The anti-CEO playbook | Hamdi Ulukaya

May 4, 2020

Profit, money, shareholders: these are the priorities of most companies today. But at what cost? In an appeal to corporate leaders worldwide, Chobani founder Hamdi Ulukaya calls for an end to the business playbook of the past -- and shares his vision for a new, "anti-CEO playbook" that prioritizes people over profits. "This is the difference between profit and true wealth," he says.

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this Ted Talk features yogurt maker and humanitarian Hamdi ulukaya recorded live at Ted 2019 hello it's Chris Anderson here host of the Ted interview podcast on the next episode singer-songwriter artist Amanda Palmer we discuss what she predicts for the future generation of artists and the intention behind her radical openness you use yourself as a vessel to

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a cold January day of 2005 I took one of my most important Drive of my life

I was on this road in Upstate New York

trying to find this old factory

and they before I received a flyer in the mail and said fully equipped yogurt plant for sale

I throw it in the garbage can

and 20 minutes later I picked it up and call the number

Platt was 85 years old

and it was closing

so I decided to go see it

at this time I wasn't sure where this road or my life is going

I own a small cheese shop but really hated business

but the hills and the roads in the smells is also familiar

I grew up in Turkey the similar environment near the Kurdish mountains my family make cheese and yogurt I grew up listening Shepard stories

we didn't have much but we had the moon and the stars simple food each other

eventually I came to America I didn't even know New York had Farms

I made it to Upstate and I never left

now I'm lost

I passed the road sign said dead end

and soon after there was the factory

the smell hit me first it was like a milk container left out in the sun

the walls were so thick

pays for peeling the cracks everywhere

the factory was so old the owners thought it was worthless

I thought they left a zero off couldn't I couldn't believe the price

as they entered in

I stopped focusing things I stopped noticing things all I could see were the people

there were 55 of them

The Squire their only job was to break the plant apart and close it forever

I was met with a guy named rich

production manager

you offered to take me around show me around he didn't say much but around every corner he would point out some stories

Rich worked there for 20 years his father made yogurt before him and his grandfather made cream cheese before that

you could tell that rich felt guilty

that this Factory was closing on his watch

what hit me the hardest at that time

that this wasn't just an old factory this was a time machine

this is where people build lives they left for Wars they brag about home runs and record cards

but now it was closing

and the company wasn't just giving up on yogurt it was giving up on them

as if they were not good enough

and I was shocked how these people were behaving

they were no anger there was no tears

just silence with Grace they were closing this Factory

I was so angry

that the CEO of far away

you know Tower or somewhere looking at the spreadsheet and closing the factory

splashes are lazy

they don't tell you about people they don't tell you about communities but unfortunately this is how too many business decisions are made today

I was never the same person after what I saw on my way back home I called Mario my lawyer

I called Mario I said Mario I want to buy this buy this place

Mario said handy one of the largest food company in the world is closing this place

and they getting out of yogurt business who the hell are you to make it work

I said you're right

but the next day I called him again I said Mario really I really want to buy this place

he's a ham do you have no money

you haven't even paid me in six months which was true

but I got alone and other loan by August 2005 I had the keys for this Factory

the first thing I did was to hire four of the original 55 people I have Maria office manager I had Frank the Wastewater guy I had Mike the maintenance guy and Rich will show me the plant production guy and we had our first board meeting

Mike says I'm the well we going to do now they look at me as if I have the magic answer

so I said Mike

we're going to go to Ace Hardware Store

and we're going to get some paints

and we want to paint the walls outside

Mike wasn't impressed he looked at me he said humbly that's fine we'll do that but tell me you have more ideas than that

I said I do

will paint the walls white

honest to God that was the only ideas I had

but we painted those walls that summer

I sometimes wonder what they would have said to me if I told them

see these walls were painting in two years we're going to launch a yogurt here that Americans never seen and never tasted before would be delicious it would be natural and we're going to call it Chobani it means Shepherd in Turkish

and if I said

we were going to hire all of the 55 employees back almost of them back and then hundred more after and a hundred more after and then thousand more after that but if I told them you see that town over there every person be hired 10 more local jobs will be created the town will come back to life the trucks will be all over the roads and the first body we make we're going to build one of the best Little League baseball field for our children

and five years after that we're going to be the number one Greek yogurt brand in the country

would they have believed me

of course not

but that's exactly what happened

in painting those walls we got to know each other

we believed in each other

and we figured it out together

five years me and all my colleagues we never left the factory

we work day and night to the holidays to fix that plant

the best part of Chobani for me is this the same exact people who were giving up on were the ones build it back 100 times better than before

and they all have a financial stake in the company today

and all these times I kept wondering see another businessman I don't come from that tradition I just kept wondering what is this all about

the corporate America says it's about profits mainstream business says about money to see your play book says about shareholders and there's so much is sacrifice for it it's factories communities jobs but not by CEOs

