Ron Shaich, the influential founder and longtime CEO of Panera Bread, earned a reputation for his impactful talks that shaped the company’s direction.
“While every speech I gave was different, the underlying storyline was always the same,” Ron reflects in his book Know What Matters.
“Here’s where we’ve come from. . . Here’s where we are today. And here’s where we could be tomorrow—if we get a few important things right.”
The key moment of each talk?
“There was always an ‘if’—a moment to let my audience feel the consequentiality of their own actions, the weight of their choices.”
Preparing for and delivering great talks was a key element of his success.
“Drafting speeches, preparing for meetings, and writing memos took up a significant amount of my time,” he reflects. “But I know without a doubt that providing context, thought-provoking perspective, and meaning is one of the highest-leverage activities a leader can undertake.”
2: Whenever he spoke, Ron’s goal was for each Panera associate to understand how important their role was in the company’s success. “We have this possibility in our hands,” Ron would say, “and it’s up to each of us to bring it into being.”
As CEO of a company that he ultimately sold for $7.5 billion, Ron believes his ability to communicate with and inspire his team was one of his most important and consequential responsibilities.
“A good leader, like a priest or rabbi,” he writes, “must be able to make people feel the relationship between yesterday’s decisions, today’s challenges and opportunities, and tomorrow’s promised outcomes.”
Despite changing circumstances, Ron’s core message remained consistent.
“Sometimes it’s an inspirational tale, one that can pull people toward a bright possibility,” Ron writes. “Other times, it might strike a note of caution, even fear—warning people of the consequences if they fail to step up and deliver.”
According to Ron, great leaders must be great storytellers.
“Whatever the plotline, the leader must be an expert storyteller, skilled at the art of uniting and inspiring people through the power of narrative,” he observes.
Why? Because “humans are storytelling creatures. We learn through metaphors and allegories.”
After all, storytelling is the original human technology.
“Narrative imagining—story—is the fundamental instrument of thought,” cognitive scientist Mark Turner writes. “Rational capacities depend on it. It is our chief means of looking into the future, of predicting, of planning, and of explaining. . . . Most of our experience, our knowledge, and our thinking [are] organized as stories.”
Stories are central to every culture. “And corporate culture is no exception,” Ron reflects. “The stories we tell about the work we’re doing, why we’re doing it, and who we’re doing it for are what elevate our everyday tasks and inspire us to give more.”
As human beings, we are searching for meaning in our lives and in our work.
“Meaning is what motivates us—the sense that we’re part of a bigger story, part of something that matters,” Ron writes. “Meaning occurs when we understand where we came from, where we are, where we want to go, and the ‘why’ of the journey.”
The leader’s job is to provide the bigger picture so that people don’t overreact to short-term wins or losses.
“Often, this means bringing your team up when they’re feeling down and defeated,” he writes, “and encouraging humility and healthy skepticism when things are going particularly well.”
Another best practice for leaders is to write down these lessons and share them within the organization as companywide memos.
“I’d use those opportunities to create a sense of pride in who we were and what we did and to foster unity in the face of competition,” Ron writes. “I always tried to remind people of the goals and values we shared. I also used my letters to highlight team members who could serve as examples to all of us.”
Once again, he structured these communications in three acts: where the company was, where it is today, and where it’s going.
The final “act” about the future was always essential: “I considered it critical to keep their eyes on that horizon,” he notes.
Ron’s overarching goal was to “instill a culture of responsibility throughout the company,” he writes, “a culture of connection, accountability, humility, humanity, and appropriate foresight.”
For him, culture is simply a way of describing “the way we do things here.”
“I wanted people to feel obligated—not to me—but to each other, and our shared mission and vision. I’m often reminded of the saying: People don’t die for a country; they die for the guys in the foxhole next to them.”
3: As leaders, we must not fall into the trap of not expecting enough of our teams. “Just check out the perennially miserable metrics on ’employee engagement,’ he writes.
“If team members are giving only a fraction of their energy and commitment at work,” Ron observes, “that’s on the leader.
“If morale is low and people are just showing up for a paycheck, that’s on the leader,” he believes.
Core idea: Leadership is inspiring people to deeply care and fully engage.
Ron writes: “Give people a bigger context. Tell a better story. Make their work mean more than the bottom line.”
It’s not just about being a cheerleader. “Sometimes it means being transparent about hard truths,” he notes, “naming the eight-hundred-pound gorilla that no one wants to acknowledge.”
Again, as leaders, we are wise to connect whatever is happening in the present moment with what we’ve done in the past and where we will go in the future.
When we do this, we “give people a sense of ownership, agency, and purpose,” Ron explains.
“And if people are engaged in this way,” he notes, “if they experience a sense of meaning in the job they’re doing, it will be felt throughout the organization.”
More tomorrow!
___________________________
Reflection: When I communicate with my team, family, or community, am I simply sharing information—or am I telling a bigger story that connects where we’ve been, where we are, and where we’re going together?
Action: Before my next meeting or important conversation, outline three short beats—past (where we’ve come from), present (where we are now), and future (where we could be if we do a few key things)—and use that simple story arc to invite others into a deeper sense of ownership and purpose.
What did you think of this post?
