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Although discussions about hybrid and remote work ,and forcing workers back to office full time, should be seen through the lens of data and evidence, this is rarely the case. In fact, much like DEI, remote work has become a highly political and polarizing topic. Which is why rational arguments and objective examination of the facts are generally eclipsed by emotional, intuitive, or ideological opinions. Sadly, this also means nuances are far less common than categorical or extreme positions. Consider the recent meltdown by JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, one of the corporate pioneers of ditching working from home policies to bring people back to the office. He cursed at his staff during a town hall in reaction to the news that they were signing a petition against the full-time return to the office: Dont waste time on it, he told his staff, I dont care how many people sign that f**king petition, according to a recording obtained by Reuters. Dont give me the sh*t that work from home Friday works. To be sure, JP Morgan (like any other company) has the right to decide whichever working modality or approach they like, and employees can decide whether they object or not. Ultimately, those who dont wish to put up with it, or anything else at the company, should feel free to go elsewhere, not least since many organizations (including in banking and finance) still offer hybrid work, which most employees prefer. Likewise, any CEO or business owner should obviously decide on how and where people work, which is a key part of the job characteristics and organizational culture for employees to consider. RTO mandates as a power play Furthermore, it is plausible that back-to-the-office mandates are partly intended as a trigger to get demotivated workers to quit, or at least test their commitment, motivation, and work ethic. In this sense, back-to-the-office mandates could exert some kind of Darwinian or evolutionary pressure whereby unmotivated or demotivated workers quit, leaving career-obsessed, hyper-committed, and ultra-loyal employees inside the tent whats not to like? To be sure, maverick CEOs and executives, from Jamie Dimon to Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos, project such an aura of power, vision, status, and invincibility, that they have a cult-like influence on their followers (to the point that employees are more like followers than workers). It is not something that can be emulated by everyone, at least not without adverse consequences: like plummeting morale, engagement, and trust. Trust is the critical issue leaders ought to consider before emulating Dimon with back-to-the-office mandates. And there is already a crisis of trust, with recent Edelman reports suggesting that 68% of people distrust their managers/leaders (up from 56% in 2021), and various indicators highlighting a big gap between employees self-perceived performance, and their managers expectations. As Microsofts CEO Satya Nadela recently noted, 85% of employees feel overworked, yet 85% of managers feel their employees are slacking. What happens when you force employees to do something To be sure, there is something illogical about the assumption that those same employees who are assumed to be too demotivated to be productive when working from home will somehow become really engaged and productive if you force them into the office, against their will. One certain outcome if you do that, is that, if those workers dont quit (which will depend partly on the strength of the market, the economy, and alternatives) they will try very hard to pretend to work, and fake productivity, when they are forced back to the office full-time. Ideally, decisions about remote, hybrid or in-office work should be based on facts, evidence, and data. Not external data from independent scientific studies, but organizations own internal data: after all, most organizations are awash with data on productivity, which should allow them to compare and contrast productivity differences between people who spend more or less time at the office, and ideally focus on output rather than input. Sure, it is plausible that being in the office can provide people with a stronger connection with the culture, learn from others, bond and collaborate more effectively but then this should result in measurable improvements in what people deliver and achieve. Failing that, any mandate will be more reflective of the ego and power of the boss than an intention to help people to achieve and deliver their best, and be part of a culture that treats them like rational and mature human beings.