CEOs have their employees suffer for them but yet to CEOs pay up goes up and up and up and so many peoples are left behind

I'm here to tell you no more it's not right it's never been right

it's time to admit that the Playbook that guided businesses and CEOs for the last 40 years is broken

it tells you everything about business except how to be a noble leader

we need a new playbook we need a new playbook that sees people again that sees above and beyond profits

in the movies they have a name for people who take a different path to do things right they call them anti-heroes I think we need the same idea in business we need anti CEOs and we need fantasy your playbook so let me tell you about what is a fantasy your playbook is all about

Auntie CEO Playbook is about gratitude

today's Business book says business exist to maximize profit for the shareholders

I think that's the dumbest idea I've ever heard in my life

in reality business should take care of their employees first

you know few years ago when we announced that we are going to have given shares to all our 2,000 employees some people said it's you know PR some said it's a gift I said it's not a gift

I washed it I've been part of it they earned it with their talent and their hard work and I don't see any other way

the new way of business it's your employees you take care of first

not the prophets

the new anti-seizure Playbook is about community

today the businesses that have it all as for communities what kind of tax breaks and incentives you can give me

the reality is businesses should go to the struggling communities and ask how can I help you

you know then we wanted to build a second yogurt plant Idaho was in nobody's radar screen it was to roll too far away didn't have much incentives so I went there

I met with the local people I met with the farmers we shook hands with broke bread I said I want to build it right here I don't need to see financial studies

the result

this community is striving its new schools are open every year Platz new food companies are coming up every year

and they told me you're not going to find any trained workers here I said it's okay we'll teach them we partner with the local Community College

and while we were building the plant we trained hundreds of hundreds of people for advanced manufacturing and today our Factory is one of the largest yogurt plant in the world

the new way of business

communities go search for communities that you can be part of ask for permission and be be with them open the walls and succeed together

the anti see your playbook is about responsibility today's Playbook says the businesses should stay out of Politics the reality is businesses as citizens must take a site

when we were growing in New York and looking for more people to hire I remembered in Utica an hour away they were refugees from Southeast Asia and Africa were looking for a place to work

they all speak English someone told me I said I don't really either let's get translators

they don't have transportation's I said let's get buses is not a rocket science

today

one of the America's rural areas 30% of Chobani Workforce are immigrants and refugees

any changes for better

do new way of business it's business not government is in the best position to make a change in today's world in gun violence in in climate change in income inequality in refugees in race it's business must take a side

and lastly fantasy your playbook is about accountability

today's Playbook says the see your reports to the board's corporate boards in my opinion see your reports to consumer

the first few years of Chobani the 1-800 number was in the cup was my personal number

when somebody called and wrote I responded personally sometimes I made it changes based on what I heard

because consumer is in power

that's the reason the business exists

it's you every single one of you is in the power to make a changes today if you don't like the brand and the companies what they are doing with their business you can throw them into the garbage can and if you see the ones that doing it right you can reward them

in the end this is all in our responsibility to deliver your business its consumer report to not to the corporate boards you see

if you are right with your people

if you're right with your community if you're right with your product you will be more profitable you will be more Innovative you will have more passionate people working for you and the community that supports you and that's what the anti see your play book is all about

the treasure that I found in that factory

Dignity of work strike of character human Spirit what we need to unleash all across the world

brothers and sisters

there are people and places all around the world

left out and left behind

but their spirit is still strong

they just want another chance they want someone to give them a chance again not to just build it back but build it better than before

and this is the difference between return on investment and return on kindness

this is the difference between profit and true wealth

and if you can happen

in Upstate New York in a small town Upstate New York in Idaho it can happen in every city and town and Village across the world

this is not the time to build walls this is a time to start painting the walls I live the colors all after you thank you so much

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