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Lunch with Lucy: Maximize Profits by Investing in Your People
Transformational Leadership Through Empathy
When entrepreneur Sherry Deutschmann first decided to start a business, she knew she wanted to build something totally different. In her first book, Lunch with Lucy, Sherry tells the story of the creation of that company, LetterLogic, and how she turned it into a $40-million company by putting employees first—even ahead of customers and shareholders.
Putting her people first took many forms, with an extremely generous profit sharing plan and fair living wages among them. But the centerpiece and heart of LetterLogic’s culture was the employee-centric practice Sherry designed called “Lunch with Lucy”—a practice that removed the hierarchical dynamics found in most organizations.
On any given Wednesday, any employee could invite “Lucy” (Sherry’s midday moniker) out to lunch, at a place of their choice, with the bill picked up by Sherry. At these events, Sherry wasn’t the CEO. She was “Lucy,” a co-worker. By making herself 100% available, “Lucy” created a judgment-free environment where she could learn about a team member’s dreams, ambitions, and challenges—and gain their insight into what she was doing right or wrong as a leader. She credits this approach with the success of her company.
Lunch with Lucy’s interior, refreshingly laid out like courses on a menu, invites us to see how a leader’s choices directly impact employee morale, engagement, and commitment—and in this author’s case, ultimately led to a healthy and hearty bottom line. Sherry’s voice is new, and her honesty, humor, and humility shine through this story of a woman building a successful business through empathetic leadership and uncommon, commonsense business practices, one lunch at a time.
Sit down at the table and learn about a business model that is truly transformational.
When entrepreneur Sherry Deutschmann first decided to start a business, she knew she wanted to build something totally different. In her first book, Lunch with Lucy, Sherry tells the story of the creation of that company, LetterLogic, and how she turned it into a $40-million company by putting employees first—even ahead of customers and shareholders.
Putting her people first took many forms, with an extremely generous profit sharing plan and fair living wages among them. But the centerpiece and heart of LetterLogic’s culture was the employee-centric practice Sherry designed called “Lunch with Lucy”—a practice that removed the hierarchical dynamics found in most organizations.
On any given Wednesday, any employee could invite “Lucy” (Sherry’s midday moniker) out to lunch, at a place of their choice, with the bill picked up by Sherry. At these events, Sherry wasn’t the CEO. She was “Lucy,” a co-worker. By making herself 100% available, “Lucy” created a judgment-free environment where she could learn about a team member’s dreams, ambitions, and challenges—and gain their insight into what she was doing right or wrong as a leader. She credits this approach with the success of her company.
Lunch with Lucy’s interior, refreshingly laid out like courses on a menu, invites us to see how a leader’s choices directly impact employee morale, engagement, and commitment—and in this author’s case, ultimately led to a healthy and hearty bottom line. Sherry’s voice is new, and her honesty, humor, and humility shine through this story of a woman building a successful business through empathetic leadership and uncommon, commonsense business practices, one lunch at a time.
Sit down at the table and learn about a business model that is truly transformational.
196 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 10, 2020
25 people are currently reading
729 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
March 4, 2020
Adorable and enjoyable read
Sherry is such a dreamer, it almost hurt to read about her choice to take her three year old and pursue a singing career with very little experience. I mean, I know Trump somehow got a high paying job with zero experience, but that doesn't mean it's a good idea.
So we have Sherry, a single mother with $200 and a knack for cleaning toilets. She's approached by a headhunter, goes to see this office where there is exactly no plan whatsoever in place (but they have faith! And a dream!) And goes "these are my people."
She learns her people are completely hopeless (eventually) and goes to make her own business everything the hopeless cult was not.
Y'all, there were tears. I need a movie of this. But overall this is a great narrative about how putting your employees first won't actually sink your business. Even if your little Grinch heart can't handle being nice and empathetic for the hell of it, think of it this way: Happy Employees = engagement. Engagement = productivity. Not only will engaged employees perform their own work well, they will willingly do extra work for no additional pay (like Sherry did before the cult went South)
It's really a win-win for everybody.
I received this book from a Goodreads giveaway
Sherry is such a dreamer, it almost hurt to read about her choice to take her three year old and pursue a singing career with very little experience. I mean, I know Trump somehow got a high paying job with zero experience, but that doesn't mean it's a good idea.
