A cold January day of 2005, I took one of my most important drives of my life. I was on this road in upstate New York, trying to find this old factory. The day before, I received a flyer in the mail that said, "Fully equipped yogurt plant for sale." I threw it in the garbage can. And 20 minutes later, I picked it up and called the number. The plant was 85 years old, and it was closing. So I decided to go see it.
Di suatu hari yang dingin pada bulan Januari tahun 2005, Saya berkendara ke salah satu tempat terpenting dalam hidup saya. Saya sedang ada di suatu jalanan kota New York bagian utara, untuk mencoba menemukan sebuah pabrik tua. Pada hari sebelumnya, saya menerima selebaran di kotak surat yang isi tulisannya, "Dijual pabrik yoghurt lengkap." Saya buang ke tong sampah. 20 menit kemudian, saya pungut lagi dan menelepon nomor di sana. Usia pabrik itu 85 tahun, dan akan ditutup. Jadi saya putuskan untuk pergi.
At this time, I wasn't sure where this road or my life was going. I owned a small cheese shop but really hated business. But the hills and the roads and the smells are all familiar. I grew up in Turkey, in a similar environment, near the Kurdish mountains. My family made cheese and yogurt; I grew up listening to shepherd's stories. We didn't have much, but we had the moon and the stars, simple food, each other. Eventually, I came to America. I didn't even know New York had farms. I made it to upstate, and I never left. Now I'm lost.
Pada saat itu, saya meragukan arah dari keputusan ini atau kehidupan saya. Saya punya toko keju skala kecil tapi saya benci berbisnis. Tapi pemandangan jalanan berbukit, begitu juga dengan bau keju, terasa familier. Saya tumbuh besar di Turki dalam lingkungan serupa, di dekat pengunungan Kurdi. Keluarga saya pembuat keju dan yoghurt; Saya sering mendengar cerita penggembala. Harta kami tidaklah terlalu banyak, tapi kami punya alam, makanan sederhana, dan keberadaan satu sama lain. Lalu saya datang ke Amerika. Saya baru tahu di New York ada peternakan. Saya pergi ke bagian utara, dan tidak pernah berbalik. Sekarang saya tersesat.
I passed the road sign that said "Dead end." Then soon after, there it was: the factory. The smell hit me first. It was a like a milk container left out in the sun. The walls were so thick, paints were peeling, there were cracks everywhere. The factory was so old, the owners thought it was worthless. I thought they left a zero off, I couldn't believe the price. As I entered in, I stopped noticing things. All I could see were the people. There were 55 of them. Just quiet. Their only job was to break the plant apart and close it forever.
Saya melewati papan jalanan bertuliskan "Jalan buntu." Lalu, setelahnya, ketemu juga pabrik itu. Saya mendapati bau itu terlebih dahulu. Baunya seperti tangki susu dijemur di bawah matahari. Dindingnya sangat tebal, Catnya mengelupas, dan ada banyak retakan di mana-mana. Pabriknya sangat tua sampai dianggap tidak bernilai oleh para pemiliknya. Saya kira mereka kelupaan satu angka nol lagi, harganya mengejutkan saya. Saat saya masuk, saya berhenti mengamati benda. Saya hanya dapat melihat orang-orang. Ada 55 orang di dalam sana. Mereka semua diam. Tugas mereka hanyalah menghancurkan pabrik itu dan menutupnya selamanya.
I was met with a guy named Rich, the production manager. He offered to take me around, show me around. He didn't say much, but around every corner, he would point out some stories. Rich worked there for 20 years. His father made yogurt before him, and his grandfather made cream cheese before that. You could tell that Rich felt guilty that this factory was closing on his watch.
Saya diperkenalkan pada Rich selaku manajer produksi pabrik. Dia menawarkan diri untuk menjadi pemandu saya. Dia tidak banyak bicara, tapi sesekali, dia akan bercerita. Rich sudah bekerja selama 20 tahun. Ayahnya membuat yogurt sebelum dia lahir, dan kakeknya membuat keju krim jauh sebelum itu. Anda semua bisa tahu Rich merasa bersalah karena pabrik ini tutup saat dia bertugas.