Category:
E-Commerce
Many of us want to get promoted at work, but dont often stop to consider what that means. Moving into the executive ranks often means leading the very people you once worked alongside. And while you might attract attention with stellar performance, it’s not enough to secure your success as a leader. As a CEO and C-Level coach, let me tell you that I, nor any of my most successful clients, would risk elevating a leader to the next level if it would lead to a systemic risk of losing talent or momentum. In those cases, Id wait to ensure that this high performer is making an effort to work on leadership quality, including their peer relationships. Leadership requires a new skill set and, just as importantly, the respect and trust of your peers. Your colleagues’ opinions can hurt or help your ability to rise to the next level. Many professionals overlook their peer relationships, focusing instead on managing up to satisfy their boss or managing down to lead their teams performance. The reality is: If your colleagues don’t trust or support you, your promotion might never materialize. Worse, it might falter due to their feedback. During executive coaching engagements, I often find leaders realize that they need to start paying attention to their cross-functional relationships. Then they often ask, how do I take such initiative? Where do I start? Below are the steps that you might want to take. Map your landscape Start by listing all the colleagues who are critical to your teams mission and your success as a leader. Think horizontally, like your peers who report to the same manager and cross-departmental collaborators at a similar level. List them, and for each of them, consider rating the relationship based on the following factors: How vital is it to your mission? Identify the level at which their support is critical to your KPIs, to advancing your teams agenda and your own professional success. How frequently are you communicating? Think about how often you have a chance to talk, email, or formally meet. What’s the quality of your communication? Determine if your interactions are purely transactional or if youve built actual rapport. Think about how productive each interaction is and what follow-up occurs. What is the level of trust between you both? Reflect on how both parties may feel about the honesty of the exchange, the commitment to what youve discussed, and the level of political gesturing that might or might not have been present. Once youve thought about these ratings, take it a step further. Relationships don’t evolve by accident. They require consistent effort, thoughtful communication, and mutual understanding. Use your empathy to reflect upon things like: What drives their business agenda? Reflect on their business mission and goals. Ensure that you understand how to help them. What seems to motivate their engagement? Thinking about a time when theyre highly engaged. Thats a peek into what motivates them and how to get the best out of them. For example, some people are motivated by public recognition, but others arent. What tends to demotivate their engagement? Think about when that person exhibited anger, frustration, disappointment, or did not reply at all. That might be a sign that you need to modify your behavior or communication style. Identify your sponsors and anti-sponsors Once you create the list of people and go through this process, youll quickly realize that there are key people that you havent built relationships with. Start with those people. Youll also realize that there are peers that will be naturally inclined to support you (sponsors) and those who might work against you (anti-sponsors). Instead of avoiding detractors, take the opportunity to address their concerns. Reflect on why some peers may resist your rise. A client of mine once discovered that an “anti-sponsor” was frustrated by being left out of critical project discussions. Inviting them into conversations and acknowledging their expertise turned a skeptic into an advocate. Take radical ownership The strength of your relationships often mirrors your own behaviors. If a colleague is disengaged or resistant, consider how your actions influenced the situation. Have you been overly competitive? Dismissive of their ideas? Too focused on your own outcomes? Leadership starts with accountability. I learned long ago the only behavior I can truly change is my own. If I wanted to improve a relationship, I had to initiate it. For example, start by saying, Something seems off in our working relationship. Can you share what it is? Maybe theres something I can do to change it. Honesty often paves the way for better collaboration. Radical ownership involves recognizing your impact and taking action to improve, not assigning self-blame. Step into their shoes Empathy is your most powerful tool. Put yourself in your colleagues’ positions and consider the key pressures that they face, the resources that they have access to, and ways that you can make their lives easier. Consider what would matter to you if the roles were reversed. A simple question like, “What can I do to support you?” can open doors to meaningful dialogue. Once, as a young leader in a fast-moving tech company, I pushed hard for more support from my marketing peers. My aggressive approach, however, only generated resentment. When I took the time to understand their pressures and resource limitations, I adjusted my requests. By expressing empathy and remorse, we found a productive path forward and collaborated successfully. Play the long game Building strong peer relationships requires a long-term commitment to earning respect and trust over time rather than focusing on quick wins. When you consistently demonstrate authenticity, reliability, and a commitment to shared goals, your peers will naturally see you as a leader they want to follow. Remember, leadership isn’t about being in charge. It’s ultimately rooted in inspiring others to follow willingly. Win the trust of your peers, and you’ll not likely secure your promotion, but equally thrive in the new role with their support.
