Founder’s Corner

Founder’s Corner

Posted on by Byron Darden

During this, the celebratory birthday month of civil rights leader, Dr Martin Luther King Jr., we are reminded of his commitment to a dream for us all to one day find equality among our brothers and sisters along with achieving equity in moving ahead in our lives. That dream continues to light the way most significantly in these turbulent times of an ever evolving pandemic, focused attention on Black Lives Matter and a microscope on Diversity, Equity and inclusion in all its many forms.

One of which is the desperate existence of our healthcare workers who are stretched to the limit with seemingly no end in sight. As nations across the globe continue to grapple with how to cope with staff shortages, overwork and the growing fear of yet another variant showing up, tensions are high. This condition is sending us back into isolation, triggering more social limitations and prompting finger pointing that is causing nerves to fray at alarming proportions.

The culture of healthcare is a huge topic! I cannot do it justice in one blog. I can provide a glimpse into its challenging environment to provide a starting place from which to begin addressing all that healthcare encompasses while it seeks to find solutions to problems that reveal themselves as fast as the infection spreads.

I’ve spent most of my life surrounded by the world of medicine. Family members, friends, colleagues and clients come from various aspects of the medical field from doctors to administrators and from hospitals to insurance companies. Yet with all of my experience healthcare continues to be a daunting world in which to affect change. It is happening and yet, while the pace of change may seem slow, by contrast the world of medicine changes at warp speed with innovations and technology. It is the human side of healthcare that suggests stagnation.

What I find particularly disturbing is that no matter with whom I have a conversation, the underlying issues that continually surface. It can be summed up in a recent conversation I had with one clinician who spoke of the extreme outrage between administrators and clinicians over COVID–19. According to numerous caregivers, administrators asked/expected clinicians to put their lives on the line by not wearing masks from the very beginning, citing improper Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). When asked what all was included, I was given a list encompassing, along with face masks, face shields, gowns, gloves, other protective measures, etc.

Another clinician shared that the policy not to wear masks changed when many clinicians began getting sick themselves, some dying while others elected not to continue working. Additionally, conditions got so challenging that across the country here in the US, medical students are being turned into doctors early to support and offset the staff shortages that ensued.

One occupational therapist who had gone into semi-retired in 2019, found herself unable to get much in the way of part-time work after the arrival of COVID–19 due in part to her refusal to take the vaccine. While some share their outrage, it is worthy to note that such avoidance to the vaccine have not always been based in sheer resistance or the stoking of conspiracy theory notions. Instead it is the understanding that taking the vaccine could actually kill some due to the vaccine reportedly triggering blood clots identified as a side effect that cause some underlying health conditions to become fatal.

We are at a pivotal moment with our healthcare that suggests the dam most assuredly will break sending flood waters spreading as fast as the wildfires in California and as rapid as the rising number of COVID-19 cases with more variants becoming known.

Given what is being discovered about COVID-19 as time passes, it seems the relationship between administration and clinicians – identified as somewhat adversarial – has remained relatively the same these many months. In a less than satisfactory attempt, some hospitals have even tried to demonstrate their appreciation by sending care packages to clinicians with self-care tips, inspirational quotes and an array of items that simply miss the mark. This is not unlike the state of affairs that triggered the ‘we’ve had enough’ exasperation that lead to the civil rights movement. What might Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. say to us now about our current state of health affairs as it relates to equity?

What this boils down to is that being humane isn’t just how healthcare facilities should be to patients, healthcare must be humane to its employees as well. It seems the lesson is far from learned and it will take something more significant before we see such humane behavior truly rising to the surface as an imperative.

Stephen Knight is an RN in the Step Down Unit (SDU) of a hospital in New York City where an intermediate level of care between the Intensive Care Units (ICUs) and the general medical-surgical wards is administered.

It was one of the first units in the city to become an exclusive unit during the first wave of COVID-19. At that time the number of deaths rose from one every couple of months to multiple deaths per day. That was the case throughout the city as clinicians faced not having what they needed to keep patients alive. That became an overwhelming experience.

