Chappell learned, too, that he is not "inadequate," which had seemed implicit in his hiring of professionals. Rather, he says, he understands that in the company as in life he is "interdependent," with his own distinctive role to play. "My job," he says, "is not to do their work for them, but to let them do what they know how to do while I lead us as a group."
And he has learned to look for personal fulfillment in the here and now, not in the achievement of some future success. The beauty of life, he says, is in the journey. That bit of wisdom has put the numbers that were dogging him into perspective. Quantitative goals, such as market share or net sales, can't invest purpose in a process that has none. The quest simply for more of anything is inherently unsatisfying. If there is no point or joy in what you are doing, or if you lose sight of the point, then just measuring your progress can't make it worthwhile or fun.
Sometimes in warm weather Kate Chappell takes her conversations outdoors. "For Tom," she says, "this has been a personal transition. He is now more open, more accepting, and less dependent on himself for all the results, more able to trust the outcome and the process of working in a team. Before, it was Tom at the helm, bouncing his ideas off people, then making the decision. Now, he doesn't have to do it all. He is a good leader."
John Eldredge, whose body at age 35 has the leanness of the serious runner he is, is saying over soup and a sandwich in a Main Street café that a few years ago Chappell would just "throw the spaghetti against the wall to see if it sticks. He'd say, 'I'm the entrepreneur. I have hunches. I know what we're going to sell.' We, on the other hand, would look at the history and at numbers and make our forecasts based on rational judgments. In my view Tom has matured while he's been pursuing his quest. He's more comfortable with himself, less impulsive, more thoughtful; he listens more, and he's more willing to let go of some of the detail. For instance, rather than telling me what markets to go into with radio and then asking if I agree, he'll ask me first and listen to my answer. We're making progress."
Chappell hasn't finished his schooling. If he continues his current course load, which takes him to Cambridge two days a week, he'll collect his master's degree in theological studies in 1991. But he's already trying some new things at the company.
One will affect and involve all of its nearly 40 employees. It's the drafting of a corporate credo and a new mission statement.
The credo is a list of "we believes." An early draft, written by the board, says in part that Tom's of Maine believes: "In providing innovative products that are safe, effective, made of natural ingredients and are environmentally sound. . . . That both human beings and nature have inherent worth and deserve our respect and constant care. . . . That we are obligated to provide employees with a safe and fulfilling work environment, and an opportunity to realize their growth potential." Some of the language is derived from Kant. Employees will get a chance to work the draft over.
The directors also worked on a new corporate mission statement. The old one, written in 1981, said that the mission of Tom's of Maine was to become a professional marketer of natural personal-care products, to expand sales at a 40% annual rate, and to earn a 40% return on stockholders' equity. The new one, when it's finished, will be quite different. Its first draft says that the mission of Tom's of Maine is to respect, value, and serve customers, employees, the community, owners, and all others who "are in relation to us"; to be deserving of their trust; to distinguish itself in products and policies that honor the natural world; and to build a relationship with customers that extends beyond product usage and includes honest communication and education. There are no numbers.
"What drives and organizes people," says Chappell, "is values, not strategy or quantitative rewards. If I can organize people around purpose, that is the most powerful form of leadership."
It's not all softheaded stuff. Tom's of Maine still has strategies expressed in hard numbers. Chappell still believes in incentive compensation, and he shares equity with key managers so they can participate in the financial rewards of growth. But the point of all this talk about values is to make it explicit to people in the company -- and, Chappell might have added, to himself -- that there is a reason why the company does what it does. Strategy, while crucial to business success, is only the how.
Chappell's trip back to school has brought him to another realization that very likely will lead to more change -- maybe for the company and certainly for him.
In addition to avoiding numbers, the new corporate mission statement says nothing about toothpaste or even personal-care products. When Tom and Kate started the company, the only limit on what they might do was the fertility of their own imaginations. Why should success in one line impose limits now? The limits, Chappell says, come from thinking in terms of strategies instead of values. The pursuit of strategies tends to narrow your vision. A mission based on values will open it up again. Tom's of Maine, in other words, need not necessarily be just toothpaste. He won't say what they are, but he is at work on new products the company might develop.
By the same thinking, Tom Chappell need not be just Tom's of Maine. If he thinks of his life's journey as having purpose, then the company is one vehicle, but not the only one. He'll keep the company, he says, because it's a good vehicle. Among other things, its success gives him credibility. "I need," he says, "to be more than Tom's of Maine. I need to be Tom Chappell -- writing, speaking, sharing what I know with other people. It's almost critical that I have the company to do that. If I can't make it work here, I don't have the right to say to others that it can be done."
