Law #3.. but what are these "laws?"
Hey friends!
Check out the definitions of these laws in our first article here (and read more about Law #1), or read all of the laws here for the quick definitions.
If you've been following along, you know we've covered the first two laws in the blogs linked to below. This is the third and final immutable law of Joe Brewski; I've been eager to write about this one. This is one we get really excited about.
But first, a quick review. Joe's Immutable Laws.
This is what we believe.
- There's No Prestige In Busyness.
- Ladies and Gentlemen Serving Ladies and Gentlemen.
- Keep the Fingerprints.
September 1st, we talked about #1: "There's No Prestige in Busyness."
Once we've slowed down, we can truly look each other in the eyes. And we have to practice this for a while: being present with each other. Otherwise, it's just theory.
After that, we can begin to serve and show up for one another. Enter #2: "Ladies and Gentlemen Serving Ladies and Gentlemen." This digs into the value we believe each and all people hold, hitting on why we love community, service, diversity, and unity. And it grounds us.
We are grounded as we see each other as who we're made to be, living it out.
This leads to the 3rd and final Immutable Law here at Joe. Perhaps the most simple, most FUN, most realistic, and most workplace-culture-inspiring law, we've got to Keep the Fingerprints.
Keep the Fingerprints
YUP.
Let's define it:
We believe we are created by the creator to be creative. Push the envelope. Try things that might fail. Try a new recipe. If the cookies burn, try again. Perfection is not expected. Create with love as your only restraint. Do not fear revisions. Don't hide your mistakes. Permission to live unfiltered, granted. - Nate Templeton
Put simply, we're humans. Each with a fingerprint, each leaving a different mark. We're not robots, and we can't be replaced.
Your smile has been given to you; its yours and yours alone! What a gift. We love that.
Have you ever seen a kiddo leave a giant hand-smudge on a window? I'm talking full palm to the glass, all the oiliness, fingerprints, and all. No way they didn't do that on purpose, you think to yourself. Do they not see that?!! It's laughable; it's cute. Was that bad? Did it bring a smile to your face? Sometimes. It was a "mistake," but it was a fingerprint.
And that's not a bad thing.
And if you're like us, you probably make mistakes from time to time. Have you ever accidentally touched a wall with wet paint? Or stuck your hand in cement to leave a mark as it dries?
One is a mistake, one is a fingerprint left behind: on purpose.
We've realized that a lot of what we call "mistakes" aren't always so bad after all. They can actually serve to make us laugh, make us smile, and help us see the good in each other.
We make a lot of "mistakes."
..but most of them are just fingerprints.
And we think it's worth it to leave them behind: on purpose.
Fun fact.
We used to hand-paint every growler we sent out. Recently, someone brought in one of our old yellow hand-painted growlers. Upon inspection, it had a fingerprint smack dab in Joe's eyeball..
and we love it.
It's imperfect; it's good. It tells you that someone was behind the coffee you're drinking; it tells us that we're just people serving people. When we ruin a drink (come on, we're all people here. Of course we mess up drinks), we remake it for you. But if we ever leave a fingerprint, we keep it for you.
We still hand-paint every box we ship and every 5lb bag you buy.
If you look close, you'll be able to find fingerprints on a lot of those items we ship. We value those fingerprints. We're messy, y'all!! Aren't we all? We want to bring you the absolute best product: and we will. But there ain't no faking perfection. We believe that we serve you better when we keep the fingerprints; without people, what's the point?
That coffee can't love you worth a darn. But others can, and a great place to do that is over a cup of coffee. Coffee helps us unite, come together, and keep our fingerprints.
So while we love to see you in our shop, this is why we aim to be coffee where you're at. So you can share moments with those you love; we'll be here for the refill.
See you soon, ladies and gentlemen.
Thanks for reading.
