Box of Thorntons chocolates representing team diversity

What a Box of Thorntons Taught Me About My Team

January 13, 2026•2 min read

Over Christmas, like many houses, we had chocolates.

One particular box caught my eye, Thornton's, a "Classic Collection." It sat there on the side, a gift for my wife, and I found myself reading the packaging.

"Classic delicious British flavours."

Who decided they were delicious? Probably a marketing team somewhere.

"Proudly crafted with love."

Are they? Or did they come off a massive factory line during the Christmas rush?

But here's the thing about chocolates: they're all different flavours, different sensations when you eat them. And someone, somewhere, decided that the "Strawberries and Cream Classic" should be strawberries and double cream, covered in white chocolate.

Why not milk chocolate? Why not a contrast of dark chocolate?

The point is this:

Every single chocolate in that box has gone through a process. Someone's decided what ingredients to put in. What flavour combinations work? What texture should they have?

And every person on your team has done exactly the same thing.

They've taken their upbringing, their experiences, their beliefs about how the world works. They've added education, career setbacks, moments of triumph, and relationships that shaped them.

Then they've added a dose of emotion. A bit of personal history. And then they get their map of the world — the lens through which they make every decision.

Your team has done the same thing.

The only difference? They put a completely different set of ingredients into their map.

Their chocolates taste very different because the ingredients they used were very different.

They might all be packaged in the same box — same job title, same desk, same team meeting — but the chocolates inside will all taste different.

And that's exactly why you end up with a classic collection.

The question is...

How classic do you think your team is?

I don't mean how old they are.

I mean, can you really see all the benefits, all the ingredients that each person brings to your project?

Can you appreciate all those different flavours?

Because that's how you create magic.

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Jon Manning

Jon Manning is the founder of EI-Unleashed and author of "Emotional Intelligence Unleashed." With over 25 years in operational management—including roles at McDonald's, Pizza Hut (Regional Operations Manager for 50+ stores), and Greggs (13 years in operational leadership)—Jon has managed hundreds of people and learned what actually works on the ground. As the UK's youngest sole pub licensee at 21, Jon learned early that technical skills alone don't make great leaders. After years of frustration with management advice that didn't translate to real-world pressure, he discovered NLP and Emotional Intelligence—techniques that transformed his own leadership effectiveness. Now a certified NLP Master Practitioner and published author, Jon teaches frustrated middle managers the practical tools they need to break through burnout and ineffective cycles. His approach is grounded, direct, and refreshingly free of corporate jargon or spiritual "woo-woo." Jon lives in the Northeast of England and is a Manifesting Generator in Human Design, which explains his multi-passionate approach to helping leaders find what works for them.

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