What hit me the hardest at that time was that this wasn't just an old factory. This was a time machine. This is where people built lives, they left for wars, they bragged about home runs and report cards. But now, it was closing. And the company wasn't just giving up on yogurt, it was giving up on them. As if they were not good enough. And I was shocked how these people were behaving. There was no anger, there were no tears. Just silence. With grace, they were closing this factory. I was so angry that the CEO was far away, in a tower or somewhere, looking at the spreadsheets and closing the factory. Spreadsheets are lazy. They don't tell you about people, they don't tell you about communities. But unfortunately, this is how too many business decisions are made today.
Hal paling mengena buat saya pada saat itu adalah pabrik ini bukan sekadar pabrik tua. Ini adalah sebuah mesin waktu. Ini tempat orang-orang membangun hidup mereka; mereka pergi berperang, membanggakan home run dan rapor. Tapi sekarang, ia akan ditutup. Perusahaan ini tidak hanya menyerah membuat yoghurt, mereka menyerah atas diri sendiri. Seolah mereka tidak cukup baik. Saya terkejut melihat bagaimana semua orang ini bertingkah. Tidak ada amarah atau pun air mata. Hanya ada keheningan. Mereka menutup pabrik ini dengan lapang dada. Saya begitu marah karena CEO-nya ada di suatu tempat jauh, entah di menara atau apalah, melihat rekap hasil penjualan lalu menutup pabriknya. Spreadsheet terkesan malas. Di dalamnya tidak ada cerita tentang orang atau komunitas. Tapi sayangnya, di masa kini, terlalu banyak keputusan bisnis yang diambil dengan cara ini.
I was never the same person after what I saw. On my way back home, I called Mario, my lawyer. I called Mario, I said, "Mario, I want to buy this place." Mario said, "Hamdi, one of the largest food companies in the world is closing this place, and they're getting out of the yogurt business. Who the hell are you to make it work?" I said, "You're right." But the next day, I called him again, and I said, "Mario, really, I really want to buy this place." He said, "Hamdi, you have no money.
Saya bukanlah orang yang sama lagi setelah melihat semua itu. Di tengah perjalanan pulang, saya menghubungi Mario, pengacara saya. Saya katakan kepadanya, "Mario, saya mau beli pabrik ini." Mario bilang, "Hamdi, salah satu perusahaan makanan terbesar di dunia ingin tutup pabrik, dan mereka akan angkat kaki dari bisnis yoghurt. Memangnya kamu siapa sampai bisa bantu?" Saya bilang, "Kamu benar." Tapi besoknya, saya hubungi dia lagi, dan saya katakan, "Mario, saya sungguhan ingin beli pabrik ini." Dia bilang, "Kamu tidak punya uang.
(Laughter)
(tertawa)
You haven't even paid me in six months."
Enam bulan kamu belum bayar saya."
(Laughter)
(tertawa)
Which was true.
Itu sungguhan.
(Laughter)
(tertawa)
But I got a loan, another loan. By August 2005, I had the keys for this factory. The first thing I did was to hire four of the original 55 people. I had Maria, the office manager. I had Frank, the wastewater guy. I had Mike, the maintenance guy. And Rich, who showed me the plant, the production guy. And we had our first board meeting. Mike says, "Hamdi, what are we going to do now?" They look at me as if I have the magic answer. So I said, "Mike, we're going to go to Ace Hardware store, and we're going to get some paints. And we're going to paint the walls outside." Mike wasn't impressed. He looked at me. He said, "Hamdi, that's fine, we’ll do that, but tell me you have more ideas than that."
