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LIVE THE ACTIVE LIFE SPECIAL REPORT BEAR GRYLLS HAS A DIRTY SECRET BY HAMPTON SIDES + THE HIKE TO HELL HOW THREE AMERICAN TREKKERS LANDED IN AN IRANIAN PRISON FIGHT THE POWER WHY GREENS HATE SOLAR AND WIND 24 HOURS OF FUN RACE AND RAGE AT CYCLING’S ALL-NIGHT PARTY CELEBRITY DEATH MARCH UP KILIMANJARO WITH JESSICA BIEL +35 SMART, FUN COMPANIES HIRING RIGHT NOW AMERICA’S GREAT PARKS WHERE TO FIND PARADISE AND BEAT THE CROWDS Turn Adventure Into Your Career 50 DREAM JOBS

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Page 1: BEAR GRYLLS HASA DIRTY 50 SECRET - usana.com · bear grylls hasa dirty secret byhampton sides + thehike tohell howthree american trekkers landed in an iranian prison fightthe power

LIVE THE ACTIVE LIFE

SPECIAL REPORT

BEARGRYLLS

HAS ADIRTY

SECRETBY HAMPTON

SIDES

+

THE HIKETO HELL

HOW THREEAMERICANTREKKERSLANDED IN

AN IRANIANPRISON

FIGHT THEPOWER

WHY GREENSHATE SOLAR

AND WIND

24 HOURSOF FUNRACE AND

RAGE ATCYCLING’SALL-NIGHT

PARTY

CELEBRITYDEATH MARCHUP KILIMANJAROWITH JESSICA BIEL

+35 SMART, FUN COMPANIESHIRING RIGHT NOW

AMERICA’S GREAT PARKSWHERE TO FIND PARADISE

AND BEAT THE CROWDS

Turn AdventureInto Your Career

50DREAMJOBS

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OUTSIDEONLINE.COM Outside 69Photograph byHugh Kretschmer

THEGUIDE

>

nINFORMATION

YOU NEED ABOUT:BEST JOBS

WillWorkforGoodAt a time when we’re supposed to feel lucky just to have ajob, why are so many employers supporting our addictionto travel, helping us get fit, and inviting our dogs into theoffice? Because it’s good business. Presenting our thirdannual list of Outside’s Best Places to Work.

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Bryan Simpson,“but we brokethe trail pretty quickly.”Threeyears later, staffers take spinsduring the workday and host asix-week public race series inthe fall. Bocce, yoga, and beachvolleyball are other populardiversions.“It’s harder for theproduction folks to peel awayfrom the line,” notes Simpson,“but they have a Ping-Pongtable in there.”

70 Outside

It’s a well-known fact thathealthier employees save busi-nesses money. But many of ourBest Places to Work go far be-yond the standard treadmill-and-weights corporate gymwith exceptional on-site facili-ties, wellness programs, andreimbursements for ski passes,gym memberships, and race-entry fees. The Team SportsCommittee atAlaskanBrew-ingCompany (#17) helped agroup of employees train for andclimb Mount Rainier, where theyplanted the company banner onthe summit. Nutritional-supple-ments manufacturerUSANAHealthSciences (#13) offers a2,000-square-foot gym that’sopen 24 hours a day, with a bas-ketball court and classes such asZumba and CrossFit. AtSmithOptics (#4), the staff has alocker room and gear room, andthe president encourages em-ployees to skip work on big snowdays.“You get a ton of grief for

Secrets toTheirSuccessWhatmakes a great job great?Thatwas the big questionwe set out to answerwith our third annual list of Outside’sBest Places toWork. Because after two years of celebratingsomephenomenal employers,we felt energized—Look!They’re successful precisely because they support a properwork-life balance!—but also unsure how to proceed.Wewantedmore takeaway.Wewanted to showotherbusi-nesses the light. So this time aroundwedrilled to the coreof ourwinners’philosophies andpractices to look for com-mon strategies.As it turns out, companies fromavast arrayof industries are following the sameenlightenedpaths.

Nowcomes yourpart. If you run a company, take heed ofthe seven fundamentals detailed here. If youwork for acompany that, er, needs someguidance, hand thismaga-zine to yourboss. (Don’tworry, it’s Outside; theywon’t thinkyou’re giving themmanagement advice.)And if you’re look-ing for a job, flip to the full breakdownofour50winners onpages 72–73.Manyof themare hiring right now.