Category:
E-Commerce
Since its launch in 2018, Olipop has been a bit of a Cinderella story in the oft-unforgiving beverage game. The prebiotic, fiber-laden soda designed to be healthier than the category classics is currently thriving: It just closed a $50 million Series C and announced a $1.85 billion valuation. Last year, it surpassed $400 million in revenue. Its reps cite it as the No. 1 nonalcoholic brand in dollar and unit growth, outpacing legacy giants like Coca-Cola, Dr. Pepper, and Red Bull. Its now sold in nearly 50,000 stores and is even outselling Coke at one major national retailer (though they wont disclose which one, per that retailers regulations). Which is all to say: Theres no way cofounder and CEO Ben Goodwin still formulates all of the brands cult-fave flavors in his laundry room himself, as he did back in the day. . . . Right? People would be shocked. Established flavor chemists, if they walked into my little laundry room lab, their heads would explode, he says with a laugh. I have my own kind of differentiated way that I approach formulation. And from there, it’s all about my nose and its about my senses and my vision for the formula. And it’s all I need. In lieu of Cinderella, Goodwin has been described as the Willy Wonka of soda. And, well, that tracks. [Photo: Olipop] Oli and Microbiology Goodwin grew up in Monterey, California, in a low-income family with food instability and food insecurity. As a result, he says he suffered from weight issues and anxietybut he realized at 14 that better health would yield a better life in the long run. So, he actively pursued just that through a variety of means, notably nutrition and adopting a vegetarian diet. Ben Goodwin [Photo: Olipop] It was a very powerful interpersonal awakening for me [that] also affected my emotional stability, my cognitive function, he says. It was like a paradigm shift for me as a person, and it’s also part of what then led me to have this really deep passion about how poor nutrition and poor health outcomes can undermine society’s well-being on all levels at scale. Goodwin went on to study environmental science in college, but didnt want to emerge saddled with debt. After reading about successful entrepreneurs, he dropped out of college in the early 2000s. He says he felt drawn to the beverage industry, and went to help out a friend who had launched Kombucha Botanica . And thats when he began to go down the rabbit hole of microbiomes. The connectivity occurred for me of, Oh, wow, this is probably what I activated as I went through my own nutritional journeyand so that really then became the center of my focus. After a few years at the company, he spent half a decade freelancing in product development, but eventually found himself pulled back to the beverage industry. He took what he had learned about fermentation at Kombucha Botanica and worked with a microbiologist to develop Obi Probiotic Soda, which was made from non-dairy kefir. He realized he could go the natural product route, or he could meet soda customers where they truly were in the mainstream and think biggersomething that would prove critical for Olipop down the line. [Soda] is arguably the most deleterious nonalcoholic drink in all of human history, he says. So, if I want to make the most impact, here’s where I can make the most impact. He met ex-Diageo innovation head David Lester as he was working on the product, and the two launched Obi together in 2013. The brand eventually folded a few years later due to what Goodwin dubbed partnership issues on the investor side, but the pair had witnessed something critical: potential. We learned that there was a real opportunity here around this healthy soda concept, he says. When Obi came to its conclusion in late 2016, my passion for the mission was not only not diminishedit was actually enhanced. [Photo: Olipop] A Sodastream and a Dream After Obi folded, Goodwin says he and Lester took $100,000 they had made from the brand and immediately went back into the soda game. For Goodwin, that meant formulating. He was focused on fiber, prebiotics, and nutritional diversityand, of course, flavor. From a makeshift lab in his California kitchen, he started working on the first three Olipop varieties: Cinnamon Cola, Strawberry Vanilla, and Ginger Lemon. The first was the most soda-like, but while cola traditionally contains cinnamon, people assumed it would be spicyso they changed the name to Vintage Cola, which Olipop drinkers know today. Ginger Lemon, meanwhile, was intended for health-focused kombucha consumers, and Strawberry Vanilla was an innovation test flavor inspired by one of Goodwins favorite candies as a kid. Goodwin still formulates flavors much the same way today, despite running a company worth billions of dollars. He is the chief formulator, and his lab is now in the laundry room of his Washington-state home by