Garden Fresh Leadership Lessons in Losing it All and Getting It All Back Again

Michael Mack built the company Garden Fresh (which would later become Sweet Tomatoes and Souplantation) from the ground up with a business partner, but in 1990, he was fired as CEO by his board.  Four years later, he was rehired, mainly because of the way he conducted himself and lessons he learned.  You can read a more complete account of his story here, but the main takeaways are:

1. There are no Lone Rangers among successful leaders.  Mack was fired, in part, because he focused too much the numbers and ignored the people.  He always thought his way was best and refused to listen to the ideas of others or involve them much in processes.  By his own description, he was “arrogant, self-righteous, and overly independent.”  We all learned this lesson in kindergarten and it’s true today: to succeed you must play nicely with others.
2. It’s not about you. After being fired, Mack says he learned to focus on the outcomes and not as much on micromanaging the way people got there or on work as an vehicle for his personal ambitions. We know from other research that a sense of autonomy is one of the biggest predictors of workplace satisfaction and productivity.  Mack learned that the autonomy of others mattered as much as his own and a productive, happy team stays longer and produces more.
3. Look for ways for everyone to get what they want.  One of the changes Mack made was to stop shooting out “yes, no” answers and start conversing with people about their priorities.  He found ways for priorities to align and others to get what they wanted, which created better solutions, a happier team, and, ultimately more success for the organization.
4. Unburned bridges are best.  As a founder of the company and investor, Mack stayed on the board after he was fired.   He overcame his anger, stayed professional, and focused on company goals.  This impressed the board and was a major factor in getting his job back.
5. Bad things can turn out to be blessings.  Mack got fired when his wife was 8 months pregnant.  Unable to find work other than consulting, he stayed home with his daughter for several years and built a relationship with her that was incredibly fulfilling to him.  That relationship – which wouldn’t have happened given his previous 100-hour work weeks – and the personal changes he made led him to call the firing “a gift.”