1. MAKE ’EM SWEATIn 2008,NewBelgiumBrewery (#2 on our list) employees LoraHeckman (planning and design), KC McCuiston (facilities), andJason Trujillo (quality assurance) looked out at the company’s50-acre property in Fort Collins, Colorado, and thought, Hey, wecould put a great cyclocross course here. So they did. “I’m suresomeone looked into insurance,” says media relations director

[MYCOMPANY]

NeilFiske CEO, Eddie Bauer, #19

When I first arrived here, in 2007, I wanted to take Eddie Bauerback to its roots as an outdoor company. The feedback I got wasmostly skepticism. People were like, We’ve heard that before. Thecompany had this amazing 90-year history, but they’d beenthrough this period where they didn’t think it was important. Thearchives were in boxes, scattered around Seattle. My first hire wasa brand historian. That made people understand that it wasn’tjust rhetoric. There’s just something about building a brandaround the things that you love to do—it translates into a uniqueculture and motivation. When our First Ascent team summitedEverest last May, you can’t imagine how much excitement it gen-erated in the office. We’d all had a hand in building the product.People felt like, Yeah, I helped put them on top of Everest.

Photographs by Fredrik Brodén

It’s a well-known factthat healthier employeessave businesses money.

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not taking advantage,”says PRmanager Greg Randolph.

And then there’sClifBar&Company (#3), whose offer-

ings are almost hard to believe:personal training, massages,nutritional counseling, a fullyequipped gym, a spring-loadedwooden floor in the yoga room,a menu of 32 fitness classes (in-cluding off-site options like surf-ing lessons), and two and a halfhours of paid workout time perweek. It’s amazing they have anyof their products left to sell.

2. DESTROYTHECUBICLESBecause inspired people needinspired surroundings. You know,things like surfboard storage(Redspin, #24), dog-friendlyoffices (too many to name),and even kegerators (SmithOptics). Other companies,likeNau (#22) andRuffWear(#41), have removed barriersto communication by, well,removing walls. At both outfits,employees sit in an open-floor

work space, creating a vibe thatencourages a smoother flow ofideas. AtHornyToad (#37),

>HOWWEPICKEDTHEMFirst, with help from the Out-door Industry Association, wegot the word out to eligible ap-plicants: nonprofit and for-profitcompanies with at least 15employees working in the U.S.Our project partner, the Har-risburg, Pennsylvania–basedresearch firm Best CompaniesGroup (bestcompaniesgroup.net), then sent registeredcompanies a confidential em-ployee-satisfaction survey andan extensive employer ques-tionnaire to collect informa-tion about policies, practices,and benefits. The results wereanalyzed by the Best Compa-nies Group, which ranked the50 winners in order of whobest enables employees tobalance productivity with anactive, eco-conscious lifestyle.Forthefull listofthisyear’swinners, turnthepage.

WORKABROADSome company somewheresweet is always hiring—youjust need to know how to findit. The easiest method? TeachEnglish. ESL instructors arealmost always in demand(check tefl.com). But if youdon’t want to abandon yourprofession, start by finding anemployer in need in your coun-try of choice, as they can oftenhelp cut through the visa redtape. Here’s where to hunt:>Australia & New Zealand:employment.byron.com.au>Europe: www.eurogradu-ate.com>Mexico, Central & SouthAmerica: latpro.com>Africa: findajobinafrica.com>All Over: expatsdirect.com

[MYCOMPANY]

GeoffandMarcyLarsonFounders, Alaskan BrewingCompany, #17

GEOFF: We met in our twenties, while working in Glacier NationalPark, in Montana. I was a short-order cook and Marcy was a nightauditor. We became hiking buddies.MARCY: Summer-season jobs—“seasonal bums” is what I thinkthey call that.GEOFF: Marcy got a job in Alaska, at Glacier Bay, and we both endedup moving to Juneau. I worked at a gold mine, then it closed. In theback of our minds, there’d been this idea to start a brewery.MARCY: I wanted to be a bush pilot. That was my original goal, andI got my pilot’s license. But we wanted to work together.GEOFF: And we both love beer. We figured we could travel all overAlaska. Load up the plane and make deliveries.MARCY: Our ethic was“Work hard, play hard.”We’d worked for peo-ple who got it and people who didn’t. As managers, we always tryto remember that. If we’re imposing something, how is it going toaffect everybody? I think our crew really appreciates that. It’s moreof a family here than an employee-employer relationship.

