Chapter 7 - NORTH STAR RISES
The first Lakefront delivery went out fifty-eight days after the pool.
We almost missed it.
One freezer compressor failed at midnight.
A new baker called out with flu.
A delivery van got a flat tire.
Jasmine looked at me at two in the morning.
“Maybe Judith cursed us.”
“Don't give her that much credit.”
We solved it.
Rented freezer space.
Called backup staff.
Moved the order.
At 6:40 a.m., four hundred mini croissants, two hundred brioche buns, ninety-six tortes, and twelve sheet cakes left our loading dock.
I watched the van disappear.
Then cried.
Jasmine handed me coffee.
“You cry a lot now.”
“Growth.”
“Annoying.”
---
The contract transformed North Star.
Not overnight.
Revenue doubled first year.
Then nearly doubled again.
We hired twenty-three people.
Added healthcare contribution.
Paid sick leave.
Training program.
Then a mistake.
I worked too much.
Of course.
I told myself employees depended on me.
That the contract depended on me.
That nobody else could approve recipes, negotiate suppliers, inspect deliveries.
Sound familiar?
Control wears many costumes.
One evening Jasmine closed my laptop.
“Go home.”
“I have forecasts.”
“You have a mother who says you haven't eaten dinner with her in three weeks.”
“I’m busy.”
“So was Grant.”
That hurt.
“Don't compare me to him.”
“I’m not.”
She held my gaze.
“I’m telling you control doesn't become healthy just because you use it for work.”
I sat back.
Good employees are expensive because they tell you things you don't want to hear.
I promoted Jasmine to COO six months later.
Not as reward for honesty.
Because she was excellent.
May you like
But honesty helped.
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