My favorite quote is a version of a note from my mom on birthday cards,
“Don't Forget Where You Came From, but Never Let It Solely Define You”.
Said another way, our truth is in our roots, but our past is not our jail. We all have permission to change and should grant the same to others. We are all on a growth journey, but sometimes we as individuals (or brands and companies) get stuck in how we think others define us.
How this has shown up in business for me
When I became president of Cinnabon in 2010, the 24-year-old brand had experienced great challenges leading up to and through the recession. To address that challenge, we had to change - while staying true to our brand, but evolving beyond our legacy model. We built a great team and evolved not just a few products but the entire operating model; we brought back things that had gone away; we launched completely new things that were not always welcome changes internally.
We put big energy behind growing smaller footprints and expanded products into new channels that would come to redefine the brand as one of the strongest multi-channel retail brands in the world with over a billion dollars in branded product sales. We did this while reinvesting in and growing the core, legacy franchise business. By staying true to the brand – irresistibly indulgent – we became notably different and better off many years later. If you want more details on this example, check out this CNBC interview on evolving brands with Becky Quick.
There are more examples of companies and brands that don’t innovate and become irrelevant than those that successfully evolve to protect and grow their relevance. In past decades, relevance-death has been long and protracted. These days, we’re witnessing the fall of great companies and well-known brands at a faster pace.
We all know why - change is hard for individuals - and companies and businesses are collections of individuals. Also, the very things that help a company or business grow over time (and get to where they are) are often in conflict with existing infrastructure, culture, and compensation systems.
The changes needed to evolve can therefore feel threatening to the legacy teams and businesses. These modifications to operating models and brands can also create fear that “we are going to become something we’re not” or “if we launch this innovation division, or if I change my position on this critical issue (could be business or personal), how will it impact me, us, my family the company”? Is it not being true to what I am/what we were?
The irony of this is that to protect something, grow it, and honor its legacy, you need to use new information and capabilities to then shift, pivot, and change.
Unfortunately, when a new, big idea is introduced into any group, when a leader announces a major change in direction, or when a politician who had a position on an issue 10 years ago veers from that position today – people judge, criticize, and question – creating the environment where others in the future hesitate to evolve. How open and collaborative the culture is (or isn’t) directly affects the severity of this dynamic. This is sometimes overt, and other times, more subtle - but ultimately, it’s a form of protectionism.
This demonstrates the need to give ourselves and others permission to change and to believe that it is necessary to thrive. This confidence and belief can help override the fears that so predictably come along with leading great, but needed change.
When it hits home…
When I think of a legacy of growth and evolution, and creating ‘Permission to Change’, I think of my mom. Much of my mom’s strength came from her mom, who raised my mother as a single parent. My mom’s father died when she was young; she is the youngest of seven children and grew up with very little.
She never forgets those painful experiences and uses them to fuel her gratitude for what she does have, but it also fuels her drive to constantly learn, grow and create “better” for herself, her family, and those around her. She honors her past, but it is not who or what she is. She made the tough decision to leave our father (when I was 9) with no solid income and three daughters under the age of 10. She fed us on a food budget of $10/week for three years, and slowly built a strong life for us as a single parent. She has redefined herself and her reality for the better many times over. Today she runs her own business. She had to give herself permission to change and make decisions for us that were unpopular and uncomfortable. In doing so, she beat the odds and set an example for me on not being afraid to reinvent yourself, and in fact, being intentional about doing so.
Reflecting on those difficult years when my mom was on her own, I often remember that mantra: “Don’t forget where you came from, but don’t you dare ever let it solely define you”. I have carried this with me to every company and leadership role I have filled – and I certainly apply it to myself personally. I’ve learned how important it is to honor your truth and your roots – personally and in business and for brands, but to not let that limit or solely define you. As a leader, it’s a constant focus and effort to help others honor what they have accomplished in the past, but look and push forward with what must be done differently to succeed.
Another lesson I learned from my mother is, “just because things are pretty good and could be worse, that does not mean you don't have the right or the responsibility to make them better”. Sometimes, because things could be worse, we want to simply live in a place of gratitude. Gratitude is a critical element of success, balance, and happiness. But there is a version of it that can become paralyzing if you think, I’m so grateful, how dare I work for more? Things could have been a lot worse for my sisters and me, but my mom felt she still had the responsibility to make life better, which meant sacrifices and raising us on her own. I look at every opportunity – my personal life, health, investments, businesses, and brands – with that lesson in mind.
These lessons have led to my own evolution as a leader. One of the most powerful lessons I have learned from many years of leading and seeing evolution and growth is that you're capable of more than you know IF you give yourself permission to change.
We are capable of great physical feats, emotional strength, and incredible discovery. If the people I connect with truly that and see it every day, and if they really believe it, they come closer to realizing their full potential. Knowing that I am capable of more than I will ever know is not a daunting thought; it's an inspiring thought. To me, it means that accomplishment, growth, and learning are limitless.
For my personal legacy of evolution, I hope I’m known not just for helping people, companies, and communities realize they are capable of more than they know. I also strive for the life-long goal of balancing courage and confidence with humility and curiosity to give myself and others permission and power to change.
A quick check-in to recap these lessons I have learned and try to live:
Respect your roots. There’s something special about where you came from and where you started. And that is part of the reason why you’re where you are today.
Don’t let your past solely define you. Leadership is about constant evolution and transformation – the ability to choose your future every day.
Just because things could be worse does not mean you don't have the right or the responsibility to make them better. “If not you, who? If not now, when?”
You don’t know the exact impact you will have on others until after you do it. And sometimes you will never know. That’s why it’s critical to show up every day valuing others, with a sense of responsibility, service, and gratitude.
You're capable of more than you know; let that inspire you to limitless learning, growth, and achievement.
Use a compass, not a road map. Staying the same is often a result of a desire (and privilege) for comfort. Changing is by definition heading into something less known. Our values are our compass - the how and why we do things - that is our true north.
The “what” we do will inevitably be uncomfortable and may feel like we are “lost”, but the why, our values, help us know we are still on the right path, even when on uncertain roads.
Strive to balance courage and confidence with humility and curiosity. That is the formula for the leadership of self, of family, and of being the best version of you that you can be.
There’s a motto that many people may have heard – and that I have said for over a decade: "If not me, who? If not now, when?". It speaks to personal accountability and believing it's never too late to act. If you don’t act now, what are you trading off? And why can't it be you? I believe so firmly in personal accountability and its critical role in serving other humans. It is important to find and be able to believe that in those I hire, those I lead, and those I follow.
We will all leave an impression on the world – some sort of legacy. It’s never too early to be intentional about our leadership values and the impact we would like to leave behind.
We all have permission to change.