Coffee Creates Influence

Leadership looks different depending on the chair you sit in. If you’re sitting in one of the chairs in the chemotherapy center at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, leadership looks like a white-haired stranger bringing you your favorite beverage from Starbucks.

Every Thursday at 10:30 Dan Dewey walks into Starbucks and places a huge order full of custom coffee drinks selected by the patients who are receiving chemotherapy at the hospital just down the street. Dan Dewey is not just delivering coffee; he’s delivering hope.

At Leadercast, we uphold certain ideals that are the essence of a Leader Worth Following. One of those ideals is something we call “Beyond You." Simply put, Beyond You means that you leverage your influence for the sake of others.

Dan Dewey doesn’t have influence in the sense that many think of it. He’s not a CEO or a political figure. He doesn’t wield great power through title, position, or income. In fact, he’s largely reliant upon donations from strangers to continue doing the coffee run every Thursday.

Dan Dewey’s influence comes from a much more fundamental place: a place of action. Influence is action. Take a step. Make a call. Cross the hall. Extend an apology. Create something. Buy a coffee.

Action brings your influence to life. Do something to spark the flame of your influence, then leverage that influence for the sake of others. That mindset builds leadership worth following.