More to Wegmans Fresh Cinnamon Raisin Bread than Meets the Eye!

Ever wake up with a desire for fresh cinnamon raisin bread to go with your coffee?  I did this morning. Ellen Weber, raved about Wegmans freshly baked cinnamon raisin bread at least twice in the last two days.  The thought of it kept playing in my mind.  I could almost taste it...

So I headed to the nearby Wegmans.  After scouring the shelves, no cinnamon raisin was evident.

I caught a baker's attention and asked if they had any cinnamon raisin bread in the oven.

"We don't right now.  We're all out," he smiled broadly.  "But I'll bake some and have it ready for you in 40 minutes.  Promise to come back?"

"You bet I will."

"I'll have it for you then," he promised enthusiastically.

Four plump, round loaves graced the shelf upon my return.  As I selected one, it warmed my hands, when I picked it up.  I caught the attention of the baker and thanked him as I signaled "thumbs-up."

Wegmans employees go out of their way to assist customers.  Their smiles and welcoming greetings make shopping pleasant.  No wonder Wegmans Food Markets rank third on the Fortune 500 list of the 100 Best Companies to Work For in 2010.

Five reasons employees like working at Wegmans:

1. Wegmans reaches out to the community  Wegmans serves the local community  providing employee scholarships that help improve their skills.  These are open to any employee who wants to compete.  Wegmans provides at-risk, urban youth with skills they need to succeed, part time work and work-site mentors through the Hillside Work Scholarship Connection.  Wegmans taps peoples' gifts and talents in ways that propel them forward.
2. Employees are challenged to surpass customer expectations daily. They're rewarded by many customers like myself who sing their praises to others.  The human brain leaps to solve problems and find solutions.  When firms like Wegmans empower employees, like John Schaub, the baker at the Perinton store, to go the extra mile, both employees and customers are winners.
3. Career opportunities are open to all  Employees can rise to new positions through options for personal growth and professional development.  People raise their abilities by "doing and learning, not by watching and reading," according to J. Robert Baum, Director of Entrepreneurship Research at the University of Maryland.
4. Benefits rank high for both part time and full time employees in spite of a tough economy. Wegman's offers flexible scheduling, a fast-paced fun environment, competitive pay, and comprehensive benefits including quality health care, dental coverage, 401(k) retirement savings plan, and a retirement plan amongst many others.  When Wegmans rewards workers, it leads to greater satisfaction and well-being in the workplace.
5. Diversity is welcomed as an opportunity  Wegmans sees diversity as a way to inspire new thinking, which supports their drive toward continuous improvement.  This is a key to brainpowered leadership.

As Ellen Weber and I shared this delightful bread, we each enjoyed more than one piece!  But, a lot more brainpower went into it than meets the ordinary eye!

Thoughts?

Enhance Your Creativity

Ink Spray Journal Map

Ever lose your drive when you're writing or working on a project? The following 5 strategies work well to put you back in gear...

1. Classical music enhances creativity and intellectual pursuits.  Bach, Vivaldi and Mozart work well to keep you focused so that you achieve a state of effortless concentration and enjoyment or "flow."  Try playing any of the following when you approach your creative project today:

• St. Matthew Passion by J.S. Bach
• Nisi Dominus by Vivaldi
• Goldberg Variations by J.S. Bach
• Rondo in A by Mozart
• Piano concertos nos. 20, 21, 23, 24 by Mozart
• The Four Seasons by Vivaldi
• Canon in D Major by Pachelbel
• Violin Sonata no. 5 in F Major, op. 24 "The Spring" by Beethoven

2.   5 Tips Past a Creative Rut  Ever try mediation by doing something else as Lori McNee suggests?  Here's how to start...

• Stop waiting for inspiration to strike.  As the old saying goes, "A watched pot never boils."
• Pick something monotonous to do like mowing the lawn or washing the dishes.  Your brain will keep working on an inspiration, like a pot cooking stew on the back burner.
• Once your mind starts to wander, you'll be surprised how quickly it will start generating ideas.
• The trick is to record the ideas as soon as they pop up, so you don't forget them.

