corporate | The Barefoot Spirit

How Crowdsourcing Is Shaping the Future of Everything

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Tue, 16 Jan 2018 16:11:27 +0000

First published on Entrepreneur.com on 01/13/2018

As fast as things are changing, they are about to change even faster. Technology is making it progressively easier to access the knowledge, experience, and resources of the crowd. We have already seen how applications of crowdsourcing technology can provide funding, services, and navigation. Now this technology will accelerate innovation, problem solving and even politics.

We recently had the honor of interviewing the founder of Crowdsourcing Week, Epi Ludvik. Epi is responsible for pulling together the top crowdsourcing practitioners in the world and bringing their insights to corporate c-suiters and entrepreneurs worldwide.

To read the complete article, please visit Entrepreneur

Who We Are

Michael Houlihan and Bonnie Harvey co-authored the New York Times bestselling business book, The Barefoot Spirit: How Hardship, Hustle, and Heart Built America’s #1 Wine Brand. The book has been selected as recommended reading in the CEO Library for CEO Forum, the C-Suite Book Club, and numerous university classes on business and entrepreneurship. It chronicles their humble beginnings from the laundry room of a rented Sonoma County farmhouse to the board room of E&J Gallo, who ultimately acquired their brand and engaged them as brand consultants. Barefoot is now the world’s largest wine brand.

Beginning with virtually no money and no wine industry experience, they employed innovative ideas to overcome obstacles, create new markets and forge strategic alliances. They pioneered Worthy Cause Marketing and performance-based compensation. They built an internationally bestselling brand and received their industry’s “Hot Brand” award for several consecutive years.

They offer their Guiding Principles for Success (GPS) to help entrepreneurs become successful. Their book, The Entrepreneurial Culture: 23 Ways To Engage and Empower Your People, helps corporations maximize the value of their human resources.

Currently they travel the world leading workshops, trainings, & keynoting at business schools, corporations, conferences. They are regular media guests and contributors to international publications and professional journals. They are C-Suite Network Advisors & Contributing Editors. Visit their popular brand building site at www.consumerbrandbuilders.com.

To make inquiries for keynote speaking, trainings or consulting, please contact sales@thebarefootspirit.com.

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Pyramids Are for Dead Pharaohs – Entrepreneur

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Sat, 22 Jul 2017 23:03:44 +0000

First published on Entrepreneur.com on 7/22/2017

Like most startups, we started out undercapitalized. The only “office” we could afford was our laundry room. We had extra space there because we couldn’t afford a washer and a dryer. Our first desk was an old door we supported on two sawhorses. We were scrambling for sales, every day, just to stay in business. There were only two of us, but there was no question in anyone’s mind that without sales we were finished, and then there would be no Barefoot Wine!

As we began to grow we hired people who specialized in production, accounting, marketing and administration. We moved into larger offices and even hired a sales force that worked throughout the country. The salespeople were “outside” while the office and production people were “inside.”

That’s when we began to see our little company slowly but surely succumb to the pyramid corporate structure. Each division established its hegemony. People began to compare themselves to other professionals in other companies in terms of salary and best practices. Before long, our flat two-person company looked like a pyramid. Eventually, the organization chart became a constant status reminder with various levels and impenetrable silos.

To read the complete article, please visit Entrepreneur

Who We Are

To make inquiries for keynote speaking, trainings or consulting, please contact sales@thebarefootspirit.com.

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Give Your People Permission to be Brilliant

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Wed, 19 Apr 2017 17:00:13 +0000

These days there are tons of companies that say they want their people to be more engaged, but are they giving them permission to do so? Yes: permission! It’s subtle, but powerful.

Permission is a powerful idea in determining company culture. Are you giving your people permission to be creative, make decisions, solve problems, and take responsibility? Or, in the name of efficiency, structure, or compliance, are you preventing the very type of support you need?

Here are some ways to give your people permission:

Compensation

Some part of employees’ compensation should be based on sales, growth, and profits. It will take some time to identify and agree upon metrics used to measure those key indicators, but get started now and tweak it every year until it’s right.

If you offer a bonus, make it quarterly. A year is too long for them to remember, and after a poor first half of the year, they may just give up. Quarterly is short enough to remember, and if they have a bad quarter, well, there’s a new opportunity next quarter.

Knowledge

Your staff can’t help you if you don’t tell them what you need. Many businesses believe in the “need-to-know” policy which keeps employees in the dark. We believe in the “know-the-need” policy which includes them in the company’s challenges, opportunities and triumphs.

They already have your corporate knowledge and a stake in solving your problems, especially if they share in your success. We suggest quarterly meetings with sales and sales support staff (i.e., everybody not in sales) to brainstorm solutions. They will surprise you with their great ideas!

To read the complete article, please visit The Business Journals

Who We Are

To make inquiries for keynote speaking, trainings or consulting, please contact sales@thebarefootspirit.com.

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Are Your Company Values Shared by Your Customers and Employees?

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Thu, 23 Feb 2017 18:00:07 +0000

You can’t enter a reception lobby of any established company these days without seeing a plaque on the wall that says “Company Core Values.” This is the company’s way of announcing to vendors, employees, and customers the principles, ethics, and morals for which the company stands. Terms like honesty, integrity and morality are common. Some companies get more specific and talk about treating people equally, being a good neighbor, or even making the world a better place. But today’s customers and employees are looking for specifics that can help them justify an association with your company.

