Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield of Ben & Jerry's ice cream present anything but the picture of typical business executives. Both owners are chubby and sport scruffy beards and wild hair; both wear T-shirts and flannel rather that a shirt and tie. The two friends enrolled in a correspondence course in ice cream making. The result was an ice cream store and then a company that rapidly overtook the market share of the superpremium corner of the ice cream industry.
When their company was young, Ben and Jerry were successful at shaping their company's culture. Besides the company being characterized by its funkiness----a trait also seen in the crazy flavors and combinations of mix-ins the company produced-----it was also considered family by its employees. The company was based in a small Vermont town to attract people who valued local color and close relationships. Initially, their production was a small operation. When big orders came in, employees pulled together to complete the job the way a close-knit family works together in a crises. Employees did whatever they could to help out, whether it was in their job descriptions or not. When successes came, employees celebrated together. They also conferred together about key company decisions.