We caught up with Dr. Meadows to ask him five (plus one!) quick questions:

What drew you to Zingerman’s?
As an Ann Arbor resident, I have heard of and enjoyed the culinary delight that is the Zingerman brand. In recent years, I became aware of Zingerman’s strategic focus on the training and development of its employees.

Why are you interested in participating in our Speaker Series?
Like those who have presented in this series, I was drawn to the Zingerman commitment to ‘serving’ (I couldn’t resist) the broader community through activities beyond satisfying the hunger cravings. The Speaker Series represents a strong statement by Zingerman’s, to the community, about developing people. Who wouldn’t want to be a part of that kind of experience?

You are the Lull Doctor. Would you, briefly, tell us what the lull is?
The lull represents an ‘unrecognized opportunity’ that, when given just the slightest attention, can make a positive difference for the individual and the organization. The opportunities I speak of are, typically, found within the people employed by the organization.

How did you get into the business of helping businesses with the Lull?
Like most things that happen with us, circumstances dictated and directed my interest. Most of it came as a result of the layoffs and downsizing of the 90’s and into the 21st Century. Productivity was driven by mastering technology and along the way, we forgot that people

Diversity is a hot topic right now. How do you define diversity?
Diversity is a ‘hot’ topic, but my goal is to make it a ‘continuous’ area of ‘collaborative performance’. For now, diversity is defined as ‘identifiable characteristics’ that distinguish one group from another.

Would you give us a, brief, summary of what you’ll cover in your Speaker Series session?
I will present information that builds on the current reality, (Diversity has been and will always be a part of our lives) and focuses our efforts on building the best ‘performance-based’ collaborative teams that builds on the best skills of the diverse workforce.