Inspired people needinspired surroundings:things like surfboardstorage, dog-friendlybuildings, and open-floorwork space. >

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72 Outside

nBEST JOBS

Company Location BusinessTypeFull-timeEmployees

1Natural HabitatAdventures Boulder, CO Travel operator 39

2NewBelgiumBrewing Fort Collins, CO Brewery 345

3 Clif Bar&Company Berkeley, CA Natural-energy-foodmanufacturer 233

4SmithOptics Ketchum, ID Sunglass and goggles manufacturer 65

5AmerSportsWinter&OutdoorCo. Ogden, UT Outdoor gear and apparel (K2, Arc’teryx) 85

6Rally Software Boulder, CO Project-management-software developer 165

7 Tabar Bethel, CT Glove manufacturer 18

8 LeBootCamp Dover, DE Online diet and weight-loss program 20

9SeventhGeneration Burlington, VT Earth-friendly household products 107

10 ParadigmGroup Nashville, TN Employee-benefits consulting firm 24

11 FitnessAnywhere San Francisco, CA Fitness-products manufacturer 72

12 Osprey Packs Cortez, CO Outdoor-gearmanufacturer 33

13 USANAHealth Sciences Salt Lake City, UT Health-supplements manufacturer 587

14 The DREAMProgram Winooski, VT Nonprofit youth-mentoring organization 18

15 Carmichael Lynch Minneapolis, MN Advertising/public relations 205

16W. L. Gore&Associates Newark, DE Textile manufacturer (Gore-Tex) 5,750

17Alaskan Brewing Company Juneau, AK Brewery 80

18 SmartWool Steamboat Springs, CO Outdoor-apparel maker 77

19 Eddie Bauer Bellevue,WA Outdoor-and-casual-apparel maker 8,000

20NatureBridge San Francisco, CA Environmental nonprofit 160

21MaxBorgesAgency Miami, FL Public relations 20

22Nau Portland, OR Outdoor-apparel maker 16

23 Chesapeake Energy Corporation Oklahoma City, OK Natural-gas producer 7,996

24Redspin Carpinteria, CA Security auditor for banks and corporations 15

25WildernessAdventure at Eagle Landing Newcastle, VA Adventure-recreation center 18

