John Mackey
16 statements across 2 episodes · 3 bullish · 5 bearish · 2 people on the record · first statement Oct 29, 2024 by John Mackey · said 5 times in 3 episodes since 2024 · across every show →
On the record as a speaker too: John Mackey's record, appearances and statements → this page counts the times other people say the name.
Mentions by year
brought up most by Shane Parrish (5)
tap a year for its mentions
2026 1 mention in 1 episode
2025 3 mentions in 1 episode
2024 1 mention in 1 episode
Everything said about John Mackey, oldest first
Oct 29, 2024
Mackey: Never make poor business decisions just to hit an outdated plan
“But the tool shouldn't become the master. Some businesses become slaves to their business plan, and it's like, we're behind the plan now, so what are we going to do differently to get us back on plan? It's like, well, don't do something stupid to try to get yo…”
Oct 29, 2024 bearish
Mackey: Clear grocery health ratings will drive away shoppers or get diluted
“What they would do is they'd dumb it down so that a lot of stuff that you think is red now would all of a sudden be green. And the, It's like, because most of the food that we're selling in supermarkets is not good for people. And if you start telling the trut…”
Oct 29, 2024 positive
Mackey: The best capital is self-generated profit to retain business control
“The best capital you'll ever have is the capital you make yourself, and if you don't want to lose control of your business, then make sure you're very profitable, don't scale too quickly, grow your business thoughtfully and painfully patiently, keep your costs…”
Oct 29, 2024 positive
Oct 29, 2024 negative
Oct 29, 2024 neutral
Oct 29, 2024 neutral
Mackey: Idealism without catering to customer demand leads to business failure
“If you just want to have your ideals, you can have them, but you may not have a business. So you have to engage with the market. You can try to influence the market. You can try to educate the market. But at the end of the day, they vote every day with their p…”
Oct 29, 2024 negative
Oct 29, 2024 negative
Oct 29, 2024 neutral
Mackey: Whole Foods' Optimal Annual Growth Rate Was 15% to 25%
“So there is an optimum level of growth, and it's not too little that you'll lose people, and not so high that your culture gets diluted down and changes negatively. So at Whole Foods, that sweet spot for us was between about 15 and 25%.”
Oct 29, 2024
Amazon acquisition talks involved a secret location and security searches
“When we were going up there to talk about maybe Amazon buying Whole Foods you know, we were meeting at Jeff's Boathouse, which was next to his mansion on Lake Washington, and, but when we, they wouldn't tell us who the meeting place was until we landed, and th…”
Oct 29, 2024 bearish
Oct 29, 2024
Oct 29, 2024
Oct 29, 2024 positive
Mackey: Professional managers optimize for career risk while entrepreneurs optimize for experimentation
“That's the job of the entrepreneur is to see things the professionals would not see, or the professionals are making a more calculated decision on is this good for my career or not? Or if this succeeds, will it really help my career? But if it fails, will I en…”
Dec 16, 2025
John Mackey: Controlling Investors Are Bad Money That Compromise Founder Vision
“Bad money is worse than no money. Do you remember when I interviewed Whole Foods founder John Mackey? He called bad money hitchhikers. Bad money will pay for the gas. As long as you do what they want and go where they want to go, and slowly you lose yourself a…”