Tapi saya dapat pinjaman lain. Agustus 2005, saya sudah punya kunci pabrik ini. Hal pertama yang saya lakukan adalah merekrut empat dari 55 pegawai lama. Saya ada Maria, manajer kantor. Lalu Frank, pengurus limbah air. Mike, orang bagian pemeliharaan. Dan Rich, ahli produksi yang menemani saya keliling pabrik. Lalu kami mengadakan rapat perdana. Mike bilang, "Hamdi, sekarang kita harus apa?" Mereka melihat saya seolah saya punya jawaban. Saya bilang, "Mike, kita ke toko Ace Hardware, dan kita beli cat tembok. Kita akan mengecat dinding luar pabrik." Mike tidak terkesima. Dia melihat saya. Dia berkata, "Oke, Hamdi, kita lakukan itu, tapi tolong katakan kamu punya ide lain."
(Laughter)
(tertawa)
I said, "I do. We'll paint the walls white."
Saya balas, "Punya. Kita pakai cat warna putih."
(Laughter)
(tertawa)
Honest to God, that was the only idea I had.
Demi Tuhan, hanya itu ide yang saya punya.
(Laughter)
(tertawa)
But we painted those walls that summer. I sometimes wonder what they would have said to me if I told them, "See these walls we're painting? In two years, we're going to launch a yogurt here that Americans have never seen and never tasted before. It will be delicious, it will be natural. And we're going to call it 'Chobani' -- it means 'shepherd' in Turkish." And if I said, "We are going to hire all of the 55 employees back, or most of them back. And then 100 more after, and then 100 more after, and then 1,000 more after that." But if I told them, "You see that town over there? Every person we hire, 10 more local jobs will be created. The town will come back to life, the trucks will be all over the roads. And the first money we make, we're going to build one of the best Little League baseball fields for our children. And five years after that, we're going to be the number one Greek yogurt brand in the country." Would they have believed me? Of course not. But that's exactly what happened.
Tapi pada musim panas itu, kami mengecat tembok pabrik. Terkadang saya berpikir apa yang mereka akan katakan jika saya bilang ke mereka, "Lihat tembok yang sedang kita cat? Dalam dua tahun, di sini, kita akan meluncurkan yoghurt baru yang belum pernah dilihat atau dicicip orang Amerika. Rasanya akan enak dan alami. Kita akan beri nama 'Chobani' -- artinya 'penggembala' dalam bahasa Turki." Dan jika saya bilang, "Kita akan merekrut kembali semua 55 pegawai lama, atau setidaknya kebanyakan dari mereka. Lalu 100 orang lagi, dan begitu terus, Setelah itu 1000 orang lagi." Tapi jika saya katakan ke mereka, "Lihat kota itu? Untuk setiap orang yang kita rekrut, 10 lapangan kerja akan tercipta. Kota itu akan kembali hidup, dan mobil truk akan memenuhi jalan. Dan pendapatan pertama kita, akan dipakai untuk membangun salah satu lapangan bisbol Little League terbaik untuk anak-anak kita. Lima tahun ke depannya, kita akan menjadi merk yoghurt Yunani nomor satu nasional." Apa mereka akan percaya? Tentu tidak. Tapi kejadiannya begitu.
(Applause)
(tertawa)
In painting those walls, we got to know each other. We believed in each other. And we figured it out together. Five years, me and all my colleagues, we never left the factory. We worked day and night, through the holidays, to fix that plant. The best part of Chobani for me is this: the same exact people who were given up on were the ones who built it back 100 times better than before. And they all have a financial stake in the company today.
Saat mengecat tembok pabrik, kami mengenal satu sama lain. Kami percaya satu sama lain. Kami juga belajar bersama. Selama lima tahun saya dan semua kolega saya tidak pernah meninggalkan pabrik. Kami bekerja siang malam, bahkan sepanjang liburan, untuk memperbaiki pabrik itu. Bagian terbaik Chobani buat saya adalah: mereka yang di-PHK justru bisa membangun kembali pabriknya 100 kali lebih baik daripada sebelumnya. Mereka semua berhutang budi pada perusahaan ini sekarang.
(Applause)
(tepuk tangan)
And all this time, I kept wondering -- you see, I'm not a businessman, I don't come from that tradition -- I just kept wondering: What is this all about? Corporate America says it's about profits. Mainstream business says it's about money. The CEO playbook says it's about shareholders. And so much is sacrificed for it -- it's factories, communities, jobs. But not by CEOs. CEOs have their employees suffer for them. But yet, the CEOs's pay goes up and up and up. And so many people are left behind.