26PacificMarket International Seattle,WA Food-and-beverage-container maker 82

27 RiverDesign Group Whitefish, MT River-and-wetlands-restoration consultant 17

28Keen Portland, OR Footwearmanufacturer 82

29Aspen Skiing Company Aspen, CO Ski-resorts operator 2,413

30Patagonia Ventura, CA Outdoor-gear-and-apparel maker 750

31 Timberland Stratham, NH Outdoor-apparel-and-footwearmaker 838

32 LiveStrong Austin, TX Cancer-research-and-support foundation 80

33 Pearl Izumi Louisville, CO Outdoor-apparel maker 116

34RealeFlow Parma Heights, OH Online real-estate information andmarketing 19

35 Street Legal Industries Oak Ridge, TN Government consulting 55

36Rutabaga Madison,WI Paddlesports retailer 28

37HornyToad Santa Barbara, CA Outdoor-apparel maker 25

38 Peaksware Lafayette, CO Online fitness trainer 22

39Quality Bicycle Products Bloomington, MN Bicycle-parts distributor 407

40MindBody San Luis Obispo, CA Software developer for fitness studios 163

41 RuffWear Bend, OR Dog-gearmanufacturer 19

42G5SearchMarketing Bend, OR Internet-marketing consultant 70

43Great Harvest Bread Co. Dillon, MT Bakery franchise 30

44NOLS Lander,WY Outdoor-education nonprofit 159

45Adventure Life Journeys Missoula, MT Travel operator 18

46OluKai PremiumFootwear Aliso Viejo, CA Footwearmanufacturer 30

47 Sambazon San Clemente, CA Açaí-berry-products manufacturer 55

48Volcom Costa Mesa, CA Action-sports-apparel manufacturer 295

49Dominion Digital Glen Allen, VA Technology consulting 43

50TriSports.com Tucson, AZ Triathlon-equipment retailer 45

The50BestPlacestoWork

0510_BestJobs_final.qxp_0325:Feature 4/6/10 10:55 AM Page 72

OUTSIDEONLINE.COM Outside73

AverageSalaryforExemptEmployee

ProfitSharing

Approx.PaidDaysOffAfterOneYear

Com-pressedWork-weeks

On-SiteGym(orMembershipReimbursementProgram) WheretoApply

FacilitiesDesignedorBuiltUsingSustainableTechniques

NowHiring

———— √ 30 √ √ √

2 $75,714 √ 24 √ √ √

3 $100,700 33 √ √

4 $50,000 15 √ √

5 $77,252 25 √ √ √

6 $88,580 24 √

$70,000 √ 20 √

$75,000 √ 40 √ √

9 $93,268 16 √ √ √

1 $110,399 √ 25 √ √

1 $90,000 20 √ √ √

1 $70,578 √ 22 √ √

1 $83,934 √ 20 √ √ √

1 $32,728 25 √ √

1 ———— 18 √ √ √

1 ———— √ 21 √ √

1 $76,500 √ 24 √ √

1 $72,000 25 √ √

1 $63,087 √ 23 √ √ √

2 $36,040 25 √ √

2 $80,000 22 √ √

2 $90,783 27 √

$101,301 23 √ √

2 $134,000 √ 27 √

$20,000 11 √

$89,000 √ 17 √ √

2 ———— 21 √ √ √

2 $77,000 √ 25 √ √

2 $72,475 √ 17 √ √ √

3 $85,674 17 √ √ √

3 $95,000 26 √ √ √

3 $73,236 30+ √ √ √

3 ———— 20 √

$60,000 √ 18 √

$103,500 21 √ √

3 ———— √ 14 √ √

3 $90,783 27 √

$70,000 23 √

$63,441 √ 23 √ √

4 $48,550 √ 20 √ √

4 $65,790 25 √ √ √

4 ———— 23 √ √ √

4 $54,000 √ 26 √ √ √

4 $33,294 23 √ √ √

4 $61,000 16 √ √

4 $73,900 16

$75,821 20 √

$96,367 26 √

$95,023 √ 25 √

$44,500 √ 14 √ √

nathab.com

newbelgium.com

clifbar.com

smithoptics.com

amersports.com

rallydev.com

tabarinc.com

lebootcamp.com

seventhgeneration.com

paradigmgroup.net

fitnessanywhere.com

ospreypacks.com

usana.com

dreamprogram.org

carmichaellynch.com

gore.com

alaskanbeer.com

smartwool.com

eddiebauer.com

naturebridge.org

maxborgesagency.com

nau.com

chk.com

redspin.com

wilderness-adventure.com

pmi-worldwide.com

riverdesigngroup.net

keenfootwear.com

aspensnowmass.com

patagonia.com

timberland.com

livestrong.org

pearlizumi.com

realeflow.com

slind.net

rutabaga.com

hornytoad.com

peaksware.com

qbp.com

mindbodyonline.com

ruffwear.com

g5searchmarketing.com

greatharvest.com

nols.edu

adventure-life.com

olukai.com

sambazon.com

volcom.com

dominiondigital.com

trisports.com

OOTo see how the companieswere ranked, check out“HowWePickedThem”(page 71). To learnmore about each of thesecompanies, including benefits, policies, andwhere to apply, head tooutsideonline.com/bestplacestowork2010.

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76 Outside

brainstorming sessions oftenhappen over the office Ping-Pong table, and the fine peopleatAdventure LifeJourneys(#45) run their operation in amodified Victorian in the middleof Missoula, Montana. Manage-ment principle? It’s easier tostay calm when your desk sitsin a bedroom.

WhenKeen (#28) convertedan old warehouse in Portland,Oregon’s Pearl District into anew company HQ four yearsago, they took the opportunityto rethink work space entirely.The defining feature is a 3,000-square-foot“living room”outfit-ted with accessories such asa Wii game console, a moviescreen and projector, and musi-cal instruments.“There aretimes when you’re playing andtimes when you’re working,”saysKate Lee, Keen’s head of humanresources. There are also timeswhen you’re sharing: Keen letslocal nonprofits use the spacefor fundraising and other activi-ties.“We wanted an office that

reflects the values of Keen andthe needs of our people,”saysLee.“That’s what we have.”

