Chocolate and my wife have a special bond. Just a whiff causes endorphins to dance in her brain. My “chocolate,” though, is pizza. Ahhhhh, a Giordano’s deep-dish, a Pappa Rollo’s four-meat special, or an authentic oven-baked Italian pie. Pizza and I have a “thing.”

Each stage of my life had its special pizza. As a kid, it was Mom’s Chef Boyardee pizza. Our college hangout was TJ’s Pizza. Anna and I got engaged at a local pizza joint. When we moved to Texas, though, I heard about the pizza version of Chick-Fil-A – CiCi’s – great food served by outrageously caring people. Like Anna’s chocolate, I didn’t just like CiCi’s. I craved it.

When CiCi’s asked me to join their strategic team, though, I experienced something far greater than pizza, something I craved even more . . . world-class service. For example, our people canoed pizzas to flood-swollen neighborhoods. We cared for a special needs adult so well that his eulogy was about feeling loved at CiCi’s. We jumped counters, engaged enthusiastically, and cared deeply because we loved wowing people.

In those 14 years at CiCi’s, I learned a fundamental truth that forever changed my life. And it can change yours too. That truth is this: It’s all about the sauce and how you serve it.

  1. It’s all about the sauce

Initially, I thought that CiCi’s simply served dough with stuff on it. But later I realized that the secret wasn’t the stuff; it was the “sauce.” Not the tomato-based flavor that covered our dough, our secret sauce was an undeniable, undaunted culture that covered our team.

Great families, like great pizzas, also have a secret sauce – the character ingredients and recipes that flavor everything in their lives. Your sauce isn’t the entrée, but it accentuates and complements the main things in your life, starting with your family’s character.

In my upcoming book Well Done, Mom & Dad!, I show fun, memorable ways for parents to create a secret sauce of character in their kids. They learn how secret sauces aren’t microwaved; they’re simmered over time by applying just the right amount of heat. And as long as you don’t put too much sauce on your kids’ plates, it can enhance your kids’ lives as well as their eternity.

  1. And how you serve it

Great sauces are wasted, though, if not served with excellence and care. That’s why CiCi’s was in the service business, not the pizza business. Pizza was simply our tool to wow. Then again, wow service always starts at the top and flows down – at work and at home. You can’t make kids choose great character, but you can help them crave it by living your chosen qualities with integrity.

What changed my life, though, wasn’t the pizza of CiCi’s; it was the people of CiCi’s. Although we won countless awards and served 100+ million guests annually, our secret sauce was a team that knew its sauce (“exceed every guest’s expectations”) and served our raving fans with excellence and care. And although we never called ourselves a “Christian company,” our sauce was flavored by a Christ-centered leadership team that loved to serve, not be served (Matthew 20:28).

Here are just a few of the ways CiCi’s people forever changed me:

  • Showed me that customers need you to wow their heart.
  • Let me fail small so that I could win big.
  • Modeled over-the-top generosity.
  • Catalyzed my career without compromising my convictions.
  • Empowered me to reveal my team members’ true value.
  • Stripped off layers of pride, exposing my real strengths.
  • Prepared me to obey God’s call later to be my church’s Executive Pastor.

From Joe Croce, I learned unrelenting excellence.

From Kimberly Croce, nudging your spouse’s rudder without steering their ship.

From Forbes & Lisa Anderson, mutual respect and deep Christian friendship.

From Bob Kulick, investing in your team.

From Craig Moore, rising to the challenge.

From Mike Shumsky and Bill Spae, never letting good or better rest.

From Larry Minton, prideless teamwork.

Pure optimism, from Joe Flanagan, Jim Sheahan, and Bob Meason.

Creativity at its finest, from Tom Koenisgberg, Nancy Hampton, and Steve Hawter.

Genuine grace, from Sue Tinsley, Lori Bolin, and Jon Foster.

Faithfulness in the details, from Elizabeth Grubach, Cim Lawrence, and Heather Downing.

Giving your best, from Jeff Moran, Jessica Tauaefa, and Shawn Lawler.

Functional expertise, from Quinn Newhall, Kyle Smith, and Mark Kiefer.

And living your own secret sauce, from Tommy Marlin, Mike Tolleson, Kelly McCann, Jeff Hetsel, Pat Williamson, and hundreds of franchisees.

Pizza can change your life too by learning the lessons taught by its finest people. If you will, your sauce and how you serve it will become your family’s craveable “chocolate.”

 

Questions: What’s your family secret sauce, and how do you serve it? Do your kids crave it, even if they don’t yet understand it or won’t admit it? Are your kids raving fans of your service?