Most companies want to keep their core values statement as politically neutral as possible. They consider “political” issues those that have been politicized, even if they are more a matter of survival and security. For instance, a company may use a term like “fairness” but not take a public stand on massive deportation, even though they have employees whose families would be impacted. They want to play it “safe.”

Companies may use terms like “integrity” but have a huge carbon footprint. Or they may say they are an “environmentally conscious” company, but their product comes in a single-use plastic container. Is it “ethical” to damage the environment to make a buck? At some point your company may be called upon to take a public stand. You don’t want to be put to the test trying to justify your apparent two-faced stance.

When we were building the Barefoot Wine brand, we decided to support several non-profit conservation groups that were, at the time, considered to be radicals with intentions to damage the economy. They included The Surfrider Foundation that was cleaning beaches and the ocean, The League to Save Lake Tahoe that was keeping pollution out of the lake, the Mono Lake Committee that was supporting the restoration of Mono Lake and the Mono Basin, which meant reducing water consumption in the greater L.A. Metro.

We were advised against “taking sides” on these “political issues.” We were admonished that people who made their money polluting and destroying the environment wouldn’t buy our brand if we took such a stand. In 1990 during the AIDS crisis we came out in favor of LGBT rights. Again, we were admonished not to take sides on such a “political” issue.

Turns out we were on the right side of history, but also we gained a big advantage in the marketplace with these marginalized groups. They saw us as early supporters and as a result, they became loyal customers and advocates. Was it risky? Yes. Did we suffer some push back? You bet! But the detractors eventually became supporters as they “evolved” and became better educated over time. And for us, as a new product, we needed customers even if it meant that some people disagreed with our stance. The one’s who agreed created our solid customer base.

Today, when you realize that you are dependent on selling your products to folks who are being marginalized by race, religion, or sexual preference, can you really afford to remain silent and play it safe? Is your company’s silence on these issues “ethical?” Is it even good business?

It’s time for companies to takes another look at those “values” they have hanging in the reception area. It is time for companies to take a stand and perform according to their values, rather than merely stating them on a plaque. Their customers are looking more closely now to justify their spending choices with companies that share their values. And employees are concerned about the real values demonstrated by the company that gives them their paychecks.

It’s time for companies to build a strong and loyal customer base by taking a stand on the issues that affect their customers and employees. Why risk losing business with corporate silence to a competitor who sees the advantage of speaking out?

Who We Are

To make inquiries for keynote speaking, trainings or consulting, please contact sales@thebarefootspirit.com.

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Time to Vote with Your Money – Again!

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Thu, 16 Feb 2017 18:00:54 +0000

Many of today’s consumers feel worried by the outcome of the election and recent attempts to marginalize their various communities. Or should we say the majority of consumers!

They include: the majority who voted against the current administration and its policies; the majority of religious and ethnic communities that make up the market place; and the undocumented aliens who pay taxes and spend their money here. They all are concerned that the American ideals of inclusiveness, personal freedom, and civil rights are being eroded. They are anxious about selective bans on entry and threats of deportation that can affect their families and friends. They are fearful of racism emboldened by the remarks of our highest officials. What’s worse is that they feel disempowered and vulnerable. They feel like there’s nothing they can do about it. But there is!

We often say, “Consumers vote with their purchases.” Throughout history, marginalized groups have survived by deliberately spending their money on goods and services produced and offered by other members of their community. They have gone out of their way to not patronize businesses that support their marginalization in any way, manner, or form. This has forced big companies to “come out” in support of their rights, privileges, and security. It’s kind of like a big boycott. It certainly makes companies aware of who is working for them, who is buying their products, and who is ultimately putting money in their pockets. It’s that marble cake of ethnic and religious communities we call the American consumer.

By boycotting the products and services of companies who either support marginalization or who are silent about it, you can force every business from your corner store to corporate America to take sides on these issues. And the side they are going to take is the side their bread is buttered on, their consumers’ side!

As Harvey Milk once said about the LGBT community, the only way to make change happen was to “Come out, come out where ever you are!” He wanted LGBT folks to make themselves known, as if to say, “Look how many we are. We’re part of your society, we’re part of your market, and we’re part of your income. Do you want our business or not?”

As consumers, todays marginalized communities can learn a lot from Harvey. Simply put, if you don’t like what’s going on, don’t pay for it! Don’t patronize companies that agree with turning back the clock.

It’s interesting that companies that rely on seasonal workers to harvest their crops and do other types of heavy physical labor have already come out against policies that would rob them of their labor force. Other companies that realize how dependent they are on ethnic consumers have also come out. They want to reassure their customers that they support them so those consumers will continue to buy from them.

If one minority can be marginalized, any minority can be marginalized. They all know it, and have good reason to boycott any business that supports the unraveling of all the hard-earned social progress we have made over the past 50 years.

So, if you don’t like the outcome of the last election, and if you don’t like the way top officials have emboldened racism and religious prejudice, you still have a strong card to play. It’s in your wallet! The next time you pull it out, ask yourself this question, “What am I really supporting with my purchases?” Get to know how your vendors stand on the important issues that affect your lives and those you love. Vote with your dollars!

Who We Are

To make inquiries for keynote speaking, trainings or consulting, please contact sales@thebarefootspirit.com.

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