How a Cup of Coffee Can Build Your Business

By Chester Elton

Murlidhar Gupta says that he was sitting with a friend in a coffee shop near Venice when a man entered and ordered, “Two cups of coffee, one of them on the wall.’ The waiter gave him one cup and pasted a piece of paper on the wall saying ‘A Cup of Coffee.’ As they drank their coffee, other customers entered and did the same.

Says Gupta: “A few days later, while we were enjoying our coffee, a man poorly dressed entered. He looked at the wall and said, 'One cup of coffee from the wall.’ The waiter served coffee to this man with the customary respect and dignity. The man left without paying. The waiter took a piece of paper from the wall and threw it in the dustbin.”

Gupta explained that the great respect shown for the needy by the inhabitants of this town made his eyes well up in tears.

It’s a terrific story, but it may seem a long way from our everyday work lives. And yet in my travels I get to work with a lot of organizations that give back in their own ways—from sponsoring little league teams to collecting for the local food bank. Capital One built a soccer field and a baseball diamond at its McLean, Virginia, headquarters and opened it up for community and employee use.

Besides improving worker health and building teamwork, it provided needed recreational space for the town. Our friends at Murphy Oil in El Dorado, Arkansas, have donated a whopping $50 million to fund college educations for all of the town’s high school graduates. Believe it or not, any student who has lived in El Dorado for at least four years can get a full-ride scholarship. This generosity has changed the entire community. More than 95 percent of the high school graduates now going to college (up from 60 percent just a few years ago).

The point is, most good organizations share something in common: They make a difference in their communities. And great organizations take it a step further—like this coffee shop, their get their customers and employees to help in the cause, creating a bond that transcends business.

Recently I was asked to give a workshop for the leaders of Texas Roadhouse at their annual conference. The team went to a luxurious resort in a warm locale, but the executives and managers didn’t sit by the pool. Hardly. They spent their only free day refurbishing a playground at a local military housing project, so soldier’s children could have a safe, fun place to play.

On a hot, humid day, thousands of employees painted, raked, repaired, set up new slides, and gave back in a hundred ways. As the employees toiled friendships formed that could never be created in a meeting hall. The camaraderie was palpable.

Does this type of service drive employee engagement and energy levels in an organization? You’d better believe it. I can assure you those leaders went back to their restaurants fired up knowing they work for a company that cares. After all, when we believe that what we do matters we embrace our work with greater passion and we are more productive. It is a win-win.

I’d love to hear how you or your organizations have made a difference in your communities, and what it meant to the esprit de corps of your workplace. After all, sometimes a simple cup of coffee can change a life.