Today is October 12 and the Navigate the Chaos question to consider is “How often can you move forward without knowing the way or having a plan?”
People like Chobani founder Hamdi Ulukaya did just that and noted “The poet Rumi wrote ‘As you start to walk on the way, the way appears.’
When I started Chobani, I’d never run a company before and there was no plan.” Ulukaya is a Turkish businessman, entrepreneur, investor, and philanthropist based in the United States. Ulukaya is the owner, founder, Chairman, and CEO of Chobani, the #1-selling strained yogurt (Greek-style) brand in the United States.
On April 26, 2016, Ulukaya announced to his employees that he would be giving them 10% of the shares in Chobani.
Originating from a dairy-farming family in a small village in Turkey, Ulukaya immigrated to the U.S. in 1994 to study English and took a few business courses as well. In an interview with CNN Money, Ulukaya explains that he was very serious about Kurdish rights and left Turkey due to the Turkish state's oppression of its Kurdish minority group.
He started a modest feta-cheese factory in 2002 on the advice of his father. His larger success came from taking a major risk: Ulukaya purchased a large, defunct yogurt factory in upstate New York in 2005, in a region that used to be the center of a dairy and cheese industry.
With no prior experience in the yogurt business, he has created a yogurt empire, Chobani, with facilities in several states. It was valued at over $1 billion in annual sales in less than five years after launch, becoming the leading yogurt brand in the U.S. by 2011.
The popularity of his Greek-style yogurt also sparked the rise in Greek yogurt's market share in the U.S. from less than 1% in 2007 to more than 50% in 2013. Ernst & Young named Ulukaya the World Entrepreneur of the Year in 2013.
The success of his yogurt empire has made Ulukaya a billionaire and developed new employment in several regions. According to Forbes, his net worth as of 2016 is $1.92 billion.
Ulukaya figured out a way to translate his dream into reality without a plan or a path. So too did Anthony T. Rossi.
Rossi emigrated to the U.S. from Italy he was 21, spoke little English, had no money, and no contacts. He worked various jobs and eventually saved enough money to purchase a small orange juice company, thus launching Tropicana.
He invented his own method of pasteurization, which set him apart from competitors. In 1978, at 78 years of age, he sold his company for $500 million and devoted himself to charity.
Remaining open to what is possible through serendipity is one of the many ways successful people navigate the chaos. Dennis Farina left himself open to what is possible and enjoyed a successful acting career founded upon serendipity.
Before becoming an actor, Farina served three years in the US Army and then 18 years in the Chicago Police Department’s burglary division, from 1967 to 1985.
He had been working as a detective when a mutual friend introduced him to the director Michael Mann, who was making his first feature film in 1981, “Thief.” Mr. Farina was initially a consultant for the movie before being given a small role as a crime boss’s enforcer. For several years afterward, Mr. Farina juggled his police job with local theater roles and appearances in movies and television shows.
He was often cast by Mr. Mann, including in several episodes of his hit show “Miami Vice.”
Farina quit police work after Mr. Mann cast him in 1986 in the NBC series “Crime Story.” He would go on to spend four decades in film and television with a two season stint in Law & Order as Detective Joe Fontana. Farina died in July 2013 and left behind a life filled with happiness, success, and opportunity due to serendipity.
Farina noted "I never had a grand plan with what I was going to do."
Farina remained open to life’s possibilities and moved forward without a grand plan. Can you?