🍴The Panera Lesson

Every once in a while I like to leave my house and go somewhere to work.

A nice little change of scenery if you will.

One day before picking up my kids, I stopped at Panera.

I got myself an iced coffee, put my headphones in, opened my laptop, at what I thought was a run-of-the-mill window seat.

At first, I was minding my own business listening to some awesome activations from Mimi Bouchard’s Superhuman app.

But then I quickly realized the pieces of a job interview were coming together right before my eyes.

A nervous high schooler in one chair and a smiling, likely overworked, manager approaching.

I hit pause on my activation faster than a contestant on Press Your Luck hits the button and screams NO WHAMMY!

I wanted to tune into this interview instead.

They exchanged pleasantries and the interview started.

Despite a few too many verbal fillers and a contradiction - “I’m the pickiest eater but I like the mac and cheese.” two minutes later “I LOVE everything on this menu!”

They were onto scheduling and expectations.

It was during this part of the interview that the manager dropped a life lesson like the beat in an EDM song…

An absolute BANGER.

Now, I’m not sure if that quote hit the girl as hard as it hit me, but wow.

Think about it.

You can learn anything and everything about a company and its offerings, but if you don’t care about them, what does it matter?

CARING is the difference maker.

CARING turns an ordinary interaction into an extraordinary one.

CARING turns a task into an initiative.

CARING gives your work meaning and meaning to your work.

CARING is an excellent strategy for life and business.

That day, I walked out of Panera with a watered-down iced coffee and a life lesson.

I’d say that was a solid trip.