, yes, kindness. By sharing the 10 tenets that helped KIND grow, Daniel Lubetzky has given entrepreneurs a road-map to success that includes both passion and purpose.”

We agree.

Being kind and operating a successful business is not an easy balancing act. Kindness uplifts everyone, especially when we disagree. We can all pause for a few seconds in business and explore if we can re-frame a response with respect and kindness. Whoever said that truth has to be mean-spirited? Don’t be surprised when you begin adding kindness to your skill set that one of the things that follows is prosperity in many forms.

Kindness requires courage, especially in the workplace where your intentions and ambitions are constantly under scrutiny. Kind people look like easy prey for the wolves eager to take a bite, make a buck, and climb to the top of the corporate food chain.

Actually, the opposite is true. A coward is mean and hides behind bringing down everything not in the direct line of his self-importance. A true warrior is strong enough to be kind and also soft enough to seek to understand and uplift.

A genuine leader always follows the kind path, especially in a world that does not always value kindness -- or understand it.

Here are our insights from MJ and Team Fishbowl into why we believe Do the KIND Thing is a must-read book for current and future leaders:

Operating a successful business based on the principles of kindness requires a strong backbone and a willingness to stay the course when it’s uphill.

“I have had my kindness mistaken for weakness more times than I can count,” says MJ.

Daniel not only shows how kindness can be a company’s greatest strength but he actually shows how his company was built on the principle of kindness and how he uses it in his marketing campaigns to help others.

Recognize the distinction between entrepreneurship and social entrepreneurship. It’s necessary to have a higher purpose outside of making money.

“The existence of social entrepreneurship is important to me,” MJ notes. “Yes, being a successful entrepreneur is fine, but if you are not making a difference through what you are doing, you are just collecting ‘things,’ which is a very empty concept, in my opinion. The truth is the only time I feel at complete peace is when I am helping others so, unless I am involved in a business that helps others, I have no peace.”

For all of the entrepreneurs out there who believe that the only way to become successful is to be ruthless and feared, we strongly encourage you to read Do the KIND Thing, as it will open you up to ideas you have never thought possible. You do need to be strong and smart to succeed in this world, but the point is that to get ahead without pushing others down is what truly great leaders do. We thank Daniel for providing such great insight into the principle of kindness and creating a business that serves a higher purpose.

This is something we pride ourselves on at Fishbowl. We are a business that operates out of kindness and compassion and contributing to a greater good, and to learn about yet another company that is following these principles warms our hearts.

We also get to Think Boundlessly, Work Purposefully, Live Passionately. “The challenge of leadership is to be strong but not rude; be kind but not weak; be bold but not a bully; be humble but not timid; be proud but not arrogant; have humor but without folly,” states Jim Rohn.

After all, you can never be too KIND.

Additional reporting for this article provided by Mary Michelle Scott, Fishbowl President. For additional resources: www.fishbowlworkforce.com