In 1990, The Morning Star Company—now the world’s largest tomato processor—was just a startup working out of a farmhouse in Northern California. Its founder, Chris Rufer, had a different vision for how a business could operate.
One evening, the startup team gathered in a construction trailer on the job site. Rufer handed out a document titled The Morning Star Team Principles, which outlined two foundational commitments:
- People should not use force or coercion against one another.
- People should keep the commitments they make.
As Doug Kirkpatrick, the company’s first financial controller, recounted on The Conscious Capitalists podcast with Timothy Henry and Raj Sisodia, these principles were adopted as the entire governance model of the enterprise. There were no bosses, no formal titles, and no managers, just professionals working together toward a shared mission.
No Managers, No Problem
By July of that same year, Morning Star turned on its new factory and processed over 90 million pounds of industrial tomato concentrate. This was accomplished with zero traditional management structure and the only boss being the company’s Mission Statement.
Despite widespread skepticism from competitors and observers, Morning Star grew rapidly and effectively.
Budgeting Without Bureaucracy
Doug also described how Morning Star handled budgeting in a self-managed context. Rather than rigid annual plans, the team used dynamic financial forecasting to manage cash flow in real time. They projected two to five years into the future and tracked actuals monthly.
This allowed the organization to make informed, agile decisions without relying on hierarchical approvals or top-down budget enforcement.
Contracts Over Titles
As Morning Star grew, it became clear that interpersonal commitments needed to be formalized. The company introduced Colleague Letters of Understanding (CLOUs)—peer-based agreements that outlined each individual’s mission, services provided, decision rights, key relationships, and resource needs.
Employees could revise their CLOUs at any time, allowing the organization to stay responsive while holding people accountable to each other, not a manager.
Leadership Without Authority
Morning Star’s model emphasizes natural leadership—where influence arises through trust and credibility rather than positional power. Requests, not commands, shape collaboration. Even critical feedback or employment-related conversations are handled through professional request and response—not managerial enforcement.
A Fit for Everyone?
Doug is clear: self-management isn’t for everyone. Not every individual—or organization—will thrive without traditional hierarchy. But even if your company isn’t ready to abandon titles or restructure overnight, Morning Star’s experience holds critical lessons for any leader.
First, clarity of purpose can be more powerful than positional authority. Second, trust and transparency can drive accountability just as effectively as oversight. And finally, when people are empowered to own their commitments, you unlock efficiency, engagement, innovation, and resilience.
You don’t need to implement Morning Star’s model wholesale to benefit from its principles. But you do need to ask: where might more autonomy, clarity, and mutual accountability help your people do their best work?