Product Description

In April of 2000, Gary Erickson turned down a $120 million offer to buy his thriving company. Today, instead of taking it easy for the rest of his life and enjoying a luxurious retirement, he's working harder than ever. Why would any sane person pass up the financial opportunity of a lifetime?

Raising the Bar tells the amazing story of Clif Bar's Gary Erickson and shows that some things are more important than money. Gary Erickson and coauthor Lois Lorentzen tell the unusual and inspiring story about following your passion, the freedom to create, sustaining a business over the long haul, and living responsibly in your community and on the earth. Raising the Bar chronicles Clif Bar's ascent from a homemade energy bar to a $100 million phenomenon with an estimated 35 million consumers, and a company hailed by Inc. magazine as one of the fastest-growing private companies in the U.S. four years in a row. The book is filled with compelling personal stories from Erickson's life-trekking in the Himalayan mountains, riding his bicycle over roadless European mountain passes, climbing in the Sierra Nevada range--as inspiration for his philosophy of business. Throughout the book, Erickson--a competitive cyclist, jazz musician, world traveler, mountain climber, wilderness guide, and entrepreneur--convinces us that sustaining one's employees, community, and environment is good business.

If you are a manager, executive, business owner, or board member, Raising the Bar is your personal guide to corporate integrity. If you are a sports enthusiast, environmentalist, adventure lover, intrigued by a unique corporate culture, or just interested in a good story, Raising the Bar is for you.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #80226 in Books
• Published on: 2006-10-27
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 368 pages

Review
"What makes this book [Raising the Bar] worth reading is that he's [Gary Erickson] as honest about his mistakes as his successes." (Newsweek, October 4, 2004)

Review
“Gary Erickson realizes that businesses have tremendous power to harm or protect the natural world, our common home. I applaud the efforts of Gary and Clif Bar to develop business practices that promote an ethic of global responsibility.”
--Mikhail S. Gorbachev, chairman, Green Cross International

“Gary Erickson believes that doing good and doing business should go hand in hand. Raising the Bar tells the inspiring story of a scrappy company’s battle to stay privately owned and to better its people, the community, and the planet in the process.”
--Ben Cohen, cofounder, Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream, and president, TrueMajority.org

“This is a beautiful book about courage, commitment, integrity, and vision. It is also a story that reminds us that one person does make a difference by leading the way through the inspiration of the heart.”
--Julia Butterfly Hill, author, The Legacy of Luna

“Gary Erickson’s story is sheer inspiration. Reading it makes you want to ride a bike up a high mountain, dust off your musical instrument and join a jazz band, or launch an outrageous company. This is a life manual masquerading as a business book.”
--David Batstone, author, Saving the Corporate Soul

“In Raising the Bar, Gary Erickson’s incredible journey raises our expectations of corporate America and most importantly our hope for a better world.”
--Jeanne Rizzo, R.N., executive director, The Breast Cancer Fund

“My son Gary’s awesome true Clif Bar story, as told in this book, brings tears to my eyes, sends chills up my spine, and gives joy to my heart.”
--Clifford Erickson

“I can relate to a guy who’s faced a few challenges on a bike. Reading about Gary’s adventures in the mountains, on his bike, and with Clif Bar inspires me. Gary understands the meaning of adventure in life and business.”
--Tyler Hamilton, professional cyclist

“Whether I’ve been climbing or just visiting with Gary, he motivates me to consider what’s possible. He has a powerful dreaming mind and a kind of vision to make our world a better place. It’s awesome to see Gary and the people at Clif Bar turn their business into a way of life.”
--Ron Kauk, climber

From the Inside Flap
In April of 2000, Gary Erickson turned down a $120 million offer to buy his thriving company. Today, instead of taking it easy for the rest of his life and enjoying a luxurious retirement, he’s working harder than ever. Why would any sane person pass up the financial opportunity of a lifetime?

Raising the Bar tells the amazing story of Clif Bar’s Gary Erickson and shows that some things are more important than money. Gary Erickson and coauthor Lois Lorentzen tell the unusual and inspiring story about following your passion, having the freedom to create, sustaining a business over the long haul, and living responsibly in your community and on the earth.

Raising the Bar chronicles Clif Bar’s ascent from a homemade energy bar to a $100 million phenomenon with an estimated 35 million customers and a company hailed by Inc. magazine as one of the fastest-growing private companies in the United States four years in a row. The book is filled with compelling stories from Erickson’s life–trekking in the Himalaya Mountains, riding his bicycle over roadless European mountain passes, climbing in the Sierra Nevada–as inspiration for his philosophy of business. Throughout the book, Erickson–a competitive cyclist, jazz musician, world traveler, mountain climber, wilderness guide, and entrepreneur–convinces us that sustaining one's employees, community, and environment is good business.

If you are a manager, executive, business owner, or board member, Raising the Bar is your personal guide to corporate integrity. If you are a sports enthusiast, environmentalist, or adventure lover, or intrigued by a unique corporate culture, or just interested in a good story, Raising the Bar is for you.

Customer Reviews

Make mine Black Cherry Almond
This is an excellent, interesting little read that I gave to my uncle for his birthday. He is a hiker and mountain bike rider as well as a traveler so the story of Clif Bars is right up is alley. However, I am a non-outdoorsy, non-sporty non-traveler and I really found it enthralling. Once I had given it to my uncle, my brother needed a copy and several friends gave me the old "Where did you get that book?" routine. You'll enjoy the responsible and inspiring way the company was grown and developed as well as the travel and adventure aspects of the story. It is inspiring and entertaining for all kinds of readers so don't pass it up even if you aren't into Clif Bars ( how could anyone not like Black Cherry Almond?....Sorry, I digress).

Well-written bio and advice book.
"Raising the Bar" is a great read! It's a fascinating bio about Gary Erickson and the journey he took in creating Clif Bar. I bought this book because I'm thinking about starting a business in convenience/health food sector. I found his adventures and thoughts to be very interesting. He also talks about independently-owned businesses and shares his views and opinions on them.

However, don't expect any concrete business development tips or lessons. This book is just about Erickson's life experiences and the lessons he learned along the way. Nevertheless, I found "Raising the Bar" to be an inspiring and worthwhile read for any young entrepreneur!

all is wonderful at the bar!
I bought this book hoping it would be soewhat comparable to POUR YOUR HEART INTO IT or even the great Republic of Tea: Letters to a Young Zentrepreneur. This book should not even be mentioned in the same breath. here's what the author wants us to know.

He ate a whole bunch of POWER BARS and got sick of them so he decided to start making his own that would taste better. he heeoked up with his mom and partner (he owner a bakery or something) and came up with some he liked. They projected they would sell a few, but istead they sold a zillion and they were the first to do this and that and everythig else, and everyone else ripped them off. He got offered $120 million for the company but he couldn't think of anything else he would want to do with his life so he decided not to sell. But his partner wanted her $60 million so he spent a lot of time and had a lot of grief getting that. Now he and his wife own the company 100% and everyone who works for him is so happy because he has a gym and yoga classes and they go riding on bicycles once and awhile. Oh, yeah, and to help people relate to him we are told at one point that he lived in his parents' garage. Um ... oh, yeah, and some editor probably thought it would be clever if he compared running a business to riding a bicycle across Europe and there's a bunch of stuff in there baout taking the white road vs the red road, which really doens't add much to the story ofthe copany. Nothing really inspiring here. I didn't walk away with anything I didn't really know. Basically, start a company, built it up and make a lot of money and put a gym in your office.

There, now you don't have to buy the book.