Good Morning Friends! Here are my 5 Things to Consider this week!
Culture – Radical Vulnerability. It takes courage to be vulnerable. Putting yourself out there for everyone to see and judge takes guts. Telling people you screwed up and you’re sorry is just plain hard. In my opinion, being vulnerable is one of the most courageous things we can be as a company. The funny thing is, often being vulnerable is seen as a weakness. Like apologizing, being honest or taking fault for something is a character flaw. Vulnerability is simply transparency. Laying it all out there when you have nothing to hide. People respond better to authentic moments. They can also sniff out bullshit quick. Having the courage to tell people you made a bad decision, you learned from it and you’ll do better next time will garner you more goodwill and respect from people than lying or making excuses. Plus, it costs you nothing but a little humility. A couple years ago, we decided that we wanted to be as transparent as possible in the way we operate the business. That meant doing and sharing some things that we were not very comfortable with at first. Mainly the weekly numbers, but also plans, pain points and other intricacies of the business. What it came down to in the end is simple; you have a right to know. When you don’t tell someone the truth or outright lie, you take away that person’s right to decide and/or ability to help. You take away their choice. We will always be as transparent as we can with all of you about anything that directly affects you. We will never hide behind closed doors and make decisions strictly from the top. We will always try to be radically vulnerable.
Leadership – Character vs. Reputation. They say that our character is what we do when no one is looking. The things we do behind closed doors, the decisions we make, the way we treat people. Character is the center of our being and it’s reflected to others by our everyday actions. It’s the way we respond to crisis, treat people when they’re in need and behave towards others when they receive a promotion or recognition. It the tangible reflection of our personal values. To me, strength of character is the most important quality a person can possess. Reputation is simply a perception of the actions we make; the outward reflection of our character. Our reputations are precious and fragile. They can take a lifetime to build up and a moment to destroy. This applies to our business and to ourselves individually. Strength of character creates trust, reliability and respect; in my opinion the three basic elements of any strong relationship; business or personal. Consistency in character creates consistency in reputation. As Abraham Lincoln said, “Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.”
History – High & Vine. Once upon a time, about 3 years ago, Little Mikey was looking for a new location to sell pizza and booze. Okay, enough of that. We were looking all around Columbus and actually had a place in Clintonville picked out. It was right next to the Crimson Cup on High St. We got pretty far with that deal, even signing a Letter of Intent and a lease. Something happened at the very last minute and the owner decided a furniture store was a better fit, so we lost that one only to quickly find the amazing location at High and Vine. This was another scenario where I knew the owner of the building, so after a quick phone call, we were doing a walk through and we knew this would be a home run. H&V was a turning point for us because we got to use all the lessons we learned from S. 4th St. and truly create what the future of LNS would look like; inside and out. Of course we had our hiccups and some things that didn’t go smoothly, but to this day, I couldn’t be prouder of how this location turned out.
Motivation – “Vulnerability is not winning or losing; It’s having the courage to show up and be seen when we have no control over the outcome. Vulnerability is not weakness; it is our greatest measure of courage” – Brene Brown
What I’m Reading or Watching – The Missing Piece by Jane Grote Abell. That name probably sounds familiar if you’ve lived in Central Ohio for more than a couple years. Jane is the President of Donatos Pizza and daughter of Jim, the founder. She just releaed this book about a month ago. The thing I love about these types of books is; one, it’s a local story. You’ve probably heard about some of the historical happenings at Donatos, but to hear it first hand is amazing. Second, it’s about a pizza restaurant. We speak the same language. Third, it’s a story about a family business based on a solid set of values. I’m flying through this book and can’t wait to pick it back up again.
Baby Update – The tools for survival. At this moment im yyping this with my single left hand. (spelling errors kept for comedic value 😜) My other hand is gently holding a pacifier in my child’s mouth so he doesn’t lose his fucking mind and maybe, just maybe I can get a sentence or two slowly typed. Here’s the situation, my six-week-old has needs, like hungar, attention and cleanliness. Unfortunately he doesn’t have the tools to convey these needs to me; he can only scream. As a fresh, young parent my job is to learn the necessary tools to prevent him from screaming. Change his diaper? That works sometimes. Feed him? Useful tool right there. Hold him? Almost always effective. It’s a guessing game you can generally win by going down the list. The goal of a new parent? To keep their child quite by using their new super powers. If those don’t work, there’s always the cage in the basement. Of course I’m kidding, I don’t have superpowers!.
Thanks for reading! Like or hate any part of this? Let me know! I really value your feedback.
Have a great week!
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