Good Morning Friends! Here are my 5 Things to Consider this week!
Culture – Not every decision can be made at a conference table. One of the things that I see happen when a company starts to grow is that the decision makers grow farther and farther away from the problems they’re in charge of solving. Things that make sense at a conference table don’t always play out well where the action is actually happening. The solution to combat this problem is simple, we must make it a priority to listen to the people who deal with our customers on a daily basis. Some of the best systems. solutions and processes we have, started as ideas from those on the front lines. Our Piesan’s are full of awesome ideas and when we listen to them and consider their suggestions, we reinforce the fact that their input is valuable to us and their voice can be heard like as anyone else’s. Over the years, we tried A LOT in this business. There isn’t much we haven’t tried at some point, to sell pizza in or out of. Some of the ideas people come up with have already been tried in some way or may (hilariously) involve bending the laws of the universe, but it’s our job to listen and encourage the open the lines of communication. Ideas are the best when they’re shared out loud. Plus, there is no better feeling than to have your idea heard, discussed and implemented. When you know, no matter who you are or how long you’ve been here, that your input is valuable and that your voice is heard, we create buy-in and there is no faster way to earn loyalty than buy-in.
Leadership – Leadership is an attitude, not a title. There’s a big difference between being “in-charge” and being a leader. Having the attitude that you’re “just a manager” creates the mindset that you just here to make sure the technical stuff gets done; hitting your numbers, the cleaning, the deposit, the schedules. Which, while being an important part of the job, isn’t necessarily why you’re here. We strive to create leaders in our organization because our shops run on way more than just the technical stuff. We want you, the leaders of our organizations, to be the cultural flag bearers of your individual shops. You’re attitudes toward leadership, not your ability to accomplish tasks, are what make our places what they are. It’s your ability to connect to others, motivate them when they need a boost, create a fun, positive workplace and encourage the sharing of ideas and “better ways” that make our places special. Realizing that your purpose here isn’t just to “hit your numbers,” but more to coach your teams to victory is a powerful mindset shift. The technical parts of this role can be trained. The ability to connect and lead you teams has to come from a higher place. It must be an attitude that you possess every day.Management is not leadership and we are truly the best-we-can-be when we know that that attitude we bring to work daily impacts our shops more than simply managing people.
History – Pizzaface. Back when we first opened up the shack in the Short North, I used to draw a really crude and simple version of Pizzaface on everyone’s plain, white to-go boxes. I’m a lot of things, but an artist isn’t one of those things, so it was pretty bad. He had a little thought bubble that read, “I want to be inside you.” It was just our way of being funny and kind of suggestive, something I don’t think really any pizza shops did at the time…or now for that matter. Drawing that little guy was my way of creating our brand and connecting with our customers. A couple years in to our little pizza experiment, Patrick, my then girlfriend Rachael’s brother, decided one day to take a crack at drawing pizzaface his own way and the Pizzaface you know today was born. Socks, sandals, jean shorts and all. Over the years, Patrick has drawn Pizzaface in dozens of different ways and created an entire family of LNS characters including, Baby Cheezus, Pizza Dawg, Garlic Dude and more. Most recently, Pizzaface was promoted to our official brand mark. I can’t imagine a better, more on-brand visual representative than him. He’s our little dirtball baby and he’s perfect.
Motivation – “Decisions are best made by the people affected by them.” – Gloria Steinem
What I’m Reading or Watching – TicTok. I may have written about this before but it’s worth mentioning again what an awesome platform this is. Even though it’s only been popular for about a year now, it’s quickly becoming one of the best and most used social media platforms out there. Where IG and FB are more about people’s statuses, TicTok is all about creativity and learning. It awesome and entertaining and I highly recommend downloading it.
Baby Update – Kids is a club. One thing I’ve noticed about being a parent is the automatic membership you seem to get to this exclusive club called Other Parents. No matter where we go or who we see, if there are other parents in the room, we’ll oddly gravitate toward each other and start talking about kids. The good parts, the shitty parts, whatever is front and center in the life of a parent will be discussed. This club that I didn’t even know I was joining isn’t actually all that bad, but I can’t help feeling like it’s all just a little…domestic for where I usually fall on the social constructs. The last thing I EVER thought about wanting to do was talk to strangers about school districts and voucher programs. I’m not doing that “minivan and cul-de-sac” shit though. Seriously.
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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