Welcome to Love in Leadership

Love in Leadership

Welcome to Love in Leadership

Our first episode introduces the themes and mission of this podcast

CORE TOPICS + DETAILS:

[0:39] - BIGGBY® COFFEE and the LifeLabTM

Telling the story of how we got here

At the episode’s start, Laura and Mike dive into a brief history of BIGGBY® COFFEE, LifeLabTM, and the concept of Love in Leadership.

After a handshake agreement with an employer who hired Mike as a barista, the BIGGBY® COFFEE brand was born. As the company has grown, Mike and his partners developed an interest in going beyond just being a company that tried to turn a profit. They wanted to be the best place to work and help create the best people. After a company report showed that they were falling well short of this goal, they realized it was time to make a change.

That’s when they launched LifeLabTM, an internal department at BIGGBY® COFFEE dedicated to supporting the human being behind all of their employees. The principles developed and implemented through LifeLabTM form the basis for much of what will be covered in this podcast.

[15:24] - The Culture You Want and the Culture You Have

When company values become a punchline

The early part of the BIGGBY® COFFEE's story is a cautionary tale that shows how wanting your company to embody certain values doesn’t always mean it will. BIGGBY® COFFEE’s tagline for a time was: “Be happy, have fun, make friends, love people, drink great coffee.”

But after a report showed that the reality was far different — and that people across the company were unhappy, unmotivated, and unsupported — Mike and his team decided the time for change was now. They read the report to the company’s employees, and from that day forward determined to identify their true values and genuinely operate the company based around them.

BIGGBY® COFFEE’s new, simplified Purpose? “We exist to support you in building a life you love.”

[21:30] - Finding the “Why”

Simplifying BIGGBY® COFFEE’s purpose to amplify its impact

Mike discovered that what he and his partners truly wanted was for people to feel empowered to show up to work and be their true, authentic selves. They wanted to support anyone that touched the company in building the life they loved.

Then came the vision. That was where the “why” became the “how.” How are they going to support people? They started with workplace culture. They recognized just how responsible a company is for the wellbeing of the people they employ, particularly considering how big a percentage of their lives they spend in that employment.

[31:32] - The Next Phase

Taking the message global

Today, LifeLabTM and the entirety of BIGGBY® COFFEE's unique approach to company culture is still a work-in-progress. It’s an ongoing experiment. But the purpose of this podcast is to invite the world to participate in that experiment — to see employees as human beings before employees, as whole individuals with needs, desires, values, and goals.

That will be the journey of Love in Leadership, and it starts now.

RESOURCES:

• [1:02] BIGGBY® COFFEE
• [10:26] Upcoming Workshops
• [12:04] About LifeLabTM
• [21:30] Take the “Life You Love” Assessment

Follow Laura Eich:

• LinkedIn
• Facebook
• Instagram

Follow Mike McFall:

• Website
• LinkedIn
• Facebook
• X
• Instagram

Follow BIGGBY® COFFEE & LifeLabTM:

• Website
• Facebook
• X
• Instagram
• LinkedIn
• About LifeLabTM

ABOUT LOVE IN LEADERSHIP:

At the Life You Love LaboratoryTM and BIGGBY® COFFEE, we’re out to prove that financial success and healthy workplace culture aren’t two separate goals. BIGGBY® COFFEE's own cultural transformation is proof that not only is it possible to have a successful company where people aren’t miserable at work, but that the happier your people are, the more your business will grow. Each week, join host Laura Eich, Chief Purpose Officer at BIGGBY® COFFEE, and her co-host and BIGGBY® COFFEE co-CEO Mike McFall as they’re joined by guests from around the world to learn how they are fostering a culture of love and growth in the world’s most innovative and people-centric companies. Get inspired. Get real. Get ready to transform workplace culture in America with us. This is the Love in Leadership podcast.

Learn more at: loveinleadershippodcast.com

ABOUT THE HOSTS:

Mike McFall began his journey with BIGGBY® COFFEE as a minimum-wage barista at the original store in East Lansing in 1996. Over the span of 23 years, alongside business partner Bob Fish, he has helped create one of the great specialty coffee brands in America. Today Mike is co-CEO with Bob, and BIGGBY® COFFEE has over 250 stores open throughout the Midwest that sell tens of thousands of cups of coffee each day. But more importantly to Mike and BIGGBY® COFFEE, the company is a profoundly people-first organization.

Mike is also the author of Grind, a book which focuses on early stage businesses and how to establish positive cash flow.

Laura Eich is BIGGBY® COFFEE’s Chief People Officer, having worked in a variety of roles at BIGGBY® COFFEE for the last 11+ years. She helped launch BOOST, the department at BIGGBY® COFFEE which ultimately became LifeLabTM — BIGGBY® COFFEE’s inhouse culture cultivation team designed to help people be the best versions of themselves and help companies support them along the way. In her role, Laura helps people build lives that they love through the process of building profitable businesses and robust, growth-filled careers.

PRODUCED BY DETROIT PODCAST STUDIOS:

In Detroit, history was made when Barry Gordy opened Motown Records back in 1960. More than just discovering great talent, Gordy built a systematic approach to launching superstars. His rigorous processes, technology, and development methods were the secret sauce behind legendary acts such as The Supremes, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Diana Ross and Michael Jackson.

As a nod to the past, Detroit Podcast Studios leverages modern versions of Motown’s processes to launch today’s most compelling podcasts. What Motown was to musical artists, Detroit Podcast Studios is to podcast artists today. With over 75 combined years of experience in content development, audio production, music scoring, storytelling, and digital marketing, Detroit Podcast Studios provides full-service development, training, and production capabilities to take podcasts from messy ideas to finely tuned hits.

Here’s to making (podcast) history together.

Learn more at: DetroitPodcastStudios.com