It Isn’t Rocket Science

On Saturdays, if it’s cloudy, rainy, or cold, anything that isn’t great for pop sales, my wife knows I might be a bit sensitive.

But sometimes the opposite is true.

Last week I was giddy looking at the forecast. Shaky Knees, one of our best events of the year, was coming up and the weather looked like a dream.

I had some worries, though. Our tenured cart manager had moved on a couple months ago, and the new guy, Greg, had only just started. He was doing great, drinking from the fire hose (our standard training method), but he was still new.

He made a plan, we discussed it, and then he was off with a box truck, two pallets of pops, 10 carts, dry ice, lights, chalkboards, and of course, the rainbow umbrellas.

My wife was on a work trip in Spain, so I had the kids and couldn’t “jump in and save the day” if something went wrong. Feeling guilty, I over-communicated this to Greg, but he took it in stride.

Friday night, 8 p.m., kids down, I nervously opened my phone to check in. No messages … good sign. Then I clicked the sales link. Already over $10k and the gates had only been open four hours.

Holy smokes.

I sent some heart emojis, told the team I was proud, and went to bed with a smile.

The next morning, I woke up in a panic. Nothing was wrong, but my brain raced: Do they have enough pops? Enough dry ice? Enough slingers?

They did. At every turn, Greg and the team rose to the occasion. Some of our slingers have been with us for 10 years, so there were plenty of opportunities for leadership to shine.

By the end, it was our best retail sales event ever. Final tally: $75,544.

That’s a month-maker. Heck, maybe a year-maker, for our cart team. And thanks to you guys for supporting, waiting in lines, and spreading the good vibes.

Here’s the lesson I’m walking away with:

It isn’t rocket science. Keep doing the work. Keep showing up. Share what you know. Make a good plan. And then step back and let people do what they do best. Let ’em cook, as the kids are saying.

We love to give ourselves credit, but the truth is…sometimes the best thing you can do is not meddle.

💛 Steve