3. PAY ITFORWARDLast October, when a massivepine beetle infestation inSteamboat Springs, Colorado,forced the U.S. Forest Serviceto start clear-cutting dead anddying trees,SmartWool (#18)saw an opportunity for one oftheir biannual Serve-A-Paloozadays. Twenty employees hit thewoods, sawed and chopped likemad, and delivered bundles offirewood to families in need.“Itwas an awesome, emotionalday,”says sales rep Erin di Sanpi,who headed up the project.Workers there and at parentcompanyTimberland (#31) areallowed 40 hours a year to vol-unteer. Marketing productionmanager Andrew Bisbee spent C

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his time with a group cutting anew mountain-bike trail—a proj-ect that offered a little payback.“Yeah,”he admits,“we reapedthe benefit.”

As smart business leadersknow, this type of communityservice can inspire innovationand teamwork.“We’re passion-

nBEST JOBS

[MYCOMPANY]

JohnGansExecutiveDirector,NationalOutdoor Leadership School (NOLS),#44

People are typically drawn to a nonprofit because they’re passion-ate about the mission of the organization, and they hope to sharecommon values with co-workers. But nonprofits are going to makedecisions that at times look very corporate. Years ago, one of ourtrustees said something that’s stuck with me: NOLS operates likea school in the wilderness and a business in the boardroom. Bothare necessary—and you need to be comfortable with that or youwon’t achieve some of your long-term goals.At the same time, youdon’t want to take away that strong, values-driven idealism. ForNOLS, it’s our courses in the field that really cut to no-nonsense. Itcan be miserable weather, it can be tough conditions—that getsyou right to the core of things. The more you do that in all settings,the more genuine it is for people. You take away the spin element.

WORKREMOTELYWith telecommuting increas-ingly popular, many people arelooking to use “I’m remotetoday” to mean “I’m at the skicabin/beach shack.” But withcell coverage sketchy in manyspots, you end up having toexplain curious phone num-bers. The solution: GoogleVoice. The free service, whichlaunched in the U.S. lastMarch, allows users to routecalls to wherever they are. Re-quest an invite (google.com/googlevoice/about.html),sync it with up to six phones,then click where you want tobe rung. (You can add tem-porary locales like, say, yourfriend’s lake house.) You canalso dial out from any line soyour Google number showsup on caller ID, and send andreceive SMS texts. Miss acall? Google e-mails you alink to the voicemail recordingand a rough transcript—soyou can read it on the chairlift.

Summer hours. Flextime. Telecommuting.

Help employees getout of the office.

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)ate about our jobs, but they candominate your life,”says Jon Har-ris, a development director attheDREAMProgram (#14),a nonprofit mentoring programthat serves young people inVermont. Staffers get two paidvolunteer hours a week, whichthey spend as EMTs, coaches, oradvisers at other organizations.“When we volunteer together,there’s a contagious energy,”says Harris.RallySoftware(#6) has seen similar enthusi-asm. They ask their employeesto dedicate 1 percent of their

nBEST JOBS

paid work time to volunteering.In 2009, 62 Rally employeescontributed a whopping 2,300hours. Not surprisingly, thesecompanies tend to attract altru-istic people.“It’s probably oneof the hiring filters here,”saysSmartWool’s di Sanpi.“Many ofus are motivated to surpass the40 volunteer hours on our owntime. You don’t have to push toget us out the door.”

4.LOOSENTHEREINSAs Gary Hamel wrote in TheFuture of Management, his influ-ential 2007 book on innovativestrategies at top businesses,W.L.Gore& Associates (#16)is“a company built around a setof management principles dia-metrically opposed to much ofmodern business orthodoxy.”He wasn’t exaggerating. Only ahandful of Gore employees evenhave titles, and people work insmall, self-directed teams, re-porting to each other, not to aboss. At Gore, leaders are se-lected by their peers, and salary

[MYCOMPANY]

DarrenBushOwner,Rutabaga,#36

Basically, I like to do things that make my life easier. So I hire betterpeople. I pay them more money. I trust them. That way, if I want toleave work at 2 P.M. I can. Years ago, I worked for the Department ofLabor, where a lot of folks were just slogging through their work. Butwhen I got to know them, I found out they had these amazing tal-ents: One guy had a great DJ business, and one of the data-entryclerks had won blue ribbons at the state fair for her quilts. All theircreativity was kicked out of them because the government dis-couraged leadership. I know every time I tried something new, I gotspanked.At Rutabaga, I try to create an environment where peoplearen’t afraid to fail. You have to put the reins on people sometimes,but it’s better to rein in a horse that loves to run than have to use thespurs all the time.

