In a WSJ interview Mr. Martin Roper, the former CEO of Boston Beer, commented on the challenges he faced growing one of the largest craft brewers in the U.S. The response that stood out to me involved the company’s near-death experience:
Mr. Roper: In ’08, we identified at one of our breweries that there were pieces of glass in bottles. We didn’t know how widespread it was. We made the decision to recall. We inspected several million cases and destroyed nearly a million. As CEO, you’re just thinking, ‘This company is going to die.’ It was the first full-scale recall in the beer industry that we were aware of. We were writing the playbook over a weekend. Looking back on it, the lesson is do the right thing and your customers will come and help you, and ask your employees to do incredible things and they will go way further than you expect. And frankly, do the right thing, and the brand will be stronger for it.
Click on the link below for the rest of the interview.