Podcast Interview – Page 20 – Inspired and Intentional Business

Episode 8 Amy Emberling Dissenting Opinions, Training Systems, and Vision

Join me for the 2nd part of my conversation with Amy Emberling, Managing Partner of Zingerman’s Bakehouse and Candy Manufactory. This week we’ll talk about:

Training systems
Culture and pulling dissenting opinions to make the team stronger.
Having the difficult conversations.
Keeping excitement and focus for a long term vision.

Todd Reed, Inspired and Intentional Podcast host with Amy Emberling, Managing Partner Zingerman's Bakehouse — Todd Reed and Amy Emberling, Managing Partner Zingerman’s Bakehouse

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Here are the questions for this week’s episode:

She talked about a training compact and setting clear expectations for the new hires. Also, that training is a two-way street and both parties are responsible. Do you have a system for new hires to take responsibility for their own training. More importantly, are you able to adapt to the various ways people learn.
Amy presented a couple ways to get dissent to bubble up in the company. Either a “working, not working” set of questions during meetings. Or, to hold an open forum where ideas are presented and then teams share their likes and dislikes, thus allowing anonymity. What have you done that has helped bring up a diversity of viewpoints in order to get to the most unique and strongest ideas?
In regards to your process for discipline/performance reviews – do you consider the following:

The dignity of the person?
How would you like to leave?
What would like the story to be?
Do you want to tell people or have us do it?

4. Keeping the momentum up for a long term vision. How can you break down your vision into smaller bite size pieces to keep the momentum and focus on the long-term goals?

I would love to see your answers at one of the many Inspired and Intentional outlets:

Be sure to sign up to be kept up to date on the latest podcasts and happenings in the world of Inspired and Intentional business news.

I can also be reached on Twitter @ToddAReed, on LinkedIn at LinkedIn.com/in/toddareed, and on Facebook, search for inspired and intentional.

https://twitter.com/ToddAReed

https://www.linkedin.com/in/toddareed

https://www.facebook.com/Inspired-and-Intentional-1658283491074728/

You can get hold of Amy by emailing her at aemberling@zingermans.com.

One last favor, reviews and ratings really help other leaders looking for a podcast to inspire them. Please take a moment to review this podcast on iTunes or stitcher. There are links from my website to help you do this.

Next week we’ll continue our talk with Amy Emberling. She’ll cover entrepreneurship vs innovation, a process for organizational change and introduce me to Pavlova.

Thank you for listening and until next week, be inspired and intentional.

Episode 007 Zingerman’s Amy Emberling Hiring, Systems and Success

Amy Emberling, Managing Partner of Zingerman’s Bakehouse, has been an avid food lover and baker since her childhood in Nova Scotia, Canada where she often treated friends to after-school concoctions. She grew up in a family business and always hoped to have her own business one day.

Inspired And Intentional Business Podcast Amy Emberling, ZingTrain Pt 1

In addition to her work at the Bakehouse, Amy also teaches seminars for ZingTrain in two seminars: Leading with Zing and Bottom Line Training. She is also one of the partners of Zingerman’s Candy Manufactory (with Charlie Frank), which was developed in the bakery.

In this episode we talk a bit about:

Letting systems help during those times when your people aren’t at their best.
Finding and hiring the right kind of people.
One way of defining success for each member of your team.

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Episode 7 Questions

Do your systems allow people to fall back on them to achieve the organizational goals if they’re not having the best day and need a hand to create a great customer experience?
Are people aware of what your company really stands for and what they’re getting into when they choose to come work for your company?
Is your hiring, training, and ongoing development in alignment with your mission and vision of what you want your company to look like in 5, 10, 15 years?

I would love to see your answers at one of the many Inspired and Intentional outlets:

While you’re here be sure to sign up to be kept up to date on the latest podcasts and happenings in the world of Inspired and Intentional business news.

I can also be reached on Twitter @ToddAReed, on LinkedIn at LinkedIn.com/in/toddareed, and on Facebook, search for inspired and intentional.

You can get hold of Amy by emailing her at aemberling@zingermans.com.

Next week we’ll continue our talk with Amy Emberling. She’ll cover issues like training systems, getting dissenting opinions to bubble up in your team, and having those difficult employee conversations.

Thank you for listening and until next week, be inspired and intentional.

Episode 006 Maggie Bayless, Business Systems, and Staying Inspired

In the last episode Maggie talked about Zingerman’s managing partner program and the role of Zingtrain. This week we’ll talk about business systems, staying motivated as an owner and the future of Zingtrain.

Maggie Bayless, Managing Parnter ZingTrain, and Todd Reed — Todd Reed (me) and Maggie Bayless, Managing Partner ZingTrain.

When the interview begins, she’s telling us one of the reasons why someone decides to take a ZingTrain class, which very quickly moves into the conversation about systems.

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This week’s questions:

Maggie begins with systems – do you have any in your business? More importantly, are they focused on helping you achieve your mission? Do they allow your people to be creatively do things that will differentiate your business?
What energized you most when you started your business? Have you lost touch with that energy? What would it take for you to get back in touch with it? How could this help your employees be more excited about the work they’re doing?
Do you want your business to go beyond you? What would it take to make this happen in your business? If you have potential leaders in your business, could you sit with them to create a vision of succession that would get them and you excited about the future of your business?