virtue of convenience. Theres a sink, and he can put a metal table in there. Its an otherwise deceptively simple rig consisting of a couple scales, a Vitamix, pipettes and measuring devices, and a Sodastram. [At our headquarters] we’ve got a much more sophisticated setup with an Alpha MOS mass spectrometer and all that kind of stuff. But when I’m in what I would call the artistic phase, I don’t want any of that stuff interfering with my process. He says he knew he had a knack for formulating back at Obi, and enters a flow state when hes working. He spends a lot of time up front thinking about the architecture of the flavor he wants to create: Whats the story he wants it to tell? Whats the mouth-feel? The acidity? The resolution as you drink it? Critically, he says he always tries to create something that has a nostalgic anchor, but is innovative and ownable at the same time. As the flavor progresses, he breaks out a yellow legal pad to jot down his formulas. He has cupboards filled with these notebooksin total, he has created more than 50 flavors over the past seven years, and has brought 22 of them to the market, including favorites like Crisp Apple, Tropical Punch, Cherry Cola, and Cream Soda. Olipop’s flavors have the essence of traditional soda drinks, but they don’t taste exactly like a Coca-Cola or a Dr. Pepper. Rather, they look to channel a similar vibe using sweeteners like stevia, cassava syrup, and fruit, alongside botanicals, plant fiber, and prebiotics (the stuff that feeds the good bacteria in your stomach). Something I love about formulating: It’s a proper blending of science and art. And I’m still growing as a formulator every time I formulate, he says. I take craftsmanship extremely seriously, and it’s like the formulas that I create have the least distance between me and the Olipop customer of anything I will ever do. It is my most direct and unfiltered communication tool. [Photo: Olipop] Olipops can design is perhaps the ultimate mirror to his formulation strategy. Its clean, thanks to the brand name set in the Ano typeface and the accompanying minimalist illustrations; its warm and nostalgic, owing to each flavor name set in the friendly Windsor; and ultimately it harkens back to a more innocent time when we didnt know traditional soda was terrible for us. (As for the healthiness of Olipop and its competitors, with fewer calories and added sugars than traditional soda, and no high-fructose corn syrup to speak of, they’re indeed a healthier choice than cracking a Coke. But the Cleveland Clinic and others have written that while they can be a good occasional supplement, it’s still best to get prebiotic fibers naturally from eating whole foods.) [Photo: Olipop] Olipop pops off When Goodwin and Lester were trying to get Olipop off the ground, they approached the distributor Dairy Delivery, which Goodwin says agreed to launch the brand if they could get 100 stores on board. Olipop managed to net 40 or 50 accounts, and Dairy Delivery got them into some small chains in Northern California. Goodwin says Olipop has always had robust organic traction, experiencing triple-digit growth every year since launching in 2018; 2020 was particularly critical, with 960% growth. Influencers and TikTok played a big role, and at a time when the world receded from groceries, Olipops in-store sales were strong, indicating people were picking it up as an essential item in their strategic grocery runs. The companys DTC sales (which today account for less than 5% of the business) were an added bonus on top of it all. That was actually my first clue that something really different was happening with this brand than what is even remotely typical, Goodwin says of Olipop’s COVID-era sales surge. Olipop has a lot of flavors compared to most bev brands. While Crisp Apple is the company’s top seller, Goodwin says none of the brand’s kaleidoscopic cans have ever really been a failure, so Olipop walks a careful line of skew effectiveness and the right cadence of novelty. It’s a great problem to have, but it does add to the complexity in terms of what choices we make, he says. It’s always a tension between supply chain going, Guys, you’ve got enough SKUs, you’re going to kill us, and sales saying, We want more SKUs, we want to go sell more product. Of course, the behemoth brands have been watching. What does he make of Coke joining the category last week with the launch of Simply Pop, with Pepsi also reportedly prepping its own response? I gotta tell you, there is kind of no bigger compliment, Goodwin says. Back in 2010, [I said], I think this is important. I wonder how this will do. And now in 2025 to have the biggest soda brands in all of human history decide that they agree, putting their money where their mouth is and launching products . . . it’s incredible.
Category:
E-Commerce
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