I have some friends who own a coffee shop. Last week, we had dinner with them, and somehow the topic of water came up. Because their entire business depends on the quality of the product they serve, they take water very seriously.
The husband explained that the first thing they do is remove everything from the water. They filter it until it’s nothing but pure H₂O. Then they rebuild it—adding back specific minerals to create the exact water profile they want. For their coffee to taste good and consistent across all their stores, they must use the same water every time. He said it perfectly: “Our water needs to include exactly what we want it to include—EXACTLY.”
Starbucks is famous for doing the same thing. (And if you know my coffee-shop friends, please don’t tell them I compared them to Starbucks.) Starbucks believes consistency is key: the cup you buy in Cleveland should taste the same as the cup you buy in Baton Rouge.
As my friend explained the story of how to make the best cup of coffee, I thought about our annual theme, “Own it.”
When we set out to define our theme, we meant taking a situation and making sure it was done right and to the fullest. To “own it” meant to ensure the project, item, or task was done right and completed. We would not tolerate or put forth a partial or half-hearted effort. We pledge to hold each other to a high standard and let the people around us know they could count on us.
The theme has gone well. Every day, I have seen and heard stories about how coworkers get things done by owning them. Dependability was a key to our success this year. When things went poorly, it could always be traced back to someone or a group of people dropping the ball.
Often, the own-it stories involved starting over and ensuring that we produced the correct finished product. Not settling for good enough because good enough would’ve been substandard.
It is fun to hear stories about people taking the time to ensure things are delivered at a high level. It is fun to hear people talk about how somebody provided an example of excellence and motivated them to be better themselves.
(P.S. I wrote this while drinking a cup of Keurig coffee made with regular, city-supplied reverse-osmosis water. Let’s just say…it’s not even close to the coffee my friends produce.)
