Triple Crown Leadership: Building Excellent, Ethical, and Enduring Organizations

CHAPTER TENSOCIAL IMPACT

Make sure you aren’t riding an old horse in a new race.

—Cheryl Matthynssens, entrepreneur and counselor

 

Gary Erickson was about to become rich, and it was making him sick.

A young entrepreneur from northern California, Erickson had founded a bakery while living in his garage with little more than his two prized possessions, a bike and trumpet. He loved everything about the outdoors—hiking, camping, and long bike rides through the mountains. After accompanying a friend on a grueling daylong bike ride—what Erickson calls his “epiphany ride”—he came up with the idea for a better-tasting energy bar. He named it Clif Bar after his father, and the bakery eventually turned into an energy bar company. He worked hard with his ...