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Ray Spadoni
Welcome to Leading Organizations that Matter, a podcast about leadership and how we find impact, meaning and joy in our work. I'm your host, Ray Spadoni, and today's topic is Be the Treadwells. Sorry for the obscure and strange title this week, but I know you'll understand the main point here in a minute or two. Basically, it's a tale of two cities. The cities in this case are two ice cream shops. Let me explain. On the North Shore of Boston, there's an ice cream shop called Treadwell's. Based on its appearance, it's not necessarily anything to write home about, as it's essentially a large enclosed counter just off a parking lot on a busy street. You'd drive by it and probably not think too much about it. There's another shop on Cape Cod in Massachusetts, which is located on a stretch of road that is known for its many touristy road stops, including several ice cream shops. This particular place, I'm not going to name it here, but for this purpose, let's call it Shop X, is a pleasant looking spot, nicely decorated and actually quite inviting from the busy road that it's on. At Treadwell's, the product is excellent, high quality and fresh. But here's the thing. They give you a very generous portion and the staff are always unusually friendly. They provide samples without hesitation. They keep the line moving along at a good pace and seem to really care about their customers. There are long lines there year round and people drive great distances to go to Treadwells. It's fantastic. Shop X on the Cape is another story altogether. The ice cream's okay, nothing special. The portions, though they're annoyingly small, prices seem too high for what you get, and maybe most noticeably, the staff there are impatient. They're annoyed when you ask for a sample and even a bit flippant at times. I've been there twice. After the first time, I figured that was a fluke, so I gave them another shot and it was the exact same thing. Never again, I concluded. As of next year, Treadwell's will have been serving ice cream for 80 straight years and only two families have owned it. The second has continued the tradition. They actually call it the Treadwell's tradition of extraordinary service while serving signature size portions. End quote. After just two years of operation, Shop X closed their doors and the building sits there now, abandoned, shuttered. It's a tale of two cities with a hit you over the head with an anvil type message. Be the Treadwells of your world. Whatever you do, whether it's teaching fix pipes, lead a team, run a charity, serve coffee, manage an integrated health care system, write code, defend the accused, care for the mentally ill, sell cars, whatever. Whatever you do. Be the Treadwells so the question is, what does that actually look like in your world? What would it mean to continuously exceed expectations and delight those who depend on you? They call it the Treadwell's Tradition. What will your tradition be? How do you want to be judged? What do you want to be known for? Again, it's an obvious point, but sometimes the most important lessons are the ones that should be considered regularly codified somehow, maybe in the form of a written mission statement, which is basically a promise you make to those who depend on you. And it's a promise you make to yourself. Thanks for listening. Leaving a positive review and letting others know about this podcast will help a great deal. My mission is to help empower organizations that matter by supporting those who lead them. I offer coaching, mentoring and consulting services. You can learn more about me and my work@racepadoni.com sa.