With all that is happening in the world with COVID-19, we can’t help but wonder what is going to happen to our current way of living. Will it survive? Will we be forced to change? Will the world come to an end?? (of course not!!) An event like the one we are experiencing will certainly change us forever. The question is, will it be for the better?
In my last article in May 2019, I suggested that WE are “the problem”. Our current way of living puts more emphasis on cost than on value. This way of thinking forces our supply chains to put more emphasis on quantity, and less on quality. As manufacturers move further in this direction, they work to “lean out” their production processes. Reduce waste, do more with less, eliminate that non value-added activity… While on the surface, this appears to be the right thing to do, it creates a reductionist mentality that can sometimes become very destructive. For example, if you decide to lose 5kg per month, how long can you go until you become sick? The idea to lose weight is great. The first 5kg’s are gone, the next 5… a bit harder, but they are gone too. The next 5?? What must you do to get that next 5kg? The reductionist mentality is alive! Our habits have changed, but maybe not for the better.
I believe that a reductionist mentality has no place in our society as it breeds negativity. Since our energy to change is focused on getting rid of something, we are always looking for that great deal, that way we can have more for LESS. Those prices need to DROP! With a reductionist mentality, we are more focused on what isn’t, than what is. In my opinion, this mentality needs to be lost forever. We need to transform it into a mentality that can amplify all of the value that is created in the world. It starts with us, and it isn’t even that hard.
The power of “AND” is a way of thinking that requires us to think systematically. It requires us to be creative. It requires us to understand our impact on the things around us. It requires us to always find ways of doing more. AND, it isn’t even that hard to do. It simply requires us to change the way we see things. Instead of saying, “I can’t do X, unless I have Y.” we need to say, “How can I do X AND have Y?” This fundamentally changes the way we approach a problem! AND it forces us to think, learn, and challenge our assumptions.
At 7Peaks Brasserie, we work very hard on using the power of AND. I am very proud of one recent example. With the COVID-19 pandemic taking hold of the world, all large festivals and events had to be cancelled. Unfortunately for us, we had 6000 liters of beer for the Rock The Pistes festival in our fermenters. The “Rock the beer” is a special recipe created exclusively for the event, so no chance of selling it as one of our 7 core beers. This resulted in CHF24,000 in lost sales that we were really counting on to get us through till summer. As every day passed, COVID-19 became more and more important, and this beer became more and more troublesome. What to do?
After hours and hours of discussion, and days of reflection, thanks to the power of “AND” we came up with an idea. We decided to change the name of this beer to “Norm’ale”. The “Norm’ale” will become the beer that helps others. Each bottle sold will earn CHF0.20 for a charity of choice. We will be able to sell the beer AND help others in need! Once the beer is gone, we will brew it again and give CHF0.20 per bottle to another charity of choice. And as this beer becomes more and more popular, we will be able to help more and more charities.
We could have said, “Let’s drop the price and get rid of this beer. The event is cancelled so we need to cut our losses.” Instead, we asked the question, “How can we save this beer, make some much needed sales, AND help others in need?” The power of “AND” reframed this problem into an opportunity to create a product that helps everyone! Now that we have launched this product, we wonder how it will be received. Our customers already love it, and the charity is very appreciative. Will other breweries do the same? Will this become a trend? Lets hope so!
There is no doubt that helping others feels good. Lets not forget that sometimes, we too need help! The trick is to use the power of “AND” to do both. If everyone does their part, we can move towards a better way of living in this world. We can move towards a world where everyone thinks of others as often as they think of themselves. Evidence of this can be seen in how the world is reacting to COVID-19. Staying home helps others as much as it helps us individually. Lets keep it up.
If we keep putting the interests of others at the same level as our personal interests, help those in need, and ask for help when we need it, I think we will come out so much better than we were before COVID-19.