Just One More Question

It started out like any normal morning in an office that offers up free coffee, bagels, and donuts throughout the day. Little did I know that just “one question” would change the direction of my career and my life forever.

We were preparing for a media tour to celebrate a new discovery: our head coffee buyer had a mouth full of exceptional taste buds. Ok. So maybe it was slow in the news generation department, but just like wine experts, MT’s tongue and his ability to point out quality differentials were key to our value proposition. We thought the media would love it. Our PR firm, Cone Communications, called in the media training big guns, because rightfully so they didn’t want the Director of Marketing (me) to go off-script. Mike Lawrence was our coach, and coach us he did. A former reporter, Mike had the ability to throw us off track, teach us how to come back, and then slide another tough question back into the mix. It was with cameras rolling that Mike looked at me and said just one more question:

“What is Dunkin’ Donuts’ position on child labor in Guatemala?”

Well, of course, my response was “Umm. Well. Jeez. I don’t know. I’m pretty sure we don’t have a position on child labor in Guatemala- or any social issue for that matter. (We didn’t) Why do you ask? Aren’t we talking about MT’s tongue?” Mike: “Because it's a hot topic right now and you better have an answer.” Starbucks, which at that point had just 1100 stores, was under attack by Global Exchange and it was rumored that we were next. That was 1998. Long before “CSR” was “CSR” or shared value, or corporate citizenship.

Little did I know that this question was a gift, and would lead me to ask another: What is the private sector’s role in addressing social issues? My brilliant partner in crime, Katie Dadagian, suggested we explore all of the issues that affect coffee growers — not just child labor. And explore we did. I’ll save the details for another blog on the what, how, why, and outcome of our efforts to alter a multinational’s supply chain from the inside, but suffice it to say, that after my first trip to Central America I was hooked. I fell in love with the coffee farmers and their families who work tirelessly (with their children by their side — BTW) so we can mindlessly roll out of bed each morning and savor a cup of coffee.

I was definitely standing at a fork in the road. A single mom at the time, I had every right to stay put and play it safe — so of course, I threw in the towel, dove head over heels into graduate school debt, and changed the direction of my career and my life forever. And I never looked back. Well, maybe a few times.

And finally — there is the icing on the proverbial cake. I am fortunate to have lectured at Yale — leading optimistic global affairs majors through their capstone research project. At some point early in the semester — I encouraged them not to stress about their careers and landing that perfect first job because someone, like Mike, will probably come along and ask them a question that just might change their life.

I’d be curious to hear if anyone else has had a similar experience. What was your question?

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