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JS : In the book ’ s introduction , you outline the Better and Better blueprint and the seven components of that . And you mention the fact that you wish you had had these when you were starting out in business , and that you developed them over time . Now , it ’ s sort of a handbook for the next person . If you had had these seven lessons back when you started your first company , EZ Wider , what would you have done differently ?
BS : I would have involved the employees much more by asking questions like , “ What ’ s working ? This is what we want to do — how are we going to do it ?” For example , with customer service , “ Where do you experience good service ? Where do you feel most engaged ?” We also had production problems — so I ’ d ask , “ When you ’ ve
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solved problems in the past , what worked well ?” Part of our methodology was the after-action reviews . So , when you finish something , you reflect on what worked and what didn ’ t .
This mindfulness during the process allows people to share their insights later . I think I would have engaged the employees better , and we would have executed much better .
Communication , too , was an issue . I didn ’ t get along with my partner . I could have had better communication skills , and we might have worked through those issues and stayed together . But , you know , things happen for reasons we don ’ t realize at the time . I might never have started Green Mountain Coffee . Although I did recently speak to Forbes , and they
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did an article on Don Levin . He was one of our distributors for the papers back then . He went on to acquire all the cigarette papers , and now , he ’ s a multi-billionaire . |
JS : You bring up a point in the book about EZ Wider and Green Mountain Coffee , that both products are consumed , and therefore there ’ s always a need for them . With EZ Wider , it had its own niche , and it solved a problem within the industry . After you sold |
Courtesy Bob Stiller |