S2, Ep 15: The importance of having a vision, the imperfect craft of hiring, and the need to infuse dignity into an organization.

Ari Weinzweig

CEO & Co-Founding Partner, Zingerman's Community of Businesses

Subscribe to What’s Burning wherever you get your podcasts: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | Google  Podcasts | Audible & more.

Ari Weinzweig is CEO and co-founding partner of Zingerman's Community of Businesses, which includes Zingerman's Delicatessen, Bakehouse, Creamery, Catering, Mail Order, ZingTrain, Coffee Company, Roadhouse, Candy Manufactory, Events at Cornman Farms, Miss Kim and Zingerman’s Food Tours.

Zingerman’s produces, sells and serves all sorts of full flavored, traditional foods in its home of Ann Arbor, Michigan to the tune of $68,000,000 a year in annual sales.

Ari was recognized as one of the “Who’s Who of Food & Beverage in America” by the 2006 James Beard Foundation and has awarded a Bon Appetit Lifetime Achievement Award among many recognitions.

Ari is the author of a number of articles and books, including Zingerman’s Guide to Good Eating, Zingerman’s Guide to Better Bacon (Zingerman’s Press), Zingerman’s Guide to Giving Great Service, Zingerman’s Guide to Good Eating (Houghton Mifflin), Zingerman’s Guide to Good Leading, Part 1: A Lapsed Anarchist’s Approach to Building a Great Business, and Zingerman's Guide to Good Leading, Part 2: A Lapsed Anarchist’s Approach to Being a Better Leader. Zingerman's Guide to Good Leading, Part 3; A Lapsed Anarchist's Approach to Managing Ourselves. Zingerman's Guide to Good Leading, Part 4; A Lapsed Anarchist's Approach to the Power of Beliefs in Business was released in summer of 2016. In 2017 Ari was named one of “The World's 10 Top CEOs (They Lead in a Totally Unique Way)” by Inc. Magazine.

In 2018 Ari released the pamphlet, “The Art of Business; Why I Want to be an Artist.” Another pamphlet, “Going into Business with Emma Goldman” came out in June, 2019. “Humility; A Humble, Anarchistic Inquiry” came out in October, 2020. “Working Through Hard Times; Life and Leadership Learnings from 2020” was published in the first weeks of 2021 and Ari’s most recent work, “The Story of Visioning at Zingerman’s: Four Visions, Forty Years, and a Positive Look Towards the Future,” came out in the spring of 2022.

His newest work is another pamphlet, “A Taste of Zingerman’s Food Philosophy: Forty Years of Mindful Cooking and Eating.”

On this episode, Ari joins host Mitchell Davis and discusses the importance of having a vision, the imperfect craft of hiring, and the need to infuse dignity into an organization.

Follow Zingerman’s on Facebook, Instagram & Twitter

For more on Zingerman’s, visit: zingermansdeli.com. To place an order, visit: zingermans.com.

For Zingerman’s books, visit: zingermanspress.com

For Zingerman’s training, visit: zingtrain.com

Ari may be reached at: ari@zingermans.com