A Purposeful Journey
Sometimes it’s hard to know what you are looking for until you find it.
2016 was always going to be an important year for Bagelman. 20 years since its creation by founder Julian have passed. Now in our stewardship the business is moving forwards at a pace and with renewed energy.
So, what has ignited new flames of excitement for me?
Last year I was looking for new ways to talk about what we do, how & why we do it. It was hard to pin down anything which sounded exciting and inspiring without falling into the trap of cliches and product focused words lacking meaning.
For me there was something missing.
With a hunger for inspiration I headed to NYC, the home of the bagel.. I ate and explored and was amazed. I’ll be back soon for more. I came home with ideas galore for our menu and, importantly, reassurance that what we do is brilliant. But what was missing I could not explain. I was still looking for something more inspiring and exciting.
I kept digging.. My online mining was taking me from business to business looking for examples of what good looked like.. Which were the businesses that I found exciting to read about? What were they doing that seemed different? How do they describe themselves and their work?
There are loads of great examples out there, one which struck me (not least because I know the founder and CEO of old, Jack Hubbard) was Propellernet. Reading their website what hit me is that before you read about their clients or projects & services, you find out about their culture and people, what makes them buzz, and, what makes them happy.
Next step? I emailed Jack on the off-chance I could buy him a pint or two and probe him for info on how he made culture the central pillar in the business.. His response was instant, and for me, game changing.
I found myself on a flight to the Alps to spend 3 days on his most recent project, a conscious business meeting of minds. Staying in the Alps at Dream Valley in the lap of luxury and surrounded by engaged, open minded kinfolk all with a burning desire to do things differently.
I had arrived at the weekend excited, if a little challenged, about how I was going to be able to leverage the input of such a diverse group of people and apply it usefully into my business.
I admit to having a small doubt that Bagelman was the right platform for a conscious business at all.
Feasting, drinking, exploring. Talking, sharing & riding the mountain ensued.. We all explored our experiences, our challenges, our hopes and dreams. It was obvious from the start that Jack had pulled together a collection of like minded souls open and willing to share ideas and make a difference.
One challenge of a business like ours is that we are what I call a stepping stone employer; students, recent graduates, gap yearers, early hospitality career people. We are not necessarily focused on long term retention, but on great recruitment, quick fire training and skills development all aimed at getting the best service from people as quickly as possible.
This is challenging for anyone, someone can be client facing on day one and receiving live feedback and dealing with an expectant queue of hungry fans!
In the Alps, it became clear to me; to make our biggest challenge our opportunity.
There is a known soft skills gap in the workforce, confirmed by studies by the likes of the British Chamber of Commerce. And, happily, this gap is a space we occupy; we not only focus on training our people to make bagels and coffee well, its a prerequisite to success. But, we also focus on the soft skills; Peer to Peer coaching, communication, teamwork so, are are actually working to fill this skills gap for the people who join our teams. And hopefully ensure they develop a skill set which they can take forward with them on their career journey.
So, by shifting my focus from product to purpose and from what to why I now feel able to develop a meaningful way forward for the business.