The public remains divided on just how real an epidemic we face. We have such varying opinions among us on how to respond to the epidemic, that once again a growing number of people are falling ill as new variants arise.

The lingering impact of COVID–19 is effecting us to such a degree, that many are growing weary and tired triggering a less vigilant effort around safety and prevention. In addition, healthcare workers are challenged with effectively managing triage. Essentially new cases are competing with non- COVID–19 cases creating a greater challenge for our healthcare system that is already strained.

The danger to society is that hospitals become overwhelmed by cases that could be avoided. As such, exhausted healthcare workers are electing to leave the profession altogether or in some cases, choosing to travel to other hospitals for better pay.

 “Sometimes I want to scream from the rooftops of building. Please take this virus seriously”, Says Stephen. The travesties he has witnessed have taken their toll on him and his colleagues; fellow nurses, doctors and other clinicians who say “keeping up with the demand feels hopeless at times. You just keep on moving and trust you can save more lives tomorrow. Or at least make patients more comfortable than they were last.”

“Everybody needs to care for themselves and each other and let us have time to care for ourselves”, says Knight. When asked what he most wants at this juncture of the pandemic, the over worked Mr. Knight shares, “What I want most is for people to recognize and take responsibility for their role in staying healthy because I need a break and I can’t get one.”

What I am hearing and seeing is that clinicians are finding themselves returning to what seems like the front lines of the most horrific of wars, the war against ignorance.

Measuring Leadership

Posted on by Byron Darden

Some say leaders are born, and some say they are made.  I would assert that some of both are necessary to create a successful leader.  A central aspect of all successful cultures is its leadership. This is where the context gets set and played out in how the organization functions.

“Leadership is intangible, hard to measure, and difficult to describe. Its quality

would seem to stem from many factors. But certainly, they must include a measure

of inherent ability to control and direct, self-confidence based on expert knowledge,

initiative, loyalty, pride, and sense of responsibility. Inherent ability cannot be

instilled, but that which is latent or dormant can be developed. Other ingredients can

be acquired. They are not easily learned. But leaders can be and are made.”

General C. B. Cates,

19th Commandant of the Marine Corps

We are certainly in a time where the General’s perspective is more important than ever and to a greater degree. Given the intangibility of leadership and the difficulty in measuring and describing it, leaders post pandemic outbreak will need to sharpen their skills and heighten their awareness of how to be agile and adaptable to meet the ever-shifting landscape of leading teams effectively. This is where we can help you solve The People Puzzle™, deeply rooted in developing skills that take your leadership performance to a stratospherically level, can make a difference in shoring up the culture in your organization. Click on the button below and book a strategy session to explore how we can support you in getting the tools you need to lead in this new and emerging paradigm.

Executive Women: Breakthrough Session

Enter Analytics

Posted on by Byron Darden

Analytics is increasingly important given the shift in what customers want, their changing buying behavior, and imposed limitations on how businesses are run. 

Before, analytics was of importance only to the big retail giants.  Now, partly to avoid exposure to Covid, more people are leaving corporate jobs to start their own businesses.  As one Washington Post headline reads, “American’s unemployed are sending a message: They’ll go back to work when they feel safe – and well-compensated” (https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/10/08/september-jobs-report-takeaway/).

More customers are turning to different service methods to avoid getting sick or dealing with new rules for being in public.  Managers balance the shortage of employees with the demands of customers.  This requires executives to rethink their culture.  They face a choice between trying to conduct business as usual with a few (or many) modifications or expanding into a new marketplace.  Adaptations to curbside pickup, service over the phone, precautionary measures, and keeping up with local regulations are challenging and necessary. 

Before the pandemic, I was consulting a publishing company focused on retaining talent. There was clarity among leadership that most jobs paid the same across the board in the various publishing roles. The trick was figuring out how to hold onto their staff, who could easily quit and join a different publishing company. The hands-down choice was for this company to focus on how their people are treated and valued.

