Saturday, October 3, 2009

Whole Foods: The Unique CEO

I was never a particularly big fan of going grocery shopping. It was something that had to be done of course, but it wasn’t something to enjoy and it was never a thing to look forward to. And then, when we moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico…I discovered Whole Foods Market. The first time I walked into one of their stores, everything was different. The customer service was exceptional, the fish department folks really knew their stuff, and I could get freshly roasted coffee to take home with me. Where had this store been my whole life?

Since that time, grocery shopping in America has certainly changed. And living in Syracuse, I have no Whole Foods (but I do thank goodness have the spectacular Wegmans), but I look back to my shopping mornings at Whole Foods with wonder; how did they turn this guy who hated shopping into one that actually enjoyed the process. This is just preamble to a suggestion that you read the article in this morning’s Wall Street Journal that is an interview with the CEO of Whole Foods. The interview is comprised of one cup of business 101, one cup of social entrepreneurship and a dash of pride from the CEO for having created a truly unusual store that in many ways has revolutionized the grocery industry.

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