We had a woman come into the Chocolate Pizza Company Store the other day who bought a bunch of assorted chocolate dipped cookies. She said she started putting them on the conference table before her weekly staff meeting. “No one was ever late,” she smiled. Her revelation was validation for that time honored business truism – food is the one agenda item everyone pays attention to.

Science in Every Bite

Of course, there is a bit of science in the pre-meeting cookie strategy. Instinctively, we want to be toward the front of the line when there’s a choice to be made so that we have the most options to choose from. If you know there is an assortment of say vanilla, mint or peanut butter flavor cookies – and a limited quantity of each – then if your favorite is the mint cookie you want to be early to the meeting so your selection chances are best.

There’s also the sugar boost that comes with America’s favorite sandwich cookie dipped in gourmet milk chocolate and drizzled with more chocolate. Sugar molecules supercharge your system and give a nice little bump in your energy and attention span. Helpful qualities for those long, dreary business meetings.

Finally, there’s the happy hormone effect. Tryptophan is an amino acid found in chocolate that your brain uses to make serotonin which engenders the feeling of happiness. Also, the sensation of chocolate melting in your mouth is one that the brain associates with pleasant feelings which triggers the brain to make more endorphins – those happy tickets for our mood. There is also a subconscious connection when we eat chocolate since often in childhood chocolate was associated with celebrations, rewards or holidays. Those memories are being unconsciously evoked when you enjoy chocolate.

Your co-workers think they’re just eating a delicious snack but the smart leader knows they are subtly slipping everyone into a good mood going into the meeting. Start those discussions on the right foot with everyone smiling.

All that in one chocolate dipped cookie from Chocolate Pizza Company!

Make it social

While the individually wrapped chocolate dipped cookies are a cool idea, leaders can take it to the next level with a couple whole Chocolate Pizzas ahead of the meeting – say one milk chocolate and one dark chocolate variety. Pizza has been a fixture of business gatherings since the ancient Romans first dropped in on their neighbors. Pizza has earned its place in the business meetings hall of fame. But watch your colleagues faces light up when they lift the pizza box lid and discover that the old tired pepperoni ‘za has been replaced with mouth-watering gourmet Chocolate Pizza. Mic drop moment!

Chocolate Pizza Company creates its signature product by blending the highest grade Swiss-style chocolate with homemade English toffee that they make on-site, in small batches for maximum flavor, from a local recipe that dates back to 1919 (the year the pop-up toaster was invented). They pour this blend into pizza pans and top it with a variety of nuts or candies, seal it in cello and serve it in a custom pizza box. It’s pure genius – that you can eat.

Now the crew that has assembled early for the meeting because they heard there was “pizza” is gathered round the table having fun smashing these chocolate disks into dozens of pieces and taste testing each one. It’s camaraderie, laughter, smiles and small talk and the meeting hasn’t even started yet. That’s a homerun for any leader watching their team through the glass before walking in to get things started – but not before they grab a couple pieces of Chocolate Pizza to take to their seat.

Leadership’s secret weapon

See how this works. Feed them and they will come. Feed them chocolate and they will be happy going into the meeting. Feed them gourmet Chocolate Pizza and they will practically be doing trust falls into each other’s arms before the last morsel is finished.

Now that’s leadership. And it started with a bunch of chocolate dipped cookies.