How Food Service Changed due to Covid

Posted on by Byron Darden

As with everything else, Covid changed the way foodservice works.  For a time, restaurants had to shut down due to stay-at-home orders and social distancing rules.  During the month of March, roughly 3 million jobs and $25 billion in sales were lost in the restaurant industry.  Many of these businesses never recovered.  The ones that did were resilient, innovative, or had money in the bank.  Some received governmental assistance, and that cannot be counted on as a business strategy.

Additionally, during the past six months, the price of food has risen exponentially.  In an industry where the profit margin is often low, owners can raise the prices to their customers or cut back on selection or quality.  This is a significant balancing act.

The safety of customers and employees paired with health department regulations may change how you serve food, seat people, and run kitchen operations.  You might think outside the box, offering curbside pickup, creating a new seating arrangement, or offering outdoor seating.  This can be a sensitive subject among employees and customers and must be treated with care.

Culture that Works

Posted on by Byron Darden

I caught up with consultant, John Benson who manages a portfolio of retail concerns in the food industry for a global professional services company.  As we discussed our combined years of experience with restaurants across all sectors: some of which have had challenging cultures and some that have created a culture of caring for people, one example of the latter that stands out among its competitors is Chick-fil-A. Or as expressed in a 2015 Forbes article, “A culture that lasts” according to contributing writer, Kevin Kruse.

The fact that the company’s culture was created out of a deep commitment to becoming something bigger than its founder, S. Truett Cathy is compelling. Cathy is sighted for his wisdom and humility to leave an organization with “an enduring culture that values people above everything else. That takes a true interest in doing more than just achieving a bottom line outcome. It takes a visionary leader who is willing to do what is necessary in order to achieve a culture where people can be proud of the work they do for the community that patronizes them. It’s the type of commitment that seems inherent in what Benson sees as the five main points he learned about leadership during his time in the marine corps.

“The 5 points that drive how a culture will manifest,” says John Benson, “are value proposition, target customer, core capabilities, revenue and cost model.” These five strategic points blended together bring about the culture a business will manifest for its people to work in, its customers to shop in, and for its products and services to flourish in the marketplace to gain profits and market share.

John’s background in the Marine Corps also gave rise to other principles that blend well, even within the retail environment. Those principals are steeped in 14 traits and 11 leadership styles, ranging from how you treat and present yourself, how you train employees, and how you handle adversity and success (see the Founder’s Corner for more).

Building a Cultural Approach

Posted on by Byron Darden

As a manager, your first task is to determine the culture of your organization.  Using the results, you can map out an approach for meeting current changes that are useful to you.  The first three steps of the REACH™ tool help determine what makes your company tick and how you can more effectively navigate its structure to determine what type of change is most beneficial.  Then you will discover how to draw on trends to successfully shift the landscape of how your business runs more efficiently. 

  • Root – Study your organization’s history and understand how it got to its current state and what makes it grow and evolve.
  • Establish – Determine the fundamental elements of your corporate culture.  Do they align you’re your overall strategy?  What is necessary to change?
  • Assess – Analyze what is working and determine what improvements will benefit the whole.  Break these down in order of critical importance and impact to the organization.

The process of change and building on your successes will come later and focusing on these three steps will define your cultural approach.

Successful Practices in Food Service Management

Posted on by Byron Darden

The thing that is seemingly missing from a list of job duties (and is interwoven into each one) is defining culture and empowering employees to embrace their role.  This single concept will unite or divide and make the difference between an organization hanging together by a thread one that is well run.  Here are some obvious steps to take in daily operations.

  • Take time during the hiring process to find team members that fit within your culture.  Even though it might be hard these days to find employees, it’s better to wait for the right person rather than deal with potential problems later.
  • It is essential to nurture and invest in your management staff.  Have a supervisor on every shift to enforce the systems you put into place.  Consistency is critical whether there are 5 or 200 customers.
  • When there is an issue with a particular employee or team, deal with that immediately.  They may be naysayers or underperformers.  Acknowledge the difficulties and address attitude issues.  Spend time training or explaining why things are done in a certain way.  Invest in education and coaching.  Listen to workers at all levels – ideas come from everywhere!
  • Provide a career path.  Employees may leave because they feel they have nowhere to go in an organization.  Someone who clears tables or washes dishes can move up to prep cook with some encouragement. It’s sometimes easier to train an existing employee than to find a new one.

