How we got to The Third Place…
A note from Mary:
Four years ago, David and I met in a very happenstance way… A chance meeting became a fun business partnership that was built on conversations beyond coffee and tea (the industry we connected over originally). On many occasions, David would call to place a tea order or discuss a coffee shop's menu and an hour later we would be talking about the impact of compassionate business practices on the evolution of society. We would find ourselves talking about better business for the world, workshopping leadership modalities, and honestly discussing our challenges - all topics that are usually left out of simple business exchanges. Our business partnership became a friendship where we continued to have conversations that nourished and challenged each other, and the way of the world. When COVID-19 hit, we felt it was our duty to show up for those that were being called to pivot. We turned to our community in the coffee world to record a call that was about making space to process the pandemic, the tall order and change that came from it, and potential tools to survive amidst it all.
Our call was rich with useful tools and information and the feedback we received from participants encouraged us to consider sharing more of our everyday conversations. Whether recorded or not, we would have had the conversation about surviving COVID regardless, as these types of dialogues came naturally to us. In sharing a glimpse into our everyday conversations we hoped to help others feel seen, feel heard, and feel empowered to create The Third Place within themselves and for others.
A Note from David:
Throughout our conversations around business development and team culture, Mary and I began to become mirrors for each other in our personal and internal development. To be the change we wanted to see in our leadership, the best thing to do was to model the change in ourselves, right? To quote Gandhi, “If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him.”
All of my ideas around social enterprise and using business to bring social change hung on the principles of first doing. We have so many tough challenges today and in the days ahead, but I have found that through doing business the right way, and caring for people first, we have been able to deepen many social causes we care about. So to have someone who could help me in my own personal development only meant that I could be an even better leader, which guides me to building a more successful business, and ultimately enables our team to have continued growing impact.
Mary added to my perspectives, and while we have many things in common, we also had many different points of view, leading to many “grey” conversations, and highlighted a shared passion for helping people connect in physical third places like coffee shops and tea houses, where deeper dialogue was encouraged. These experiences only supported the idea that many perspectives, when fostered together, could help navigate many difficult conversations that our society is desperate to learn how to have. Through our friendship, we found safety in having harder conversations around leadership and our team cultures… we became stronger leaders, and challenged each other in the ideas of servant leadership, pushing each other to continue to create safe places emotionally for our teams so that we could truly build into those that we worked with on a daily basis.
The conversations we are now sharing through our podcast are simply an extension of the conversations we were challenging ourselves with. We always walked away from calls blessed, encouraged and challenged. Now, we hope to share the same with you.
So, what is The Third Place Podcast?
The Third Place podcast is a breath of fresh air.
It is an invitation to the grey space - a space that is safe where deeper connections are fostered through challenging, empowering, and engaging dialogue.
We welcome you to explore the third place with us, where you will walk away with a deeper understanding of self, equipped to exchange with others in life’s complex conversations.
We thank you for listening, engaging, and supporting us, and we invite you into The Third Place.
Be well,
Mary Allard and David Gaines