Selama ini, saya terus berpikir -- Saya bukan seorang pebisnis, saya tidak berasal dari tradisi itu -- Saya tetap bertanya-tanya: Apa yang paling penting? Negara korporat Amerika bilang keuntungan. Bisnis pada umumnya tentang uang. Cara main CEO bilang pemegang sahamlah yang paling penting. Banyak yang dikorbankan untuk itu semua -- pabrik, komunitas, lapangan kerja. Tapi CEO tidak berkorban. Karyawan menderita untuk CEO. Tapi gaji CEO terus meningkat pesat. Dan banyak orang yang tertinggal di belakang.
I'm here to tell you: no more. It's not right, it's never been right. It's time to admit that the playbook that guided businesses and CEOs for the last 40 years is broken.
Saya ingin memberitahukan kalian: jangan begini lagi. Ini salah, dan akan selalu salah. Sekaranglah waktunya mengakui bahwa aturan main yang memandu bisnis dan CEO selama 40 tahun belakangan ini sudah rusak.
(Applause)
(tepuk tangan)
It tells you everything about business except how to be a noble leader. We need a new playbook. We need a new playbook that sees people again. That sees above and beyond profits. In the movies, they have a name for people who take a different path to do things right. They call them "antiheroes." I think we need the same idea in business. We need anti-CEOs, and we need an anti-CEO playbook.
Itu mengajarkan Anda semua tentang bisnis kecuali cara menjadi pemimpin bermoral. Kita butuh panduan baru. Panduan baru yang memanusiakan manusia lagi. Juga melihat lebih dari sekadar keuntungan. Di film, ada sebutan untuk orang yang mengambil jalan berbeda untuk melakukan hal yang benar. Yaitu "antiheroes." Saya pikir kita butuh konsep yang sama dalam bisnis. Kita butuh anti-CEO dan panduan bisnis anti-CEO.
So let me tell you about what this anti-CEO playbook is all about. An anti-CEO playbook is about gratitude. Today's business book says: business exists to maximize profit for the shareholders. I think that's the dumbest idea I've ever heard in my life.
Saya akan menjelaskan apa panduan bisnis anti-CEO ini. Panduan bisnis anti-CEO menekankan rasa bersyukur. Buku bisnis zaman sekarang bilang: bisnis ada untuk memaksimalkan keuntungan demi pemegang saham. Itu ide terbodoh yang pernah saya dengar sepanjang masa.
(Laughter)
(tertawa)
In reality, business should take care of their employees first.
Sebenarnya, bisnis harus mengurusi karyawan mereka dulu.
(Applause)
(tepuk tangan)
You know, a few years ago, when we announced that we are giving shares to all our 2,000 employees, some people said it's PR, some said it's a gift. I said, it's not a gift. I watched it, I've been part of it. They earned it with their talent and with their hard work, and I don't see any other way. The new way of business -- it's your employees you take care of first. Not the profits.
Beberapa tahun lalu, saat kami mengumumkan akan memberi saham kepada 2000 orang pegawai kami, ada yang bilang itu pencitraan, ada yang bilang hadiah. Saya katakan, itu bukan hadiah. Saya sudah melihat dan terlibat. Mereka pantas menerimanya karena bakat dan kerja keras, tidak ada alasan lain untuk saya. Cara baru berbisnis -- adalah mengurusi karyawan Anda dulu. Bukannya keuntungan.
The new anti-CEO playbook is about community. Today, the businesses that have it all ask communities, "What kind of tax breaks and incentives can you give me?" The reality is, businesses should go to the struggling communities and ask, "How can I help you?"
Panduan baru bisnis anti-CEO menekankan komunitas. Sekarang, bisnis yang sudah untung banyak bertanya ke masyarakat, "Pengampunan pajak dan insentif apa yang bisa saya dapat?" Seharusnya, bisnis bertanya kepada masyarakat yang membutuhkan, "Apa yang bisa saya bantu?"
