The Ice Cream Maker: an inspiring tale about making quality the key ingredient in everything you do

Author: Subir Chowdhury
Date Finished: 4/8/06

Having broken through my reading slump, I'm showing my complete lack of taste when it comes to reading non-fiction. I'm a sucker for any kind of rah-rah business motivational or personal philosophy, i.e. Seven Habits or my new obsession, Getting Things Done (which I have read at least three times while soaking in the bathtub, an irony that is not lost on me). Ice Cream Maker is the worst kind of that genre, a cute little tale about an ice cream factory faced with financial failure and an executive who turns things around by modeling the leadership strategies of his mentor.

What rings completely hollow (other than the general putting-off-the-real-world-nature of reading motivational books in the first place) is that the narrative is in the first person, told through the eyes of the CEO of the company, "Pete". Ummm, is "Pete" the new nickname for Subir? Just wondering.


On the other hand, the book does bring up a good point, albeit not the ultimate solution to all problems of all organizations, everywhere. That is, thinking about the quality of your activities can bring about some pretty amazing results. Thinking about my own life (because it's my blog and it's all about me), I struggle with this question all the time. What is the quality of my decision not to work in order to be home with our kids? On the days they watch television from dawn to dusk while I pitch a fit about all the cleaning I'm doing....not so good. On the days we walk around the neighborhood for no particular reason, go to the park after school just because it's a brilliant spring day or read ten books at bedtime instead of our customary three....it's better.

Here's a link from a home-schooling mom and freelance writer that ties into these thoughts a little: It All Begins With Me. Mrs. M-mv talks about her need to set a quality example in order for her family's homeschooling enterprise to succeed. I highly suggest following up with some of the thoughts on education and parenting at the bottom of this entry; this family's approach to learning is fascinating and inspiring. In short, you could skip the hokey fable of The Ice Cream Maker and find much of its message in the family M-mv's true story.