Be Micro-Ambitious
Comedian Tim Minchin councils us not to have big dreams:
Americans on talent shows always talk about their dreams. Fine, if you have something that you’ve always dreamed of, like, in your heart, go for it! After all, it’s something to do with your time… chasing a dream. And if it’s a big enough one, it’ll take you most of your life to achieve.
I never really had one of these big dreams. And so I advocate passionate dedication to the pursuit of short-term goals. Be micro-ambitious. Put your head down and work with pride on whatever is in front of you… you never know where you might end up.
Just be aware that the next worthy pursuit will probably appear in your periphery. Which is why you should be careful of long-term dreams. If you focus too far in front of you, you won’t see the shiny thing out the corner of your eye.
Tim Minchin
Ron Shaich of Panera Bread immersed himself in the details. He was micro-ambitious.
At his first shop, the Cookie Jar, Shaich bought a small mixer and started with the Toll House recipe on the bag. He passed out cookies in front of his store in Boston and listened. He adjusted the recipe each day based on what he learned. He had just two employees; he immersed himself in the detail.
Panera grew to 50,000 employees, but their team still pays attention to what’s right in front of them. They developed a culture of data curation where everyone who touches data owns its quality. They don’t abdicate responsibility to IT. That attention to detail prepared them to make their incredible pandemic pivot.
From two to 50,000 employees, Panera pays attention to the details. They are micro-ambitious.
I live near Far Rockaway, New York, home of Paul Surf Custom Surfboards. They make beautiful handmade surfboards. This image shows the micro-ambition needed to make a beautiful piece of art.
Paul Surf Custom Surfboards. Far Rockaway, New York
This post is part of a series of entrepreneurial lessons from Panera Bread. Subscribe below for updates as each is released.
