Honoring Your Family Values
InnerWill Leadership Institute
Better Person. Braver Leader. Wiser World.
Our reputation – our personal brand -- rests in the environment we create, on a collection of choices we make each day, and in the quality of care and service we provide to others.?
Our environment and the way we show up in it, combined with the work we produce, communicates our brand - sometimes far better than our own words. And while I sit in that awareness today, it was a lesson learned as a teenager, working in our family bakery.
Growing up, Ranaldi Bros. Bakery was an integral part of my life. Founded by my grandfather Giuseppe Ranaldi and passed on to my father and uncle, the business was my second home. I ‘worked’ in the bakery for as long as I can remember. Odd jobs like stuffing marketing folders, watering plants, and sweeping flour off the floors. The tasks were mundane, but the business was my family. Familiar and comfortable.
One afternoon in early summer of '92, I found myself standing at the end of a long conveyor belt, the scent of dough and fruit filling the air. My fingers worked quickly, adding sticky labels to newly packed boxes of pastries. Once packaged and labeled, hundreds of cases would ship to supermarkets up and down the east coast.
My mind wandered while I worked, paying less attention to placing the labels and more attention to what I would do later in the day. I didn’t see or hear my father approach, as he quietly pointed to the label while the belt came to a stop. "What does this say?" He asked. I replied, "Ranaldi Bros. Frozen Foods... Apple Turnover?"
“What else do you notice about the label?” It was adhered to the box, crinkled and very crooked. "Based on the care you gave to the label, what could it say about the product inside?” He held my gaze; I held my breath. "Can I trust the quality?"
The question was heavy. Our namesake, crooked and pinched, glared at me in an unfamiliar way. I thought about the opportunities I had because of the bakery. I thought about employees that I considered family. I thought about the people that cared about our business, whose names were not on the box, but who showed up with a level of quality and care that I didn’t have that day.?
My father’s lesson – to be intentional about the care and quality of your work as it’s an extension of who you are – is never far from my mind. I fixed every label with my father working quietly beside me. Pride swelling still as I’ve learned how much my brand – my namesake – means to me.?
Life gets busy. Other times, life feels mundane. We cut corners and sometimes people notice. Other times, they don’t. But this isn’t about what other people notice. It’s about what we notice. It’s about taking time to pause and challenge the way we are showing up in the world. It’s about honoring the person you strive to be through every action you take.??
Where are the wrinkles in your brand? What is one step you can take today, towards honoring the brand you want? Comment below!