So we have Sherry, a single mother with $200 and a knack for cleaning toilets. She's approached by a headhunter, goes to see this office where there is exactly no plan whatsoever in place (but they have faith! And a dream!) And goes "these are my people."
She learns her people are completely hopeless (eventually) and goes to make her own business everything the hopeless cult was not.
Y'all, there were tears. I need a movie of this. But overall this is a great narrative about how putting your employees first won't actually sink your business. Even if your little Grinch heart can't handle being nice and empathetic for the hell of it, think of it this way: Happy Employees = engagement. Engagement = productivity. Not only will engaged employees perform their own work well, they will willingly do extra work for no additional pay (like Sherry did before the cult went South)
It's really a win-win for everybody.
I received this book from a Goodreads giveaway
March 31, 2020
I'm on a culture kick right now, devouring books on organizational culture, so getting the opportunity to review "Lunch With Lucy," by Sherry Deutschmann, was a real treat. Sherry's entire book is written in the tone of a friendly mentor sharing her trade secrets with her reader. Not surprisingly, Sherry's recipe for success can be distilled down into five words: take care of your people. The surprising part for me is just how much opposition she's faced in trying to implement this principle throughout her career.
Sherry gives some background for the moment she decided "enough is enough" and struck out on her own as an entrepreneur: dissatisfaction with lack of response from leadership at her previous employer, an urgent need to provide for her daughter as a single mom, and the perennial challenge of being a woman in a man's work world. She started her own company, LetterLogic, on a shoestring budget, then sold the company for 7x it's EBIDTA in 2016.
The title comes from her practice of empathetic listening. The CEO alter-ego she adopted, "Lucy", took her employees to lunch every week, sometimes in groups, sometimes one-on-one, and get to know them personally. Some of it was mentorship, some of it was friendship, but all of it was investing in her people and making them feel heard. There are many other elements of the culture she built at LetterLogic - like 10% profit sharing with employees - that contributed to the company's success - but at the heart of it all is Sherry's heart and passion for people.
If you're drowning in a toxic culture or are building a business and want to see what success truly looks like, check out Lunch With Lucy!
Sherry gives some background for the moment she decided "enough is enough" and struck out on her own as an entrepreneur: dissatisfaction with lack of response from leadership at her previous employer, an urgent need to provide for her daughter as a single mom, and the perennial challenge of being a woman in a man's work world. She started her own company, LetterLogic, on a shoestring budget, then sold the company for 7x it's EBIDTA in 2016.
The title comes from her practice of empathetic listening. The CEO alter-ego she adopted, "Lucy", took her employees to lunch every week, sometimes in groups, sometimes one-on-one, and get to know them personally. Some of it was mentorship, some of it was friendship, but all of it was investing in her people and making them feel heard. There are many other elements of the culture she built at LetterLogic - like 10% profit sharing with employees - that contributed to the company's success - but at the heart of it all is Sherry's heart and passion for people.
If you're drowning in a toxic culture or are building a business and want to see what success truly looks like, check out Lunch With Lucy!
March 10, 2020
This book was a interesting read even for someone who is not a business owner or entrepreneur. The book is structured like a three course menu with dessert at the finish. At the beginning of each chapter you have a list of ingredients or talking points or actions and at the end of the chapter with words of wisdom in takeout boxes.
This follows the authors struggles to find sufficient jobs to take care of herself and her daughter she is raising as a single parent. Most of her jobs revolve around sales which leader to sales for a printing services which eventually leads to her developing a vary successful medical billing facility. The business is based on the actions that as a worker bee most everyone would wish for in their work environment. The author can relate as she faced many of the same struggles. She accomplishes the success in her company by having meals with her people getting to know them and developing a culture that is practices through out the company. I received an ARC from NetGalley for a fair and honest review
In my opinion this is one of the better self-help business books out there. Invest a couple of hours and get some great return on your time investment it will be well worth it.
This follows the authors struggles to find sufficient jobs to take care of herself and her daughter she is raising as a single parent. Most of her jobs revolve around sales which leader to sales for a printing services which eventually leads to her developing a vary successful medical billing facility. The business is based on the actions that as a worker bee most everyone would wish for in their work environment. The author can relate as she faced many of the same struggles. She accomplishes the success in her company by having meals with her people getting to know them and developing a culture that is practices through out the company. I received an ARC from NetGalley for a fair and honest review
In my opinion this is one of the better self-help business books out there. Invest a couple of hours and get some great return on your time investment it will be well worth it.
