Episode show notes
A business established in the 16th century carries with it an enormous heritage. Rather than seeing that as an anchor, Mary and Jane Quicke consider it an empowering inspiration.
Quicke’s Traditional started life in 1540, and as it continues under the 14th and 15th generation custodians who join us on It Runs In The Family, we’re afforded a glimpse of their values, vulnerability and vivacious passion for the business.
This episode covers:
- The empowering sense of guardianship in the 14th & 15th generation pairing of Mary and Jane Quicke
- Supportive baton-passing that encourages succession
- The business’ remarkable move towards international sales
- Pride in a family firm’s values, and how it combines the collective strengths of every team member
Episode highlights
“My grandfather was told by the milk buyer of Exeter ‘We don’t want your milk today, Mr. Quicke’. My dad always felt that what we should do in this business is make things that people actually wanted to buy, that it was under our control about whether the business was a success or not. ” – 5:15 – Mary Quicke
“I spend a lot of time on the road with our customers or at events, listening to what’s going on and seeing what other people are doing and understanding that. But I think to get both sides of the story, the next step for me is to go and spend time on the farm and understand how it all works, to be able to put those things together.” – 14:15 – Jane Quicke
“I think Mary’s leadership style is democratic, they call it servant leadership. I think that it’s very effective in this quite complex organisation with people who are experts in very different things.” – 18:20 – Jane Quicke
“I have had some experience that I can bring back, but had I not seen the business before going, maybe I wouldn’t have had that same ability to reflect. So yeah, I’ve worked within the business in some capacity, pretty much throughout my life.” – 33:05 – Jane Quicke
“We’ve just had a discussion at our directors meeting about the things we value as a business, and we realised that we value that history and longevity. There’s something about really valuing the beauty of it.” – 37:55 – Mary Quicke
“Getting coaching and mentoring from people in the industry and beyond in a similar role has made me realise, there’s some things I could be better at and do slightly differently, but actually, how I’m being is not terrible. That’s been very comforting, and I wish I’d had that earlier.” – 53:40 – Jane Quicke
“People are so generous with their views, trust people to give you some interesting insights. You may not do what they say, but all of it will make you think. That’s the really important thing – you’re always thinking, always flexible, always creative, and always developing.” – 54:15 – Mary Quicke