Nabi Saleh
April 9, 2012
The Age
Having a strong vision and valuing the input of those who serve and buy your product is vital to success, says the founder and executive chairman of Gloria Jean’s Coffee.
The success of any business is directly related to its vision – and people who are the heart.
The question that we get asked the most is ‘How did you create your success and what did it take to get there?’ Our response is always the same – we set a clear vision, agreed on the values that would underpin the vision and stuck to it.
Establishing this focus before the business started also helped us be very clear on the kind of people we wanted to form partnerships with.
When we refer to partners we mean our employees and our franchisees – they are the business and they are also responsible for its success. So we actively looked for partners who were aligned to our values – people with passion, commitment, ownership and purpose.
We opened our first two stores two weeks apart based on the American model, which was take-away style with no food or seating and a gift shop selling coffee merchandise. We quickly realised that this was not working.
Our guests told us they wanted tables and chairs and snacks to go with hot drinks. So we revisited the whole model, removed the gift shop and made coffee our hero.
The result is the style of coffee house you see today. The shocking reality is that we could have been out of business if we didn’t listen to our guests.
This was the first test of our vision – we stood by our belief and commitment to it, we saw the situation as an opportunity and we made changes.
Having changed the model, the look and the feel of our coffee houses and having tested the profitability, we were now able to grow.
The team was unified in its vision and purpose when disaster struck when we had a fire in the heart of our business, our roasting plant.
We are proud to say that the team rallied together at this difficult time and it was literally out of the ashes that a stronger and more focused company arose. Not only did we continue to meet the needs of our customers, but during this adversity we kept growing.
As a company we make a conscious effort to regularly connect our vision and values. At business planning time our leadership team are challenged to review how aligned their part of the business is to our vision and values. This process always uncovers areas for improvement plus reconnects everyone with our purpose.
It also results in our leadership team working on the business to ensure that all those employed in our teams are enjoying themselves. We encourage the leadership team to always look for the best in people – focus on their strengths, recognise them for the good that they do and never belittle them for their mistakes. This has been a key factor in our success, as it brings out the best in people and also creates an enjoyable workplace.
As a business owner and a leader you must stand for something, otherwise it is very easy to fall for any new idea – and a lack of focus creates confusion within a team.
Our values have shaped our focus on the community and our belief in people, building and changing lives. To be respected and loved you need to have an impact that is more than just yourself – what you do must have a greater impact.
We have always had a strong ethos to give back and we proudly support various charities and community initiatives, which has helped greatly in unifying the team, our coffee house guests and our communities.
Starting and running any business has an element of risk, so it’s important to lay a good foundation. A clear vision, mission and values along with an understanding of the culture you intend to create supported by a business plan, budget and cash flow will help set you on a path to success.
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