(Applause)
(tepuk tangan)
When we wanted to build our second yogurt plant, Idaho was on nobody's radar screen. It was too rural, too far away, didn't have much incentives. So I went there. I met with the local people, I met with the farmers. We shook hands, we broke bread. I said, "I want to build it right here." I don't need to see financial studies. And the result -- its community is thriving. There's new schools that open every year. New food companies are coming up every year. And they told me, "You're not going to find any trained workers here." I said, "It's OK, we'll teach them." We partnered with the local community college, and while we were building the plant, we trained hundreds of hundreds of people for advanced manufacturing. And today, our factory is one of the largest yogurt plants in the world.
Saat kami ingin membangun pabrik yoghurt kedua kami, tidak ada satu pun yang mengincar Idaho. Lokasinya terlalu terpencil dan tidak strategis. Jadi saya pergi ke sana. Saya bertemu warga sekitar dan peternak di sana. Kami bersalaman dan berbagi roti. Saya bilang, "Saya ingin bangun pabrik di sini." Saya tidak perlu melihat laporan keuangan. Dan hasilnya -- masyarakatnya makmur. Selalu ada sekolah baru setiap tahun. Perusahaan makanan baru bermunculan setiap tahun. Lalu mereka berkata, "Kamu tidak akan menemukan buruh terlatih di sini." Saya jawab, "Kami yang akan melatih." Kami bermitra dengan kampus setempat, dan saat kami membangun pabrik, kami mempersiapkan ratusan orang untuk proses pengolahan rumit. Sekarang, pabrik kami adalah salah satu produsen yogurt terbesar di dunia.
(Applause)
(tepuk tangan)
The new way of business -- communities. Go search for communities that you can be part of. Ask for permission. And be with them, open the walls and succeed together.
Cara baru berbisnis -- komunitas. Carilah komunitas yang Anda bisa gabung ke dalamnya. Mintalah izin, dan berjalanlah bersama mereka, turunkan dinding, dan sukseslah bersama mereka.
The anti-CEO playbook is about responsibility. Today's playbook says, the businesses should stay out of politics. The reality is businesses, as citizens, must take a side. When we were growing in New York and looking for more people to hire, I remembered that in Utica, an hour away, there were refugees from Southeast Asia and Africa, who were looking for a place to work. "They don't speak English," someone told me. I said, "I don't really, either. Let's get translators."
Panduan bisnis anti-CEO menekankan tanggung jawab. Aturan main sekarang bilang bisnis harus jauh-jauh dari politik. Sebenarnya, bisnis, selaku penduduk, harus mengambil sisi. Saat kami sedang bertumbuh di New York dan mencari lebih banyak pekerja, saya ingat di Utica yang jaraknya satu jam perjalanan, ada pengungsi dari benua Asia Tenggara dan Afrika, yang sedang mencari pekerjaan. "Mereka tidak bisa bahasa Inggris." "Saya juga tidak bisa. Ayo kita cari penerjemah."
(Laughter)
(tertawa)
"They don't have transportation." I said, "Let's get buses, it's not a rocket science." Today, in one of America's rural areas, 30 percent of the Chobani workforce are immigrants and refugees.
"Mereka tidak punya kendaraan." Saya bilang, "Kita cari bus. Bukan masalah susah." Sekarang, di salah satu daerah pedesaan Amerika, 30% dari pekerja Chobani terdiri dari imigran dan pengungsi.
(Applause) (Cheers)
(tepuk tangan dan sorak sorai)
And it changed us for better.
Itu berdampak baik untuk kami.
The new way of business -- it's business, not government, in the best position to make a change in today's world: in gun violence, in climate change, in income inequality, in refugees, in race. It's business that must take a side.
Cara baru berbisnis -- bisnislah yang paling bisa membuat perubahan, bukan pemerintah dalam dunia sekarang: Masalah kekerasan bersenjata, perubahan iklim, kesenjangan pendapatan, pengungsi, ras. Bisnislah yang harus mengambil sisi.