WORKOUTIt’s a commonly reported no-tion that group bike rides andother shared workouts havedisplaced the golf course astop venues for job networking.Great! But what’s the strategyfor finding work while hittingyour maximum heart rate?We like these tips, adaptedfrom Jeffrey G. Allen’s InstantInterviews: 101 Ways to Get theBest Job of Your Life.>Be Early: Target sessions be-fore 9 A.M. to sync with theprofessional crowd.>Be Tactful: Let your coachesknow you’re job hunting sothey can make introductions.>Be Patient: Don’t pass outyour business cards on thefirst day—make a real con-nection around your sharedsport, then talk business. Justask Tad Huser, who scoredhis job as domestic sourcingmanager at SmartWoolthrough a contact he madeat the 24 Hours of Moab.“We became friends,” he says.“Then when the positioncame up, she got my résuméin the right hands.”

Many companiesoffer exceptional

on-site fitnessfacilities, plus

reimbursementsfor ski passes and

race entry fees.

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is based on rankings determinedby a committee that gathers re-ports from staffers. Workers areencouraged to use half a day perweek as“dabble time”to pursueprojects.“You’re able to leveragewhat you’re good at to help thecompany be successful,”saysBrian Gallagher, who’s worked inmarketing at Gore since 2002.“It’s awesome.”

So why haven’t more com-panies adopted this model?Hamel’s conclusion: fear. Mostexecutives tremble at the notionof handing over so much power.But that’s not the case atGreatHarvestBreadCo. (#43),which uses a unique“freedomfranchise”model in its 209licensed bakeries across thecountry. Ditching the traditionalfranchise strategy—top-downdirection of cloned outlets—Great Harvest operates on a T

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consensus basis, with anychanges requiring the approvalof an elected council. As CEOMike Ferretti puts it in the com-pany’s blog,“Giving up control ofyour business is scary.”But doingso, he says, will ultimately“ce-ment the bond”with your team.

5. IGNORETHECLOCKSummer hours. Flex time.Telecommuting. Almost everycompany on our list finds a wayto help employees get out of theoffice, often so they can dosomething fun. Among our fa-vorites: #12Osprey’s“stress-free holiday season”approach,which gives employees time forobligations at home—like stuff-ing their Thanksgiving turkeys.

Trusting your team to managetheir own hours—to come inat 10:30, say, after skiing freshpowder, and then stay until 8—flies in the face of a trend towardsqueezing every waking minuteout of your staff, but good com-panies manage to do it whilemaintaining high output.“Thisis a results-oriented workplace,”says Mona Patel, the executiveVP of people and organizational

development at Live-Strong (#32), whichallows employees totake unlimited paidtime off, with the un-derstanding that theywon’t abuse the privi-lege. (Nobody has.)

As these companiessee it, letting workersmake time for familyor fresh tracks keepsthem energized. Insome cases, a fewhours here and therearen’t enough, which iswhyRutabaga (#36)will hold a job open forup to a year if a dedi-

cated worker needs a walka-bout.“People need growth tobe happy,”says company ownerDarren Bush.Patagonia (#30)seconds that notion. FounderYvon Chouinard, who detailedhis own path to responsible

[MYCOMPANY]

RichardWoolcottFounder, Volcom,#48

Nineteen years ago, snowboardingbrought the two worlds of surfingand skateboarding together. Wesaw that change coming, so we po-sitioned ourselves for it. Todaywe’re a bigger company, but wealso have a responsibility to staytrue to what the brand is about.Most of our executives surf, skate,and snowboard. Through the sum-mer months, we have half-day Fri-days so people can go enjoy thebeach, and a lot of people take ad-vantage of the company skate park at lunch. We offer yoga oncea week. We have two houses at Pipeline, which employees canuse for vacations. Our newest program, Volcom University, offersemployee classes during work hours on everything from how tolive a happier life to the basics of finance to learning how to snow-board. We take a very humble approach. I’d still be living in thesame trailer on the beach near Laguna Beach today if the statehadn’t torn down the park a few years ago.

