Success Quote by Jerry Greenfield

Greenfield’s line is a quiet rebuttal to the oldest excuse in corporate life: that decency is a luxury item you can’t afford once margins tighten. As a cofounder of Ben & Jerry’s, he’s not speaking from a philosophy seminar; he’s making a pragmatic claim from a brand built on the gamble that ethics could be a growth strategy. The phrasing matters. “Led by values” suggests something operational, not ornamental - values as the steering wheel, not the mission statement framed in the lobby. And the insistence that it “doesn’t cost” is deliberately pitched at skeptics: investors, executives, the inner accountant who believes every moral choice is a line-item expense.

The subtext is sharper: plenty of companies perform values when it’s convenient, then quietly treat them as optional during layoffs, sourcing decisions, or political pressure. Greenfield flips the burden of proof. If values “help your business,” then abandoning them isn’t realism; it’s short-termism dressed up as hardheadedness.

Contextually, this is also a defense of the “values-driven brand” era, where consumers can punish hypocrisy in real time and employees expect employers to stand for something beyond shareholder return. Values can reduce churn, attract talent, insulate reputation, and turn customers into advocates - not because people are naive, but because trust is an economic asset. The quote works because it translates morality into the language boardrooms actually respect: incentives, durability, and competitive advantage.