I was out shopping yesterday and it seemed like everyone in town had the same idea. There were lines everywhere! I’m sure that same frenzy is occurring in warehouses and shipping facilities but we are shielded from it; the packages just show up at our door with the calmness they do in April.
In The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon, author Brad Stone recounts the story of Amazon’s earlier days when they only had two warehouses and more orders than they could fulfill. Rather than put the holiday spirit for thousands — and the business itself — in peril, Amazon required everyone to work two overnight shifts to help fulfill orders. Executives, friends, and family members all rallied together in their “Save Santa” program that included contests, food carts, and lots of coffee to get people through the rush.
Amazon has come a long way since the emergency and now operate 110 highly sophisticated distribution centers, but that esprit de corps effort in 1998 probably made everything else possible.
You can’t run on overdrive all the time, but the right mission and culture can allow you to dig deep on occasion when it is truly warranted. The “all-hands-on-deck” effort, provided it truly is all hands and truly an exceptional need, can help create a sense of camaraderie and belonging while achieving a nearly impossible goal. Don’t be afraid to “Save Santa” — once.