Some companiesfocus on energy usein their buildings orsupply chain, whileothers concentratedirectly on what’s intheir products.

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business practices in 2005’s LetMy People Go Surfing, allowsemployees to take four-monthleaves of absence. Last summer,Patagonia customer-serviceemployee Adam Bradley usedhis leave to set a new recordfor the fastest unsupportedthrough-hike of the Pacific CrestTrail: 65 days, nine hours, 58minutes, and 47 seconds.

6. REDUCE YOURIMPACTWith greenwashing nowamong the most insidious ofcorporate marketing tactics,it’s reassuring to see so manybusinesses adopting honeststrategies for environmentalresponsibility. Some of ourcompanies focus on energyuse in their buildings or supplychain, while others concentratedirectly on what’s in their prod-ucts. Timberland (#31), to citejust one example, rates its ap-parel with a Green Index to de-termine its environmentalimpact and includes “nutritionlabels” to inform consumers ofwhat’s in their shoes (nearly 80percent of their footwear in-cludes recycled materials).

SeventhGeneration (#9)aggressively aids employeeswith conservation efforts intheir non-work lives, offering$500 yearly reimbursements tostaffers for home upgrades, plusloans of up to $5,000 to reducetheir personal carbon output.

One simple but powerfulapproach to greening: gettingcommuters out of cars.QualityBicycle Products (#39) givesits motorless commuters upto $3 a day in credits towardgear. Last year, they paid out$41,000 to staffers who biked,jogged, scooted, and evenskied to their Bloomington,Minnesota, offices, where tem-peratures often dip into singledigits during commute hours.Meanwhile,Osprey (#12) andNewBelgiumBrewing (#2)give employees new bikes aftera year on the job.

Rewarding pedal power isn’tjust pro-environment; it’s goodfor workers.“It begins a processof calibration for the day,”saysyear-round rider Tom Demerly,manager of bike operations atTriSports.com (#50).“We seetangible results in productivityfrom people who ride.”C

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clinic, a whale-watchingexcursion, and a seven-dayretreat in Mexico.Osprey (#12): A floating“pow-der day.”DominionDigital (#49): Team-building exercises include awhitewater-rafting trip downVirginia’s James River and skeetshooting. (Skeet shooting!)OluKai (#46): Parties includebowling night, a Cinco de Mayofestival, a“snow escape”week-end, a Halloween costume party,and a holiday party at whichthey give away items like airlinetickets and Bose sound systems.RealeFlow (#34): Last year, thestaff took an all-expenses-paidcruise to the Bahamas.Carmichael Lynch (#15): Theannual O’Gong Show talentcompetition on their rooftoppatio. One legendary skit: amale employee re-creatingFlashdance’s“Maniac”scene.

REPORTED BY ALICIA CARR, RYAN

KROGH, MICHAEL ROBERTS, AND

JENNIFER L. SCHWARTZ

[MYCOMPANY]

JeffreyHollender Co-founder, Seventh Generation, #9There’s a level of transparency in business today that never existedbefore—information about your company is controlled by your cus-tomers, your employees, and NGOs. That means you get an expo-nential reward by creating a lot of fans, and you get your butt kickedby pissing people off. How do you turn this into an advantage? Byhaving a mission that’s uplifting and that captures people’s passion,and by giving your workers a sense of fulfillment based on the verynature of what they do. We try to follow a systemic approach. If youprovide great health coverage but stress people out like crazy, whocares? So we spent a ton of money creating an office where everyperson can look out a window.And we forced everyone here to be anowner, because that’s fundamentally different from being an em-ployee. Two years ago, when we allowed people to sell some of theirstock, it was transformative: They experienced the value of whatthey had created.Hollender’s latest book is The Responsibility Revolution: How theNext Generation of Businesses Will Win.

Bike commuting“begins aprocess of calibration forthe day,”says year-roundrider Tom Demerly, ofTriSports.com.

nBEST JOBS

7. SWAG THEM!Because nothing shows yourstaff the love better than freetravel, gear, and parties.NaturalHabitatAdventures (#1): Inaddition to free“site inspection”travel opportunities for its staff,NatHab offers discounted travel(80 percent) for a family mem-ber—to make sure the tripdoesn’t feel like work.MindBody (#40): Recentcompany events: a beginner surf

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