Book Review
If you want to see the concept of transformational leadership through empathy in action, then look no further than Sherry Deutschmann’s book, Lunch with Lucy: Maximize Profits by Investing in Your People. This is a very personal book by someone who knows just how important employees are to the success of any business. She has a fascinating and unique business model to share with readers that will transform not only the way we think about our people, but how we embrace them as the genuine drivers of our business success.
When entrepreneur Sherry Deutschmann first decided to start a business, she knew she wanted to build something totally different. In her first book, Lunch with Lucy, Sherry tells the story of the creation of that company, LetterLogic, and how she turned it into a $40-million company by putting employees first—even ahead of customers and shareholders. Putting her people first took many forms, with an extremely generous profit sharing plan and fair living wages among them. But the centerpiece and heart of LetterLogic’s culture was the employee-centric practice Sherry designed called “Lunch with Lucy” — a practice that removed the hierarchical dynamics found in most organizations.
On any given Wednesday, any employee could invite “Lucy” (Sherry’s midday moniker) out to lunch, at a place of their choice, with the bill picked up by Sherry. At these events, Sherry wasn’t the CEO. She was “Lucy,” a co-worker. By making herself 100% available, “Lucy” created a judgment-free environment where she could learn about a team member’s dreams, ambitions, and challenges—and gain their insight into what she was doing right or wrong as a leader. She credits this approach with the success of her company.
The chapters of Lunch with Lucy are refreshingly laid out like courses on a menu, inviting us to see how a leader’s choices directly impact employee morale, engagement, and commitment—and in this author’s case, ultimately led to a healthy and hearty bottom line. Sherry’s voice is new, and her honesty, humor, and humility shine through this story of a woman building a successful business through empathetic leadership and uncommon, commonsense business practices, one lunch at a time. So, why not sit down at the table and learn about a business model that is truly transformational.
Author quotes
Our secret sauce had one key ingredient; one differentiator that made it possible for our little company to become the industry price leader. That one element was empathy.
Our culture of empathy was the direct result of leadership through empathy.
This book promotes a business model that contradicts today’s prevalent ‘customer always comes first’ strategy.
When you put the needs of employees first, you create an environment that allows them to focus on the job at hand and ensures they are committed to your company’s success.
About the Author
Sherry Stewart Deutschmann is the founder of Sunset Ventures, an angel investment firm supporting women-owned businesses, and LetterLogic, Inc, a company she founded and grew to $40 Million before selling it in 2016. LetterLogic was named an INC 5000 company (fastest growing privately held US businesses) for eleven consecutive years. Sherry attributes the success of the company to its unique culture in which the needs of the employees come before those of the customer or shareholder. That culture led the company to be recognized by the NY Times, Forbes Magazine, Business Leaders, INC., Fast Company and EY. Sherry was named a White House Champion of Change by President Obama in 2016 and was appointed to the National Women's Business Council, a small group who advise the President, Congress, and the SBA on matters relating to women entrepreneurs. In additional to being honored nationally by Ernst&Young with their prestigious Entrepreneurial Winning Women award, Sherry also received the national Women's President's Organization Economic Empowerment Award. Sherry's first book, Lunch with Lucy: Maximize Profits by Investing in Your People, is an instructional memoir that chronicles her path as a single mom with only a high school education, to becoming a successful entrepreneur and inspirational speaker.
Why LoA loves it….
The well-used phrase ‘your business is only as good as its people’ is taken to a whole new level of understanding and appreciation in this fabulous new book by Sherry Deutschmann. She really does believe that the business lives and dies by how you engage and invest in your employees every day. Her completely refreshing and challenging business model turns usual business practices on their head. Her Employee First approach appears somewhat maverick at first glance, replacing the usual Customer Always First strategy in business. But when you think about the customer experience being so intrinsically influenced by the people in a business, then it stands to reason that if your employees are happy, then so will your customers be. This is a book for any woman entrepreneur to read, regardless of how long they have been in business. It will stimulate that ‘lightbulb moment’ of realizing that people really are your biggest asset and, as such, need to be invested in and appreciated at a whole new level — Melanie Hawken, founder & ceo of Lionesses of Africa