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Perspective:
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The importance of ‘good will’

Norm Monsen

Norm Monsen is vice president of the agriculture division of Creative Business Services/CBS-Global, Green Bay, Wisconsin. He contributes this column exclusively for Cheese Market News®.

Anyone who has ever bought or sold a business knows the term “goodwill.” Listed as one word on a balance sheet, it represents the intangible worth of a business that exceeds its fair value. Goodwill is often calculated based on the seller’s reputation, customer loyalty and future earnings.

There is no magical or secret formula for determining the value of goodwill. And I don’t know of any individual, company or cooperative who intentionally sets out to build their business value by making or building goodwill to elevate the asking price of their business when the time comes to sell. But goodwill translates to more than dollars and cents and a raw value. It is literally based on two words that, when separated, can make all the difference: “good will.”

People working in the dairy industry — farmers, processors, marketers and all the occupations that support America’s Dairyland — are some of the most giving people in the world. For this column, I will address the importance of goodwill (one word) by talking about folks acting out good will (two words) — the act of helping and building up others.

For as long as the dairy industry has existed, there are thousands of stories of acts of good will. There are countless times that we know of neighbors coming together to harvest crops, tend livestock and help families out in times of need.What is not often told, however, are the stories of good will of dairy processors and

marketers. Maybe we’ve come to expect businesses to be generous or give back to their customers, but in all actuality, these acts should never be taken for granted. A few stories and examples of good will:

First, a University of Wisconsin professor told me about the time he took his young sons to a local restaurant and was going to buy some custard pints out of the display cooler. He reported that a nice gentleman who was wearing the colors of the restaurant’s brand asked if he needed any help. When they replied yes, the gentleman went to work helping them find exactly what they were looking for. Only later when they saw a TV ad for the restaurant did they realize that the gentleman who was helping them was the president and founder.

A branch of that same restaurant that I regularly patronize every year hosts a community-wide Christmas celebration. It started out as just a limited-time gift giveaway, helping maybe 90 people who were in need. Today, it has grown into a community-wide event that attracts nearly 1,500 people, with every child attending receiving a gift and cap and mittens. That’s what I call good will.

Second, a Wisconsin-based cheese company became the first corporate sponsor of Milwaukee’s Habitat for Humanity. A generous act of good will, for sure. But the company went a step further and today continues to grow and support the cause, both financially and through in-person volunteering. Over time, the company has added other ways of building community, and today uses unique sports-themed achievements (touchdowns, home runs, winning the tip-off) to create energy and enthusiasm for the many projects they support. What started out as a way to help others has become an entire good will program.

Third, a local farm and milk bottling company during COVID placed a cooler outside their store stocked with fresh milk for anyone who needed it — for free. No questions were asked and no tally was kept of who took what. This went on for quite some time. I would suspect, that without even thinking about it, this company created so much good will in the community that they were rewarded when the time came when people could again afford to buy milk.

The above stories are just a few personal examples that I know where companies offered acts of good will not to someday add goodwill to their balance sheet, but rather to be a good neighbor and a kind human. Maybe these acts of good will can best be summed up by the slogan of that local custard restaurant: “Pay it forward.”

Acts of good will create community: a community that cares for each other and grows and prospers together. For anyone just starting out in the dairy industry, I would encourage you to watch, learn and respect the tradition of good will from those who were here before you. Someday, your bottom line may or may not reflect goodwill in your balance sheet, but the respect from your community will be priceless.

CMN

The views expressed by CMN’s guest columnists are their own opinions and do not necessarily reflect those of Cheese Market News®.

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