Ben Dieterle, MPA’s Post

It's Food for Thought Friday! It's a four-course meal starting with my latest foodie adventure + three servings of insightful and thought-provoking posts from around LinkedIn. Here we go! First course: My husband and I were talking while I chopped vegetables for minestrone soup this week. As he watched me prep six cloves of garlic for the soup he told me that he set someone at work straight this week. "What do you mean?" I asked. "I told him to stop using that jarred stuff." We had a good laugh. When we got married he'd never used fresh garlic. Ten years later, he's a convert. Fresh garlic is a pantry staple in this house. How about you? Are you team fresh or team jarred? Careful, I may send you a garlic press 😁 Second course: My new friend Laura Krauss shared a story that touched my heart and carries an important message. Top performers are also partners, parents, sons, daughters and friends. We have lives outside work and sometimes that part of our lives takes priority. Can we give each other grace for that? Read the whole post here: https://lnkd.in/eMrZrmCt Third course: I love a spicy take and Donnie Boivin isn't shy about sharing his POV. Donnie said something about networking this week I've been thinking for a while. Heart-led leaders talk a lot about giving and serving and I'm all in on that. But if we want to increase our influence we need to pay attention to reciprocity. Don't be naive. Anyone who networks regularly will resonate with Donnie's post. Read and comment here: https://lnkd.in/eWSDiyFi Fourth course: Amber Watts🌱rounds things out this week with an inspiring post about the rocky road to becoming a strong leader. As someone who spent too much time looking for the path of least resistance, I appreciate Amber's take on how persevering through the hard stuff is what shows us who we truly are and makes us strong. Go for the photos, stay for the wisdom: https://lnkd.in/eDjgWDBx I hope you enjoyed these tasty morsels. Which one stood out most to you today?

🍷 Ever have a glass of wine where that first sip tasted terrible? Not what you expected, not up to your standards, not your type of notes or flavor profile. But once you delved into the origin of the wine - the country it came form, the land it grew on, the climate it has to weather, the time it took to from soil to glass - you had a new-found appreciation for what you tasted. All of a sudden, the wine is incredible. It tastes the way it does because of what it has been through. Humans are no different. At first glance, first interaction, first impression, we can often be off-put by someone's traits, style, way of speaking, looks, mannerisms, personality. But once you learn the origin of that person and the stories they tell, you start to understand why they are the way they are. No longer are you put-off but rather empathetic, understanding, and appreciative. You seek to learn. You ask more questions, you want to take it all in. You want to be an expert. It's all too similar to that glass of wine. Learning origin stories can be powerful and change our reaction to what we take in. Take the time to dive in and you'll surprise yourself! #seekunderstanding #humancondition #philosophy #empathy

I love you a latte! A fun sign at my new favorite restaurant in Miami, The Blue Lavender Cafe. We need more high-vibe-conscious places like this. Their basement has loads of positive affirmations, which boost my spirits and brighten my mornings when I work from this wonderful new organic restaurant in Miami Beach. I am using affirmations again. I’m leaning against my biggest edge and transformational shift yet, with hawk-eyes on BS Inc. and August 11th. For example, I try to balance my perfectionist tendencies with: "I am trusting the systems and processes approach, detached from outcomes." This reminds me that all of my focus should be on showing up each day and just doing my best. Trusting that everything will unfold in divine timing. It’s kind of cheesy, but they work. Maybe in our frantic-paced 2024, we can just call them conscious reminders? I take time a few times daily to remind myself what is true to help reinforce/adopt the change I seek to make. It’s a potent practice that can tighten up our intentions and combat the BS Inc. limiting belief scarcity programs that want us all stuck, disconnected, on the hamster wheel of life. Do you use affirmations? If so, what are your go-to ones that work for you? Love & peace, Matt #mindbodyspirit #holistichealth #brainhealth