I would love to see your answers at one of the many Inspired and Intentional outlets:

On the comments below, on Twitter @ToddAReed, on LinkedIn at LinkedIn.com/in/toddareed, and on Facebook, search for inspired and intentional.

You can get hold of Maggie by emailing her at mbayless@zingermans.com.

https://twitter.com/ToddAReed

https://www.linkedin.com/in/toddareed

https://www.facebook.com/Inspired-and-Intentional-1658283491074728/

One last favor, reviews and ratings really help other leaders looking for a podcast to inspire them. Please take a moment to review this podcast on iTunes or Stitcher.

Next week we’ll talk with Amy Emberling of Zingerman’s Bakehouse.

Thank you for listening and until next week, be inspired and intentional.

Episode 005 Maggie Bayless and Zingerman’s Managing Partner Program

Listen as I talk with Maggie about Zingerman’s managing partner program:

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Todd Reed and Maggie Bayless at ZingTrain, Ann Arbor, MI — Todd Reed and Maggie Bayless at ZingTrain in Ann Arbor MI

Questions for the episode:

Do you have aspiring leaders in your organization, yet you are limited to the number of positions available to them simply because of the size of your company? Consider creating a system that allows them to create new businesses that support your main venture. What are some other companies that you could grow from your existing talent pool? Most of your ideas will come from your people, are you ready to hear and support them?
What is your vision do you have for your business. Take step back and pretend you’re coming in as a potential new partner to your business. What kind of vision would you have for your business?
What could you get from taking a class like those offered from ZingTrain? If you’re not in food service you might benefit from getting a completely different perspective.

You can post your answers to the questions in the comments below or on one of the following channels.

You can get hold of Maggie by emailing her at mbayless@zingermans.com.

Inc’s story – The Coolest Small Company in America

Sample vision to get you started thinking about visioning, from ZingTrain’s site.

Thank you to Jay, Kristy, and Anthony Witt, creator of The Champion Entrepreneur podcast.

Next week Maggie will discuss in more detail how they create systems without becoming too bureaucratic.

Thank you for listening and until next week, be inspired and intentional.

Maggie Bayless and Consensus Decision Making

Maggie Bayless and Todd A Reed in front of ZingTrain's Big Board — I had the opportunity to interview Maggie Bayless, Managing Partner of ZingTrain.

In this episode we learn a little about Maggie and her views on why Zingerman’s was such an attractive option for her. We also hear her views on consensus decision making.

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Three questions for you to consider:

1. Maggie talked about believing, as she grew up, that business was inherently a bad thing. What attitudes about work and the workplace does your team bring into the decision making process?

2. Maggie says, “the leadership determines the culture of the organization.” What elements of the culture, in your organization, reflect this principle? Do these elements hurt or help the organization meets it’s goals?

3. What are 3 areas of your business would benefit from more consensus? I would challenge you to find some that would benefit from getting consensus from the most entry level people you have.

I would love to see your answers at one of the many Inspired and Intentional outlets:

You can find show notes, the questions, at inspiredandintentional.com/episode004. While there you can also sign up to be kept up to date on the latest podcasts and happenings in the world of Inspired and Intentional business news.

I can also be reached on Twitter @ToddAReed, on LinkedIn at LinkedIn.com/in/toddareed, and on Facebook, search for inspired and intentional.

You can get hold of Maggie by emailing her at mbayless@zingermans.com.

https://twitter.com/ToddAReed

https://www.linkedin.com/in/toddareed

https://www.facebook.com/Inspired-and-Intentional-1658283491074728/

Next week we’ll get a little insight to Zingerman’s process for developing new managing partners as a way to create opportunities for their emerging leaders.

Thank you for listening and until next week, be inspired and intentional.

Maggie’s Bio

Maggie Bayless is the Managing Partner of ZingTrain (Zingerman’s Training, Inc.).

Maggie has been associated with Zingerman’s since the Deli opened its doors in 1982. Back then, as a student in the University of Michigan’s MBA program, she left at 4:00 AM every Saturday to drive to the Detroit suburbs and collect the bread needed to make the Deli’s world-famous sandwiches. According to Maggie, “After a week of dealing with business theory, it was great to get behind the wheel of the bread truck. I’d spend my day loading and unloading bread, selling cheese, and helping make a brand new business successful. I’d collapse into bed on Saturday night – physically exhausted but ready to face school again on Monday morning.”

In 1994, Maggie decided to partner with her old pals from Zingerman’s, and Zingerman’s Training, Inc. (a.k.a. ZingTrain) was born in Maggie’s attic. ZingTrain acts as “keeper of the corporate knowledge” within the Zingerman’s Community of Businesses, helping Zingerman’s managers improve their departmental training. In addition, ZingTrain shares Zingerman’s expertise with outside clients through seminars, consulting services and customized training. ZingTrain’s clients include specialty food retailers, as well as organizations from many other industries, including banking, real estate, health care, manufacturing and non-profits.

ZingTrain moved from Maggie’s attic, now has its own training space, a staff of 9 and sales approaching $2 million/year.