As Felix Oberholzer-Gee puts it, "The value stick is a simple but powerful tool. It reminds us that great strategy is about expanding the space between willingness to pay and willingness to sell—for everyone in the value chain."

We talk a lot at Klassen about creating value—but how do we actually measure it? One of the best tools we use to understand that is something called the Value Stick.

This tool helps us see both sides of the equation: what our customers are willing to pay, and what it costs us to deliver—our willingness to sell. The bigger the gap, the more value we’ve created.

In this episode, I’m sitting down with Greg Reese, our Chief Commercial Officer, to dig into the math, mindset, and meaning behind the Value Stick—and how everyone at Klassen plays a role in expanding it.

References - More info about the Value Stick

https://online.hbs.edu/blog/post/value-based-strategy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVxDDHgNvn8

Travis Klassen and Greg Reese discuss the Klassen Promise, which encapsulates the company's mission, vision, and value proposition. The mission is to create value for customers, employees, vendors, and shareholders. The vision is to lead the market as North America's leading provider of farm and garden consumables. The value proposition emphasizes delivering consistent, reliable products and services that create more value than competitors. Create value, Lead the Market, Act Consistently.

"As Larry Senn once said, 'Every company has a culture—whether they've defined it or not. The question is whether that culture is happening by design or by default.'

In our last episode, we introduced the idea of value creation—why it matters and how it shows up at Klassen. But strategy alone doesn’t build great companies. What really shapes a business is how people behave—day in and day out.

It’s about how we treat each other. How we build trust. How we take ownership, grow through feedback, and show up for the team when it counts.

This four-part series is about the principles that guide those behaviors—the ones that hold us together when things are moving fast, and help us build something that lasts.

Today, I’m sitting down with our CEO, John-Mark Ferguson, as we take a deeper look into what we call: the Klassen Code."

We Own Our Freedom and Responsibility: Do what you say you will do.
Freedom to act comes with the responsibility to own outcomes. We strive to understand what needs to be done and execute it with diligence and care. We communicate proactively when we face challenges. We are empowered to act—and accountable to learn.

"As Larry Senn once said, 'Every company has a culture—whether they've defined it or not. The question is whether that culture is happening by design or by default.'

In our last episode, we introduced the idea of value creation—why it matters and how it shows up at Klassen. But strategy alone doesn’t build great companies. What really shapes a business is how people behave—day in and day out.

It’s about how we treat each other. How we build trust. How we take ownership, grow through feedback, and show up for the team when it counts.

This four-part series is about the principles that guide those behaviors—the ones that hold us together when things are moving fast, and help us build something that lasts.

Today, I’m sitting down with our CEO, John-Mark Ferguson, as we take a deeper look into what we call: the Klassen Code."

We Improve: No thumb-sucking.
Take action, do the hard thing, and have the hard conversation. Show up in person. We gather data, analyze, design, implement, evaluate, and repeat. We pursue growth, spot opportunities, and take initiative. Progress doesn’t happen by accident—it’s a result of continuous learning and looping through the improvement process.

"As Larry Senn once said, 'Every company has a culture—whether they've defined it or not. The question is whether that culture is happening by design or by default.'

In our last episode, we introduced the idea of value creation—why it matters and how it shows up at Klassen. But strategy alone doesn’t build great companies. What really shapes a business is how people behave—day in and day out.

It’s about how we treat each other. How we build trust. How we take ownership, grow through feedback, and show up for the team when it counts.

This four-part series is about the principles that guide those behaviors—the ones that hold us together when things are moving fast, and help us build something that lasts.

Today, I’m sitting down with our CEO, John-Mark Ferguson, as we take a deeper look into what we call: the Klassen Code."

We Are Honest: Don’t lie, cheat, or steal.
We value open dialogue, truthful feedback, and candid conversations. We share ideas openly and let the best ideas win. We give and receive feedback with the goal of making ourselves and each other better.

"As Larry Senn once said, 'Every company has a culture—whether they've defined it or not. The question is whether that culture is happening by design or by default.'

In our last episode, we introduced the idea of value creation—why it matters and how it shows up at Klassen. But strategy alone doesn’t build great companies. What really shapes a business is how people behave—day in and day out.

It’s about how we treat each other. How we build trust. How we take ownership, grow through feedback, and show up for the team when it counts.

This four-part series is about the principles that guide those behaviors—the ones that hold us together when things are moving fast, and help us build something that lasts.

Today, I’m sitting down with our CEO, John-Mark Ferguson, as we take a deeper look into what we call: the Klassen Code."

We Value People: Respect and value every human.

We treat others the way we’d want to be treated and aspire to help each team member become a top performer. We make decisions with the team in mind, act with selflessness, and assume good intentions. We eliminate drama, avoid blame, and pursue solutions together. We work safely, supportively, and for the good of the team.

Why does Klassen exist? In our Value Creation Guide, we sum up our mission in two words: Create Value. More fully, we say Klassen exists to create value for customers, employees, vendors, and shareholders.

In this premiere episode of our internal podcast, I sit down with our CEO, John-Mark Ferguson, to unpack that mission—the why behind everything we do. We talk about where the idea of value creation came from, how it’s shaped the way we work, and how all of this connects to award-winning piglets in Texas.