(Applause)
(tepuk tangan)
And lastly, an anti-CEO playbook is about accountability. Today's playbook says, the CEO reports to the corporate boards. In my opinion, CEO reports to consumer. In the first few years of Chobani, the 1-800 number on the cup was my personal number.
Terakhir, panduan bisnis anti-CEO menekankan akuntabilitas. Aturan main bisnis sekarang bilang, CEO melapor kepada dewan direksi. Menurut saya, CEO harus melapor pada pelanggan. Dalam beberapa tahun pertama Chobani, Nomor telepon 1-800 di bungkus cangkir adalah nomor pribadi saya.
(Laughter)
(tertawa)
When somebody called and wrote, I responded personally. Sometimes I made changes based on what I heard, because consumer is in power. That's the reason the business exists. It's you -- every single one of you is in power to make changes today. If you don't like the brand and the companies, what they are doing with their business, you can throw them into the garbage can. And if you see the ones that are doing it right, you can reward them. In the end, this is all in our responsibility.
Kalau ada yang menelepon atau mengirim surat, saya menjawab secara pribadi. Terkadang saya mengubah sesuatu berdasarkan apa yang saya dengar, karena pelanggan adalah raja. Itulah alasan mengapa bisnis ada. Anda sekalian -- masing-masing dari Anda mampu membuat perubahan sekarang. Kalau Anda tidak suka suatu perusahaan atau merek, serta tindakan bisnis mereka, Anda bisa buang mereka ke sampah. Dan kalau Anda melihat yang bertindak benar, Anda bisa apresiasi mereka. Pada akhirnya, semua ini kembali lagi pada tanggung jawab kita.
The new way of business -- it's the consumer we report to, not to the corporate boards. You see, if you are right with your people, if you are right with your community, if you are right with your product, you will be more profitable, you will be more innovative, you will have more passionate people working for you and a community that supports you. And that's what the anti-CEO playbook is all about.
Cara baru berbisnis -- Kita harusnya melapor pada pelanggan, bukannya dewan direksi. Soalnya, Kalau Anda menghormati pekerja Anda, Kalau Anda menghormati masyarakat sekitar, Kalau Anda membuat produk yang benar, Anda akan memperoleh lebih banyak keuntungan, Anda akan menjadi lebih inovatif, Anda akan memiliki pekerja yang lebih bergairah dan masyarakat yang mendukung Anda. Itulah poin-poin panduan bisnis anti-CEO.
The treasure that I found in that factory -- dignity of work, strength of character, human spirit -- is what we need to unleash all across the world.
Harta karun yang saya temukan dalam pabrik itu -- harga diri dalam bekerja, kekuatan karakter, semangat kemanusiaan -- semua itulah yang kita harus sebarkan ke seluruh dunia.
Brothers and sisters, there are people and places all around the world left out and left behind. But their spirit is still strong. They just want another chance, they want someone to give them a chance again, not to just build it back, but build it better than before. And this is the difference between return on investment and return on kindness. This is the difference between profit and true wealth. And if it can happen in a small town in upstate New York and Idaho, it can happen in every city and town and village across the world.
Saudara-saudari, ada banyak orang dan tempat yang tertinggal dan terabaikan di seluruh dunia. Tapi semangat mereka masih kuat. Mereka hanya ingin kesempatan baru, mereka ingin seseorang untuk memberi mereka kesempatan lagi, tidak hanya untuk membangun kembali, tapi juga dengan lebih baik dari yang lalu. Inilah perbedaan antara pengembalian investasi dan pengembalian kebaikan. Inilah perbedaan antara keuntungan dan kekayaan hakiki. Jika semua itu bisa terjadi di kota kecil New York bagian utara dan Idaho, itu juga bisa terjadi di setiap kota dan desa di seluruh dunia.
This is not the time to build walls, this is a time to start painting the walls. I leave the colors all up to you.
Sekarang bukanlah waktunya membangun dinding, melainkan waktunya mengecat dinding. Anda bebas memilih warnanya.
Thank you so much.
Terima kasih banyak.
(Applause)
(tepuk tangan)