May 4, 2020
Lunch with Lucy (Sherry Stewart Deutschmann) should be required reading for anyone who wants to build or maintain a great culture at work. This is written from the entrepreneur’s viewpoint, but the underlying theme of empathy can be administered by anyone in any workplace. Multiple times the author gives examples of how people who are at the bottom of a traditional org chart were often the most critical to the work and to the culture of LetterLogic.
Because that person at the bottom of the org chart is often so important, the author scrapped the boxes and lines usually found on an org chart and showed the organization’s structure with a bicycle wheel with the tire, hub, and spokes.
Two of my favorite quotes from the book:
Regarding referring to having a culture of family at work:
But knowing how dysfunctional many families are, we modified our model and encouraged everyone to treat one another as they’d treat their favorite cousin.
The importance of learning to say no:
(I) learned the hard way (and I keep learning) that saying no not only opens more doors; it opens better doors.
I “won” an e-copy of Lunch with Lucy that I read on my Kindle app.
Because that person at the bottom of the org chart is often so important, the author scrapped the boxes and lines usually found on an org chart and showed the organization’s structure with a bicycle wheel with the tire, hub, and spokes.
Two of my favorite quotes from the book:
Regarding referring to having a culture of family at work:
But knowing how dysfunctional many families are, we modified our model and encouraged everyone to treat one another as they’d treat their favorite cousin.
The importance of learning to say no:
(I) learned the hard way (and I keep learning) that saying no not only opens more doors; it opens better doors.
I “won” an e-copy of Lunch with Lucy that I read on my Kindle app.
February 5, 2020
The description for this book was interesting and I wanted to learn more about the employee first culture that the author describes. The premise of the book is pretty simple and the author illustrates her points using the experiences she had running her company LetterLogic. The anecdotes are engaging and the author makes the point that these are universally applicable in principle if not exactly as policies. The author is clearly connected to her team and her care shows, though it would have also been useful to get more context around the business arc of the company itself and changes that happened over time chronologically to see what policies emerged over time and what impact they had on the organization as a whole.
I received this book as an ARC from netgalley. All opinions my own.
I received this book as an ARC from netgalley. All opinions my own.
March 5, 2020
If you are starting an entrepreneurship journey or looking to be a better leader in your company, Lunch with Lucy is a phenomenal place to start.
Lunch with Lucy is about the kind of leaders employees crave and how to become one. It is written in accessible, non CEO language. It is about more than leadership. There are basic human people skills built in that many people need to work on. There are business building blocks in there too.
I love this book. I cannot say enough good things about this book. It's easy to read, engaging, and lays the groundwork for leaders to choose their employees first.
Lunch with Lucy is about the kind of leaders employees crave and how to become one. It is written in accessible, non CEO language. It is about more than leadership. There are basic human people skills built in that many people need to work on. There are business building blocks in there too.
I love this book. I cannot say enough good things about this book. It's easy to read, engaging, and lays the groundwork for leaders to choose their employees first.
April 7, 2020
Given that I am not an entrepreneur, I was suspicious if this book was for me, but as it turns out I couldn’t be more wrong. My favorite chapter is the one on the Power of Saying No, the other ones were close calls as well.
The standout from the book is it’s conversational / storytelling style, honest and openness about the mistakes and the key takeaways. And off course it’s a balanced book in the sense it is transparent as it recommends the leadership methods and techniques whilst advising when they work and when they don’t.
So I will definitely recommend this book for all budding leaders / entrepreneurs, and off course it goes into my Must have Leadership books.
The standout from the book is it’s conversational / storytelling style, honest and openness about the mistakes and the key takeaways. And off course it’s a balanced book in the sense it is transparent as it recommends the leadership methods and techniques whilst advising when they work and when they don’t.
So I will definitely recommend this book for all budding leaders / entrepreneurs, and off course it goes into my Must have Leadership books.
February 27, 2020
As a fellow woman business owner, reading this book inspired me, reminded me of what I needed to do so much more of. The book shares so many incredible ways to acknowledge your people who ultimately are the driving force of your company. This book was a gift and the timing of reading it was so invaluable. I am more determined then ever to implement ways to recognize my employees even more . Sherry's strength and conviction to love on her people is a true testimony to why she is as successful and beautiful inside and out as a person.