Step back periodically to take a look at the whole picture.  Use tools to evaluate whether your culture is working or must be adapted to the changing environment.

Manager as Leader

Posted on by Byron Darden

“The best managers lead, the best leaders tell stories, the best stories are personal.”

-Noel Tichy

While managing and leading are different roles, the former is a stepping stone to the latter requiring specific skills and behaviors that without, an organizations leadership fails to tap into what makes up its secret sauce. As in every case, a well-run organization’s most crucial role is to prepare for the future by way of its action in the present.

One invaluable way to accomplish preparing for the future is by sharing the organization’s past and the past of the people that make it work. It is the story of where the organization began, its development and growth to become what it is today. It is the story of its people that when told, can inspire others and motivate them to carry the torch forward over time to even greater heights of success.

This is where an organization’s leadership can profit by learning how to tell the story that develops talent beyond just a set of steps, processes and procedures needing to be followed in order to accomplish its day-to-day activities. This is a talent that can be developed much as it was developed in me as a young man growing up visiting my grandparent’s farm where my grandfather was a noted master of telling stories. It is a talent handed down to all my relatives, some of whom are professional storytellers such as myself.

I can help you develop those same skills that I’ve taught worldwide to help companies gain the footing necessary to outlast its competition that may not see the need to make such an investment. To learn more about how you can develop the talent of storytelling in business, click the link below and schedule a strategy session to learn how we might work together!

The Role of a Manager

Posted on by Byron Darden

One’s role as a manager of a restaurant or other foodservice establishment is critical to its success.  They are in charge of making sure the establishment runs smoothly and efficiently.  This could involve:

  • Administration – coordinating front and back-of-house operations, taking reservations, and handling any problems that arise
  • Customer service – handling customer inquiries and complaints and ensuring the customers have a pleasant dining experience
  • Human resources – hiring, training, and managing sufficient staff; optimizing workflow and productivity
  • Supply chain and procurement – planning menus and ensuring the right food is ordered, the quality of the food, and its storage. It is making sure that inventory is in good order and abundant 
  • Health & safety – could range from the safety of the food to procedures in the kitchen and ensuring there are no accidents
  • Compliance – making sure all rules and regulations are followed and ensuring compliance with internal policies and procedures
  • Accounting and marketing – checking bottom-line profits and promoting the restaurant
  • Leadership – strong capacity for leading others while forging a path toward leadership readiness and visionary capability.

This can be challenging to juggle the many hats required for a successful operation. This is especially true for the manager who wants to be seen as having the ability to go beyond managing to becoming leadership material worthy of greater opportunities. Implementing systems such as checklists, item trackers, or waste trackers can help. Yet, leadership requires more.

The Culture of Food Service

Posted on by Byron Darden

Culture affects every aspect of our lives, and the foodservice industry is no exception.  There is a complex dynamic between operations with the goal of customer service balanced with bottom-line profits.  Culture speaks to managers that manage operations, employees, and a customer’s experience.

When we walk into a food establishment and either sit down to eat or order at the counter, we have expectations.  There is a pleasant atmosphere, timely delivery of appropriately hot or cold food, friendly staff that fulfills our needs, and space to enjoy our meal.  We rarely think about what goes on behind the scenes to get the food on our plates.  When we are content, the manager and staff have done their job.

To reach this goal, the manager must bring all roles together into a cohesive unit that attracts and keep customers.  Whether an employee is there to make ends meet or build a career, their role in projecting company culture is equally important.  Everyone from the maître d’ to the person bussing tables plays a role, and when even one person in the chain misses the mark, the whole process can be thrown into chaos.