SPRINGDALE — The names Ben and Jerry may evoke thoughts of Chunky Monkey and Cherry Garcia.
The leaders of the ice cream company hope the company’s name also elicits thoughts of social activism.
Jostein Solheim, chief executive officer of Ben & Jerry’s, and Jeff Furman, chairman of the board, spoke at the inaugural serve2perform speakers series Tuesday at The Jones Center in Springdale.
“If you believe in something but don’t speak out, why do you believe in it?” Solheim asked the crowd of about 175 people. “It seems like the more people we irritate, the more ice cream we sell.”
He pointed to a recent Australian election where the company supported same-sex marriage.
At A Glance
Serve2perform
Part of the serve2perform program is a speaker’s series to be held every other month. The next speaker is Marcos Jimenez, chief executive officer of Softtek USA and Canada, at 8 a.m. March 18 at the Jones Center in Spirngdale. Softtek is a Mexican-based multinational providers of information technology solutions.
“Sales rose about 25 percent, but we angered a lot of people,” Solheim said.
Furman, who's been with the company since the first store opened in Burlington, Vt., in 1978, said he's been learning more about immigration issues.
Ben & Jerry’s also has social activism ingrained in its practices including buying Fairtrade certified products and supporting mandatory labeling of genetically modified organisms. Fairtrade is a global movement making sure small farmers in developing countries receive a fair price.
Adam Arroyos created serve2perform through his Fayetteville-based organizational development firm, Grandslam Performance Associates. The program provides access to training opportunities and educational resources including career mentors, leadership coaches, life coaches and internships.
Arroyos said two of the biggest challenges facing companies is a skills gap in the work force and a limited number of people in the pipeline equipped with the right skills. He said serve2perform helps connect people and creates an online professional community invested in each other’s growth and development.
“We are great doers, but that will only get us so far. We need to be able to teach others, and this helps people find the time to do that,” he said.
He pointed to a Gallup poll finding 71 percent of Americans aren't engaged in their jobs, costing the economy up to $350 billion per year in lost productivity.
Ben & Jerry’s thrives on having an active and invested work force, Solheim said.
“The most important people at Ben & Jerry’s are the people who make the ice cream,” he said. “That’s why we believe in paying a living wage.”
He said that equates to a minimum wage of about $16 an hour.
“We connect both emotionally and economically with the communities where we do business,” Solheim said.
Furman said fighting economic inequality is one of his top personal social issues.
He said one of the company’s challenges is keeping the three core missions — the product, profitability and the social activism — equally important and running side-by-side.
“It’s difficult, and we can’t always do it but we always try to achieve it,” Furman said.
He stressed the importance of being persistent and vigilant when trying to create change.
“You also need to be passionate and fully engaged,” he said.
Among those attending Tuesday’s discussion was a group of 50 Rogers High School students.
Shelby Benefield, a senior, said she never realized how unique Ben & Jerry’s business model was.
“I learned that keeping your morals close and intertwined is important in your business decisions,” she said.
Jay Amargos, Grandslam Performance Associates chief operating officer, said about 100 people in eight states participated in the speakers series online.
Membership in serve2perform is free, and events such as the speakers series cost $10. Amargos said about 530 people have signed up in eight countries, 32 states and 69 companies.