Shawn Askinosie is no hard-charging CEO obsessed with profit and expansion. Rather, he is a deeply thoughtful manager - the founder of a high-end craft chocolate factory in Springfield whose profitable company is dedicated to making life better for all its stakeholders. Some would call his work purpose-driven business. How this former criminal defense attorney became a social entrepreneur is a story with lessons for anyone searching for meaning in their work and personal life, and he shares them in "Meaningful Work: A Quest to do Great Business, Find Your Calling, and Feed Your Soul," in which Lawren Askinsoie assisted in writing.
Askinosie never lost a criminal jury trial; he was successful in all professional ways and loved his work - until he didn't. After a trial involving a mentally ill woman accused of killing her child, he knew - he could no longer stay in his stressful career. He tried working in different areas of the law, bought a Mercedes convertible (and sold it after four months), and suffered physical problems, panic attacks and depression. He saw a psychologist and started taking anti-depressants, his body telling him change was required. That's when his search for another purpose began, one that resulted in several years of soul-searching work, listening to his own voice. He started volunteering in the palliative care department of a local hospital and spending time in a Trappist monastery near Ava, trying to absorb the monks' philosophy of being rather than doing.
The result of his thinking and research was a decision to make quality chocolate and to source cocoa beans direct from cocoa farmers. But first he had to find farmers who grew the superior beans he wanted and used sustainable farming methods. He says his chocolate is not "Fair Trade," which he claims isn't always fair to farmers. Most cocoa-producing countries are poor, with cocoa farmers working small acreages, and the cost of Fair Trade certification is inordinately high for these small farmers. Askinosie knew the size of his company didn't warrant becoming involved in the Fair Trade system. Instead, he opens his books to his farmer-partners and shares annual profits with them. Over the years, the company has purchased beans from growers in Tanzania, Ecuador, Honduras, Mexico, Venezuela and Madagascar. Its chocolate bars are packaged with information about and sometimes photos of the growers. In keeping with the company mission of making the world a better place, the company works with schools to provide school lunches for students daily in Tanzania and the Philippines without any donations.
The authors (daughter Lawren is marketing manager) don't shy away from discussing some of the problems and mistakes made in getting the business established and the lessons learned from them. One especially interesting aspect of their work is a commitment to the concept of "enough." They have been approached by famous food and retail companies with offers to "grow the business" and have resisted these offers, preferring instead to "get better at staying small" and to remain true to the company mission.
Askinosie Chocolate has received numerous major awards from specialty food associations and praise for its company ethos from business leaders and nonprofit leaders. "O, The Oprah Magazine" named Shawn as "one of 15 guys who are saving the world." In 2016, Forbes named the company "one of the best small companies in America." Its unique mission has been featured in "The New York Times" and other major news media. While a tiny player in the global chocolate world, the company has made a significant impact with its projects that benefit growers, local students in Springfield, and its employees.
Shawn continues his association with Assumption Abbey and now serves as a Family Brother. He continues to promote the importance of "pursuing business as a vocation" at speaking engagements throughout the country.
About the chocolate: everything about the company's single-origin bars is special, from the packaging, the information provided and, above all, the delicious taste - worth every dollar.
Madeline Matson is reference and adult programming librarian at Missouri River Regional Library.