I’ve used the same driver that takes me to and from the Denver International Airport for years. Paulos is from Ethiopia. And so are all the other drivers on Paulos’ team. A couple hundred trips to and from the Denver International Airport each year…I’ve had the honor of spending time in the car with such genuine and kind people. I’ve been to Ethiopia once. We held our first Global Youth Leadership Academy program there sixteen years ago. Life changing! Beautiful country. Even more beautiful people.
A few weeks ago, one of Paulos’ drivers picked me and Jill up from the airport. His name was Bebe. Jill and I asked Bebe if he would be so kind and pick up our eleven-year-old son, Tate, on the way home. When we arrived at Tate’s friends home, we learned he had a fever and had been throwing up all morning. The car ride home was not fun. We had to pull over twice!
Bebe could not have been more understanding and gracious. He would have pulled over ten more times.
When we arrived at our home, Bebe, who is about my age, proudly told me that he’s not been sick in twenty-five years. He’s not been to a doctor in twenty-five years. And he’s not taken any medicine…not even an Aspirin…in twenty-five years. This got my attention.
“My grandmother in Ethiopia told me as a young man that the secret to health is to take four ingredients every morning,” Bebe explained. “And the reason I’ve not been sick or visited the doctor or taken any medicine since then is because I listened to my grandmother.”
You can guess my next question.
“Tell me the four magic ingredients!”
“Garlic. Lime. Cinnamon. And raw honey,” Bebe replied.
“Each morning I chop up a fresh garlic clove. Squeeze half of a lime. Add Cinnamon. And one teaspoon of raw honey. Mix it up and swallow. If you do this every day you will be doctor, medicine and flu free,” Bebe continued.
Well guess what I’ve been eating every morning for the past three weeks? Nasty! Nasty! Nasty! But I’d rather crunch on garlic cloves than be puking on the side of the road!
Four magic ingredients. And no more getting sick. This got me thinking.
What if I told you there are four magic ingredients, things we all can do in our organization that will build stronger teams? Develop healthier cultures? And drive better performance?
Love. Time. Serve. Believe.
What would our teams look like? How would culture change in our organization? And what would happen to our bottom line? If…each day…we genuinely loved our people. Gave them the gift of our time. Found ways to serve them? And let them know we believe in them?
I know the answer. We would build heart-led teams. Heart-led teams create heart-led cultures. And heart-led cultures drive every economic engine your organization needs to thrive.
Love. Time. Serve. Believe.
These ingredients will build healthy and strong organizations. Keep the doctor away. And they are not as nasty as crunching on garlic cloves every morning!