From Line Chef to Apron Accelerator
Whitney Johnson
Learning is the oxygen of human growth. Learn along with me on the Disrupt Yourself podcast.
It's 2012, Ellen Bennett, a Mexican American entrepreneur, is a line cook at a two-Michelin-star restaurant.?
The head chef asks if she would like an apron from a new supplier when, tired of subpar aprons, she suddenly exclaims, "Chef, I have an apron company. I will make the aprons." Technically she did have a California business license, though no real business plans. Regardless, she fearlessly started her apron company - beginning with her restaurant's order. An order of aprons that ended up being terrible, by the way. Committed to getting it right, she took them back and fixed each one until they met her standards and the client's needs.?
Fast forward to my interview with Ellen on the?Disrupt Yourself?podcast in 2021. Ellen is the CEO of Hedley & Bennett, an apron company that sells millions of dollars of products annually. Her team recently added a chief growth officer who is, as she says, "a brilliant human being, zero ego, and so wicked smart," and everything has started to click for the team. They are moving forward together. It isn't just Ellen pushing it forward; the whole leadership team is moving towards a goal – their goal.
Ellen is?here. She has made it to the sweet spot—the up-swinging, second phase of the S Curve, achieving competence and rapid progress.
Sometimes, it's hard to tell you've made it to the sweet spot. It sneaks up on you unawares. The challenges of the launch point gradually shift until one day, you are out of it, and you didn't even notice.?
Suddenly, you have left behind the gawkiness and awkward growing pains of the launch point, and you hit your stride. You are productive, competent, and confident. You are an Accelerator—someone in the third stage of the S Curve of Learning, where you have collected the data and resources you need and tipped into the sweet spot of your growth.?
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Consider Ellen. She is leading a company that has been featured in?Bon Appetit,?The Wall Street Journal, and?The New York Times. She may have started out producing less-than-perfect aprons for her first order, but after slogging through the launch point, she now knows what she is doing. She can sell, produce, and deliver quality products to her clients. Things are getting easier, but they aren't so easy that she is bored. She knows what she knows, and just as importantly, she knows what she?doesn't?know – like how to grow her team strategically.
Because she is in the sweet spot, Ellen has also found autonomy. She has the freedom to make decisions and a willingness to act rather than be acted upon. So, she hires a chief growth officer to support her and the growth of her team and company.?
Accelerators work together–they?feel?as if they are part of a team. To Ellen, this was when she truly felt she was in the sweet spot: when her team came together when it was no longer?Ellen's goals?but instead became?our goals.?Often referred to as team "chemistry,"?relatedness?is an essential part of being an accelerator because it does accelerate our growth.
Being in the sweet spot does not mean everything is easy; far from it. There is still plenty of work to do. But, because we've done the hard work of the launch point, many of the tasks that once took extra effort have become second nature; they almost seem to take care of themselves. In fact, difficult situations can be fun in the Accelerator stage, as we have sufficient knowledge and resources to solve problems and make things happen.?
What sweet spot have you unknowingly shifted into??
What used to be hard but now is fun?
I help entrepreneurs in the Platinum Elevated program achieve breakthrough goals through weekly accountability coaching sessions.
1 年"I will make the aprons!" I love this story and the courage it inspires.
Client Services Manager | Experienced Tech Recruiter | New Mother Returning to Workforce
2 年I wore these aprons and waited on their makers at Bestia in DTLA ??
$9bn+ in sales. I build brands that customers chase after. If you're done wasting ad dollars, let's talk. Make your brand a magnet, not a money pit.
2 年Great piece, Whitney. When we create that intention to act rather than be acted upon, we tap into something very powerful. Purpose. Love this.
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2 年Whitney, I was struck by your question about the sweet spot. It made me realize how much it’s a feeling for me rather than something that is data driven. That’s disconcerting because I run a startup, and visitor numbers etc. are crucial. But, I have lots of interesting relationships with the widest cross-section of people all over the world. It’s LinkedIn that provides that opportunity. And, through these relationships, I get a some sense of how near or far the sweet spot is. Maybe, that’s because my startup is focused on analyzing people’s text messages and helping people communicate at a higher level. Our motto is “Changing the World One Conversation at a Time.” So, everything we do is focused on interpersonal relationships. I put your text (from “Have you ever made …”) through our program at MercurySaysPersonal.com, and it reported a lot of particularly good attributes in relation to your tone and authorial voice, among other matters. Try it yourself. Taking your point further, the very core of our work focuses on finding an emotional sweet spot between people as they communicate with each other. Sometimes, the sweet spot of success comes when you work at doing something good for the world. Thanks again.