May 24, 2020
I liked this book. It was very Sheryl Sandberg-esq without the emphasis on female leadership. Not that female leadership isn’t implicit in the book because the author is a woman but it’s mostly about utilizing the people, male or female, in your circle to further your business. She makes some fairly simple points but she shows real examples of how they’ve worked to actually increase productivity while also making her feel like a decent human for making those changes.
It’s a call to change and I think she gives good and easy to follow advice on the topic.
It’s a call to change and I think she gives good and easy to follow advice on the topic.
May 31, 2020
Great book! Every entrepreneur should read this and take it to heart. If all businesses worked this way what a wonderful world this would be. I worked for a business that was completely opposite of this. The company hired someone who started bringing the company around to the "Lucy" way. Things were going well. Then the owner's son-in-law got in his ear and made a 180 degree turn. The company became an awful place to work and after 26 years with the company, I walked away.
Oh, to work for Lucy!
Oh, to work for Lucy!
April 18, 2020
I received this book as a Goodreads giveaway. I loved this book, I was hungry to finish it! Previously a manager in business, I found the concept of her business brilliant and interesting. This is an excellent book for anyone to read, feels like the author is speaking directly to the reader. Highly recommend.
May 7, 2020
Basically, I want to work for Sherry. This has been tremendously helpful in making my needs as an employee feel seen and it gives me great hope that there ARE companies out there who care about their employees. Currently trying to get out of one that doesn’t care about their employees, but this gives me hope!
May 20, 2020
This book is spot on! Simply written (a fast read) with a powerful message: Take care of your people and they will take care of the business!
The author's main message can be summarized in 2 bullets:
a) It's not about putting the customer first, it IS about creating an environment in which everyone realizes opinion and input is valued, and they truly do contribute to the overall success.
b) People closest to the problems are also closest to finding creative solutions.
What brings the book to life more so than the bits of wisdom are the personal revelations and examples. Excellent read for a leader in any, ANY, organization!
The author's main message can be summarized in 2 bullets:
a) It's not about putting the customer first, it IS about creating an environment in which everyone realizes opinion and input is valued, and they truly do contribute to the overall success.
b) People closest to the problems are also closest to finding creative solutions.
What brings the book to life more so than the bits of wisdom are the personal revelations and examples. Excellent read for a leader in any, ANY, organization!
April 15, 2020
I won this book through a Goodreads giveaway and while I'm not an entrepreneur this was a really good resource for me in my current career path. I can definitely apply what I've learned to what I do daily with my own team.
May 30, 2020
I love this book. What a refreshing take on leadership. You can see how deep the empathic culture runs in the author's business. She makes it seem very achievable for companies to take such better care of their employees.
Thank you for the copy I received through a Goodreads Giveaway.
Thank you for the copy I received through a Goodreads Giveaway.
May 9, 2021
Sherry Stewart Deutschmann is a local entrepreneur in Nashville, and her book did not disappoint. From the format with quotes and "takeout boxes" of vital information to the stories she shared, everything about this book spoke to me.
August 3, 2021
This is a fantastic book. I happened to read it at a time that I’d recently hired a great group of people. It made me very conscious of “creating culture “ as I refined my systems. They are now firmly built around my team. Bravo Sherry!
March 14, 2022
Lots of hard earned wisdom
A quick and entertaining read with sound business advice from a thoughtful businesswoman. The basic thesis is to put employees first and never stop learning. Very inspirational.
A quick and entertaining read with sound business advice from a thoughtful businesswoman. The basic thesis is to put employees first and never stop learning. Very inspirational.
April 2, 2020
Great. Helpful and beneficial. Easy to understand. I agree.
May 11, 2020
I received this book as a Goodreads giveaway. Great advice that you can use both in business and personal life. I was engrossed from beginning to end. I will definitely recommend it.
May 23, 2020
Compelling proof that "people before profits" CAN work.
June 1, 2020
Excellent book!!!
May 20, 2021
Fantastic book about leading with empathy.
May 19, 2020
Lunch with Lucy... an inspiring journey following one female entrepreneur as she recounts business savvy strategies she employed throughout her career. Successes, challenging and difficult moments, and her signature lunchtime conversations with employees to casually gather honest opinions of the company's operations- what works and what doesn't- are all discussed.
April 30, 2024
The description pulled me in but Sherry’s story telling is what got me hooked on this book. The simple steps she has taken to run her business as a CEO can easily translate to any individual working in any business. Loved the book and will be referencing it for many years to come.
March 12, 2023
Work = Family. Lessons many employers can learn.
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews