Method: innovative cleaning products

While researching his book, Jim Stengel visited a company that has successfully grown its image and profits. Here, he explains some of the unusual business ideas behind the brand

As part of the research for my book Grow: How the World’s Best Businesses Use the Power of Ideals to Outshine the Competition, I am visiting a handful of companies that rank highly in the study I designed with Millward Brown Optimor and the UCLA Anderson School of Management. The study has a ten-year scope and highlights businesses that have grown their image with their consumer as well as their financial results. The brands that made the top of this list grow about two-and-a-half-times faster than the competition. One of these companies is called method and it produces environmentally friendly cleaning products based in San Francisco, California. I wanted to find out what made it special and successful. Here are a few of the quirky titles that give a clue to the personality of the company: chief financial person against dirty (chief financial officer); head coach (chief executive officer); chief of retail health (vice-president, sales); disruptor (senior director, design); brand poobah (vicepresident, brand experience); the laundress (general manger, fabric care). The most important lesson I learned from the company is that success is all about the people behind the brand. Many companies say this, but the way that method brings this to life is simply amazing. The company urges everyone to ‘bring yourself to work’ so that each personality can make the brand better. But the most powerful story is about the recruiting process.

In my experience – and I have known companies that are terrific recruiters – this company sets a new standard. Everyone who is interviewed receives up to 12 interviews from people across the company, not just in the department for which they are applying. If the person makes it through the first round of interviews, they are given a homework assignment and asked to come back the next week.

The homework assignment is typically about how the recruit would address some of their business challenges, and what they would do to continue to keep the culture ‘weird’. As they make a decision on a candidate, about 50% of the review is based on their experience, and the other 50% on whether or not the candidate is a cultural fit and how they handled the homework assignment. The percentage of time that the senior team spends on recruiting is staggering. And they make very few mistakes in who they bring into the culture. They realise that one bad hire is toxic.

I was also inspired by the level of passion and energy of each person I met. And it was authentic – it wasn’t ‘spin’ for my visit. Most people came from other companies, many large fmcg companies. They came for the mission, and how this company treats customers, consumers and employees. They bring their best ideas and their best ideas are welcome. They are on a mission to inspire the revolution for healthier, happier homes. This company has been mission-based since its founding nine years ago, but it continues to push it and ensure everyone in the company understands it. After my day of interviews, we went out for drinks and dinner, and the major topic of conversation was: ‘Is our mission well articulated, well understood, well deployed, well activated?’

This brand is all about differentiation in a category that used to have few highly differentiated brands. They differentiate on mission, design, fragrance, sustainability, and efficacy. And, they get that balance right for their end consumers. Much as Steve Jobs at Apple does not go into a category he cannot disrupt, this brand never does anything that the competition has done, or is likely to do.

MAKING THE MOST OF THE MESSAGE

It is important to have a compelling story for your retail customer. I did a role play with the chief of retail health, George Shumny, where I was the customer and he was the salesperson. His story hit everything a customer looks for – differentiation, image enhancement, margin growth, and collaboration. And, importantly, this brand is not for every retailer, and they don’t duck that.

There are few chief financial officers who see their role as chief storyteller, but Andrea Freedman, chief financial person against dirty, sees her role as keeping everything in perspective and keeping everyone’s eyes on the ‘horizon’. She sees herself as the person who keeps telling the story about what this brand is, what success is, and how they are making progress against it in the short, medium, and long term.

When I arrived at method, I walked into the lobby and there was a ‘class’ going on. The teacher was Dan Germain who is head creative at innocent, which is another fantastic story about brand ideal, mission, and outstanding performance. It is fascinating that these two companies are in totally different markets but both have a dedication to the idea of a brand ideal and mission. They have more in common with each other than they do with competitors in their own markets.

Jim Stengel is founder of The Jim Stengel Company. [email protected]