The Sandwich

Emery Koenig is retired Vice Chairman and Chief Risk Officer at Cargill, where he worked for 37 years managing operations around the globe.

Emery shares a story of how he lived out his value of going beyond and showing special care for his coworker, and how that actually changed the culture of the workplace he was at.

Discussion Questions

1. Have you ever done something gracious for a fellow co-worker, like Emery’s example of warming up a sandwich for her? If so, how did it go? Was it noticed?
2. What are a couple of small things you can imagine doing for others in your workplace that would involve some self-sacrifice, but which would make others quite happy? Do you think it could change the culture of your workplace for the better?
3. Have you seen examples of the opposite? — Where people in a workplace or organization do not care for one another, and that kind of negative culture spreads? How can that sort of situation be turned around?

Possible Assignment/Activities

Watch this clip and then ask students to think of 3 concrete things they could do in a work environment which would likely improve the community and the sense of care for each other. How would they implement or initiate that practice?