the company’s lack of a clear path to
achieving its objectives. Several members
had experience working with the business
coaches at Petra Coach and recommended
them to Sachan and Spradley.
“Neither Beth nor I had ever run a business
before, and we realized we needed to open
our minds,” Spradley explains.
“Most of the time, we were being reactive
rather than proactive, and that was getting
us nowhere fast,” says Sachan. “We had so
many great ideas, but we never seemed to
have time to tackle most of them because
we were so caught up in the day-to-day.”
“We were constantly putting out fires,”
Spradley adds.
LIKE THE ADVISORY
BOARD PROMISED,
PETRA COACH GAVE
GOO GOO CLUSTER
A CLEAR VISION
AND STRATEGY FOR
MOVING FORWARD.
Spradley recalls the first coaching
session with Petra Coach Marshall Martin
and Accountability Coach Taylor Brown as
“the most fun I’ve had at work.”
Martin painted the Goo Goo Shop’s walls
with sticky notes, each with relevant facts
and figures showing what makes Goo Goo
Cluster such a successful and fun candy
company. Sachan and Spradley then used
these to brainstorm and define Goo Goo’s
core values, like “What a Cluster!”, “Come
on, it’s candy!”, and “Be willing to go on the
roof!”
The roof reference was inspired by Mary,
the Goo Goo Shop Operations Manager,
who once spent hours on the Shop’s roof
in the brutal July heat when the store’s air
conditioning unit went out. She didn’t think
twice about doing what it took to get the
job done, a can-do spirit that embodies Goo
Goo Cluster in a nutshell.
On Day 2 of the Petra Coach planning
session, the rest of the corporate team
were invited to join in. Sachan and Spradley
were pleased that everyone approved of
the core values they had landed on.
“It was exciting to have Petra come in and
help us narrow our focus and make sense of
it all.”
Sachan and Spradley credit ongoing work
with Martin, Brown and the Petra Coach
team with helping them prioritize.
“Working with Petra helped us realize
that focusing on a few tasks at a time makes
a big difference. Instead of attempting to
tackle everything at once, we’ll establish
five or so tasks to be completed within the
quarter. It’s much easier to manage.”
Petra Coach has given the Goo Goo
team the tools they need to work through
production issues and make data-driven
decisions. But in addition to that, one of the
greatest takeaways they’ve gotten out of
the Petra process has been the need for a
clearly defined culture.
“The culture truly impacts every decision.
It’s important not only for staff morale but
also for our customers. If your team and
your customers aren’t valued, you won’t get
far.”
Valuing the quality of business as well
as the quality of employees’ personal lives
has inspired sweet rituals at the candy
company.
Every
morning,
all
corporate
employees—regardless of location—hop
on a video conference call for the “Daily
Huddle” where they recap the previous day,
establish each department’s objectives,
and discuss what is happening that day.
“The Daily Huddle is a great reminder that
every department is equally important to
the people in them. It helps put things in
perspective and promotes accountability.”
Just as the Daily Huddle promotes
accountability, the Weekly Huddle
promotes camaraderie. During this
weekly conference call, employees are
encouraged to share their greatest
sources of personal happiness and
struggle over the last seven days.
“Knowing what’s going on in one
another’s personal lives helps us bond
and understand why someone may seem
distracted at work.”
With these new business tools acquired
from Petra Coach, Goo Goo Cluster
has positioned itself to continue its
longstanding success into the future with
the help of every team member.
After all, one of Goo Goo Cluster’s new
core values is “We stick together.”
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