Clinics clinics

Going through old reports in a patient's chart.
My staff's note reads:
Physical exam: thin, euthyroid, Not paralyzed.

Completely made everyone's day :D

Best Positioning Statement per Mr.

 

For 15 years, Summit Coffee has been a fixture in Davidson, NC, a college town. With just two locations, it is no Starbucks, but there is still much you can learn from the three entrepreneurs who own it.

I found out about Summit thanks to an eloquent post by Eric LaForest, Associate Director of the Norton Family Center for the Common Good at Loomis Chafee school. Thinking back to his time in Davidson, Eric reflected on what set Summit apart from, well, everyplace else:

There was always a sense of the global and the local at Summit. It was a familiar place that made you feel at home, yet challenged you to pursue the unfamiliar. It valued the science of its small-scale farmers’ coffee growing as much as the art on its walls and shelves. It devoted considerable resources to countless charitable movements."

Wow. We are talking about a small storefront in a small town, right? 

Wrong. We are talking about vision, and heart. You don't have to run a huge company to have it. You don't have to be famous, or rich, or even old enough to drive. You simply have to use your imagination, and then act upon it.

But what I really want to share with you is a blog post Brian Helfrich wrote last year; he, Tom and Tim Helfrich ownSummit Coffee. Although Brian may not have intended it this way, his words represent one of the best "positioning" statements I've ever read.

Whether you are thinking about positioning your company or your career, you can learn a lot from Brian... especially the way he writes from his heart:

"What We Did Win"

"So we didn’t win $250,000. An email this morning confirmed that LivingSocial and Chase Bank did not identify us, Summit Coffee, as one of 12 recipients of a terrific small business grant. But during the application process, which came together oh-so-fast, we had the opportunity to think about what we are. Thanks to many of you, we were a finalist for the grant. And because of that, we sat back, took a breath, drank decaf (just kidding, of course) and looked at what we are.

"We are a coffee shop. We are a bar. A music venue. A meeting place. A day care. An office. A classroom. A bathroom. A water break.

"We are Davidson. We are Main St. We’re old and rustic. Modern and creative.

"We’re nights on a patio. Runs before sunrise. Wine in the front corner. Conversations at the counter.

"We are good morning, good afternoon and good night.

"We are The Freckled Dog Pub. The Twilight Racing Series. The Box Turtle Mocha. The Glacier Gulp.

"We are the bells on the front door. A back door that sometimes doesn’t exist. An ice machine on a part-time shift. We are a not-so-straight staircase. We are a chalkboard menu. T-shirts on clothespins. Cookies in tin buckets.

"We are Tim and Beth. Becky and Dave. Brit and Jon and Brian. Alex and Jesse. Chris and Jim and Michael.

"We are a neighbor. An escape. A welcoming. A friend. A thank God it’s Friday at 5:00. A large coffee no room for cream. Right?

"We are home.

"We are Summit. We are lucky."