Kind LLC is a food company that sells products such as snack bars, granola bars, and granola. Daniel Lubetsky, an immigrant from Mexico and the son of a holocaust survivor, founded the company in 2004. When he was a child, his father recounted stories about his experiences during the holocaust. One story in particular, about a surprising act of kindness his father encountered from a German soldier, inspired Lubetsky to build a company that would encourage people to live kinder lives. Lubetsky first founded PeaceWorks, another food company whose mission is to support peace through economic cooperation and unlikely supply chain partnerships. While traveling the world in support of PeaceWorks, Lubetsky recognized a need for healthier, tastier snacks for people on the go. Thus, he created Kind.
Kind's stated mission is to make the world a little kinder, and it aims to accomplish this by starting with its workplace culture. Kind employs approximately 500 people, endearingly referred to by Lubetsky as "team members," to acknowledge their shared contribution toward achieving the company's goals. The company's values include ownership, teamwork, transparency, caring, and developing self & others.
According to Lubetsky, Kind's culture is founded on constructive feedback. Team members are expected to communicate openly and honestly and are encouraged to provide candid feedback to one another, regardless of title or rank. This communication framework helps to create a culture of trust, loyalty, and professional development.
Lubetsky also encourages a culture of empathy, which is manifested by the company demonstrating to team members that it cares about them as people, not just as professionals. One example of this is the "KINDOs" program, which encourages team members to formally celebrate each other each month for acting in a way that aligns with the company's values. Kind leadership also does their best to avoid letting people go. In most cases, rather than team members being fired, they will have an opportunity to develop the skills necessary to thrive in their role or they will be reassigned to a role that better fits their interests or skills. Finally, teams at Kind are expected to share ownership in accomplishing the tasks necessary to succeed. This means that everybody in the company, regardless of role or position, is expected to get their hands dirty. According to Lubetsky, who took on many different operational roles when founding the company, ". . . there's no task too small or insignificant for me-or any of us-to do.

Questions

1. Kind’s mission is to “make the world a little kinder, one snack at a time.” How does the organization demonstrate this mission in the way it treats its employees?
2. How do you think values such as honesty, empathy, and shared ownership impact the way teams work together? What other values have you experienced that contribute to effective teamwork?
3. One key aspect of Kind’s culture is constructive feedback, regardless of employee seniority. What are some of the positive outcomes of this type of culture? What are some potential difficulties?
4. In what ways do you think Daniel Lubetsky’s childhood experiences might impact his current leadership style? What effect do you think this has on his teams?
5. How would you describe the nuances between the terms, “employees” and “team members?” Do you think this type of vocabulary matters to members of an organization?

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