Six Scoops in a Pink Egg Carton
I love ice cream! It’s my guilty pleasure and one of my favorite summertime treats, especially on those evenings after dinner when the sun is still setting. On a recent trip to New England, we were excited to experience some of the ice cream shops that make the region one of the most ice cream-obsessed parts of the country.
And it felt like there were ice cream shops everywhere! Choosing which ones to try was not an easy task. What we quickly realized was that we were drawn to the places doing something a little different.
That’s how we stumbled upon Scoop Deck in Wells, Maine, a second-generation business that has been around for more than 40 years. They have over 70 flavors, but what caught our attention was their ice cream flight: six flavors served in a bright pink egg carton.
Leading up to our visit, everyone in the family was studying the flavor list and narrowing down which six we would choose. Of course, when we got there, we each decided we needed our own flight. When in Rome, right? It was fun, memorable, and delicious.
Ice cream is ice cream. When it’s great, it’s amazing, and when it’s bad, it’s still pretty good. So differentiating yourself can be challenging. But Scoop Deck, along with some of the other places we visited, reminded me that you don’t always have to reinvent something to make it better. Sometimes a small twist on something that is already great is enough to create a completely different experience.
I think we forget that in business and leadership. We spend a lot of time looking for the groundbreaking idea that will transform our company. A new strategy, a major initiative, or a completely different way of doing things.
There is certainly a time and place for big innovation, but most improvement doesn’t happen that way. It happens when we look at something we already do well and ask, “How could we make this just a little bit better?”
Maybe it’s adding a personal touch to your onboarding process. Changing the way you recognize someone for great work. Making a meeting more engaging. Improving one step in the customer experience. Or simply taking something ordinary and presenting it in a way people will remember.
None of those ideas are groundbreaking on their own. But small improvements compound, and over time they can have a significant impact on the experience we create for others.
Scoop Deck didn’t reinvent ice cream. They put six scoops in a pink egg carton. And that was enough to get my family talking about it before we arrived, taking pictures when we got there, and for me to still be thinking about it weeks later.
What could you make just a little bit better this week?
