Love in Leadership is BACK!

Love in Leadership

Welcome back to Love in Leadership! In the season two premiere, Laura and Mike dive into how BIGGBY® COFFEE is doubling down on leadership rooted in love and personal growth. They discuss recent shifts, from Mike’s return to a day-to-day focus to Laura’s expanded role that includes leading the BIGGBY COFFEE Operations team as well as the Life You Love Laboratory™, a leadership incubator designed to foster personal and professional development. Reflecting on past challenges, such as integrating external hires with BIGGBY®’s unique culture, they share how these lessons have shaped a stronger, more aligned vision for the company.

Looking ahead, Mike and Laura reveal their plans for the LoveJoy Retreat Center, designed to deepen connections and encourage leadership growth. They also share their vision for the podcast, a restorative, people-first workplace, and an exciting live podcast recording at the 2024 BIGGBY® Nation Summit, plus so much more! Packed with insights on leadership, culture, and leading with heart, this episode is not to be missed!

Key Points From This Episode:

• [00:34] Catch up with Mike and Laura: what has changed at BIGGBY® and LifeLab™.
• [09:45] Lessons for CEOs on integrating external hires with a company’s unique culture.
• [12:01] Reflections on our recent leadership retreat and why it was so great.
• [14:32] Grind and Grow: insight into Mike’s book series project and what’s to come.
• [16:58] Exciting news about the highly anticipated Love Joy Retreat Center.
• [20:48] A sneak peek of what to expect at the 2024 BIGGBY® Nation Summit!
• [28:06] The vision for Season 2 and beyond of the Love in Leadership podcast.
• [30:17] What it means to be a restorative organization that develops its employees.
• [38:19] Why a supportive, people-first workplace isn’t all sunshine and rainbows.
• [42:02] Your invitation to share the amazing business leaders you want to hear from.

Quotes:

“[The new leaders] all brought their understanding of what a culture should be – We didn't powerfully introduce them to our culture – What should have happened was – there should have been an amalgamation of all of that into something new that's even better and more powerful.” — @MikeJMcFall[0:06:26]

“It's so powerful to get people out of their norm, out of their comfort zone, and into a place where you can just be: – be a person, be together, be vulnerable, and be authentic.” — Laura Eich [0:19:51]

“[BIGGBY®’s] differentiator is going to continue to be a people-centric company, where [people are] creating your cup of coffee, greeting you at the window, probably by name, and asking about your kids – That's our biggest difference maker in the world.” — Laura Eich [0:22:09]

“The big fantasy for [this podcast] is that we are able to compel people to be powerful in their own lives and make decisions to work for employers who are supporting them in their development.” — @MikeJMcFall[0:28:36]

“It doesn't have to be that work leaves you worse than it found you. It can leave you better than it found you.” — Laura Eich [0:31:24]

RESOURCES:

• [13:15] Beyond High Performance: What Great Coaches Know About How the Best Get Better
• [14:32] Grind and Grow by Mike McFall
• [42:02] Email us about the business leaders you want to hear from on the podcast!

FOLLOW:

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 in-house 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.