It was a cozy kitchen. Gingham curtains, fresh flowers, ironed tablecloth, the smell of freshly baked cookies. It was in that kitchen the woman tended to three pots simmering on the stove. In one pot, she poured coffee grounds, savoring the rich aroma that filled the room. In another, she placed fresh carrots, their vibrant color contrasting against the boiling water. And in the third pot, she delicately arranged several eggs, each fragile in its shell. Later, when her daughter arrived, the woman carefully removed the carrots and eggs, placing them in separate bowls. She then ladled out a cup of coffee. Setting the bowls and cup on the table, she asked her daughter a simple question: "What do you see?" The daughter, puzzled, responded, "Seriously, Mom? Carrots, eggs, and coffee. Why?" With a knowing smile, the woman explained how the carrots, once hard and rigid, had softened under the challenge of the hot, boiling water. The eggs, initially fragile and vulnerable, had transformed into solid, hard-boiled eggs. And the coffee had not just blended with the water — it had changed its very essence. This story serves as a powerful reminder of our capacity for resilience and transformation in the face of challenges. As leaders, we need to choose if we’ll look at challenges with a fixed mindset, with discomfort. If so, they’ll make us weak (carrots) or hard (eggs). If, instead, we embrace a growth mindset, those same challenges can transform us (coffee). If we use those challenges to grow and change, we can develop into something amazing. #GrowthMindset #Leadership #LaTourLeadershipAcademy

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One of the top five questions people ask me is why does GAIL's Bakery exist. As we continue to grow our philosophy remains the same: to make good food that people love, and create bakeries that people want to keep coming back to. Want to find out more about our why, click the video below - see you in the bakeries. 

🍺 Thursday already? More beer/leadership musings: Wherever possible I prefer to drink draft beer. On a trip one time in a country that more bottled beer I spied a draft tap. So I ordered one and settled into waiting for a mate. The beer was not good. When my mate arrived he saw my draft and ordered one before I could say anything. One sip and he screwed his face up in reaction. His verdict: ‘tastes like an old sock’. That got us talking: how? why? Who? That then got us wondering how would one market such a beer? We kicked around some ideas and came up with a slogan a campaign, even a jingle (‘when there’s nothing else: old sock beer’). It was a great laugh + distraction. Leaders are flawed. All of them/us. It’s the attitude to those flaws that matters. The follower’s choice is to focus on the flaws or pivot to the positive. Be supportive. Work with what’s there. That attitude creates opportunities, learning and possibilities for something different. It’s not the flaws or the skills that makes a leader, it’s the followers - the choices of the followers. Sock me up Kaiser!🍻 #whataboutthebeer #followship #oldsockbeer

Daily dollop of wallop #2 I remember this quote from Steve Jobs that I heard a couple of years ago. He was addressing a group of industry leaders many years ago and gave a 12 minute speech on his thoughts around 'consulting'. In general terms. He said this: "Consulting down badly is coming in and making recommendations and not owning the results. Not owning the implementation, I think is a fraction of the value and a fraction of the opportunity to learn and get better" I think this is so correct and profoundly valuable and is something I took a lot from when I first listened to this. When I am working with clients, the reason I bang on so much about 'prior research' and 'leading with empathy' and really seeing, touching and feeling the operation for what it is - is because how would they actually be able to manage any expectations? I believe that the more fastidious you are and the more questions you ask, by virtue of this, the results will be better. When I started Giggle Juice Consulting, I knew what I wanted to do, why I wanted to do it and the difference that I could make. I apply 80% of 'me' into any project. Which is my style, my nature, my experience, my knowledge and my personality. The remaining 20% is how I do it and what approach I take. That's why I am passionate about people. People buy from people, we all know that. As Steve Jobs said, if I don't own the outcome of the thing I put in place, then what kind of consultant am I? A shit one, that's what. Leverage your beverage. #consulting #dothething #ownit #winebusiness #nofrills #nofuss #wine #wineeducation