I like to keep 3 x 5 cards and a pen in my pocket so I don't lose sight of new insights.  What's your tactic?

3. Romance Your Creativity The creative process is very much like a relationship, the Idea Champions remind us.  "And like most relationships, it usually begins with fascination -- that curious state of mind that keeps you spellbound, charmed, and aroused." But we all know that soon wears off. What then?

If you are serious about your current hot idea, be willing to get closer to it. Be willing to go from the romance stage to an intimate relationship.

Understand what the creative process is -- an impossible-to-deny encounter with yourself -- your fears, your power, your vision, and what drives you to play the game of life.

Above all, do whatever it takes to put the elation back into your relationship to creativity.

I'm in, are you?

4.  Stop Multitasking  "Have your technology tools begun to manage you?" Myra While asks.  If you're constantly multitasking, you are deluding yourself because the brain literally focuses on one thing at a time.  Can you take focus away from driving for more than a moment?  The reason is that your brain bottlenecks.  And...

Constantly switching between even small tasks creates brain overload. Studies in which people's brains are scanned while multi-tasking clearly show that switching between tasks consumes a large portion of the brain's processing capacity.

5. Leverage Your Creative Fears Fears are actually something we *create,* Marianne Mullen says. Knowing that fear never goes away, you can truly learn to leverage your fear, and she provides seven steps to to just that. 

• Name it
• Own it
• Disprove it
• Claim it
• Act on it
• Acknowledge it
• Repeat it - Make a strong commitment to your creativity and trust in yourself that taking risks can only create more confidence and that you ARE getting stronger than your fears.

To see the details for each one, awaken your creativity by leveraging it or work these out in your way.

Once I published 12 Sparks for Heads-Up Creativity, on Forbes' Mind Makeover, I could not let go of my project.  Ever have that happen?  Would you be willing to share a strategy to "fire up" your creativity?  If so, provide the details or a link where I can find it.

Ink Spray Journal Map by Joanna Paterson.

Could it be time for a change?

Brains bored by lectures

If you went down the hall and peered inside Bologna's standard 11th Century lecture room, you wouldn't feel as if you were in a museum.  You would feel at home,  John Medina says in Brain Rules

Distractions more interesting

Minus mikes and PowerPoints, what's the difference?


Innovations are incubated when leaders and learners are facilitated to follow their natural curiosity about a topic through playful explorations.

Celebrating Innovation!

Community guests asked questions

There are no foolish questions, and no man becomes a fool until he has stopped asking questions. ~ Charles Proteus Steinmetz

What difference does it make for MBA's to celebrate findings from solution strategies they tried at work?  Plenty. When  St. John Fisher MBA students exhibited innovative solutions for community guests, it stretched their skills.  Guests' questions and insights surprised and pleased young MBA leaders throughout the evening.

Targeted possibilities with community leader, Jim Murphy

When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.  ~ Dr. Wayne Dwyer.  

Students targeted an improvement they wanted to make for a problem in their workplace. These young MBA's  picked local leaders' brains for solution ideas.  They designed and implemented a strategy at work to overcome the issue. 

Quality Outcomes Expected

The important thing about a problem is not its solution, but the strength we gain in finding the solution ~ Anonymous

MBA  student leaders expected quality outcomes.  They worked as teams to design exhibit materials to share findings with  community visitors.

Move all resources available

Accomplish things never before accomplished by using parts of your brain never before used at work. ~ Ellen F. Weber

Guests visited colorful booth exhibits, which included games, video demos, healthy snacks, poster displays and music.  Conversations between community visitors and vibrant young leaders filled the room.  They shared experiences and learned from each others' wisdom.

Reflect to adjust and change

Change starts when someone sees the next step. ~ William Drayton

From the beginning, these young leaders made changes and adjustments as they reflected with classmates throughout the course. They asked, "What is the next step?" and, "Where to from here?"

Dr. Jason Berman celebrates Fisher MBA

Dr. Jason Berman added to the celebratory atmosphere by bringing a decorated cookie
to share with all.

Related articles

• MBAs Lead Innovation with Brain in Mind (blogs.forbes.com)
• MBAs Lead Innovative Brainpower