Twenty-two years ago, a skinny young guy in chef whites ran around the kitchens of JWU’s Providence Campus looking for a “sheet pan stretcher” and a “soufflé pump.” Needless to say, he never found them. Today that same guy bills millions of dollars to companies that need advice on the long-term growth of their business.
Back in the 1980s, culinary instructors were fond of breaking in students by sending them to hunt for fictional kitchen items. Although I was one of the gullible young kids who fell for those ridiculous practical jokes, I will always be grateful for learning to “take the heat and think on my feet.” Although the lessons I learned extended well beyond the kitchen, I never imagined that I would someday be focused on the corporate boardroom.
Today I get paid to develop creative solutions to difficult business problems. My team and I consult with the leadership of dozens of diverse companies on their business strategies. It may seem like I’ve come a long way from the kitchens of Providence, but in reality, I’m applying many of the insights I gained back in the days when I wore whites.
Running a kitchen, a restaurant or a hotel poses many of the same problems and challenges faced in managing a multinational company. There are three specific areas where the hospitality industry serves as a great training ground for business leadership. A hospitality manager learns about strategic thinking, the importance of managing talented people and the need to deliver on promises. These three skills are critical to the success of any business. Here’s how:
Strategic Thinking: Plan before you act. It does not matter if you are doing a dinner for 100 people or the marketing campaign for a $100 million product launch — a solid plan is needed. Thinking through the opportunities, threats and mitigation tactics is essential. Every great chef, banquet manager or CEO always asks the same questions: “What if this happens, and what will we do?”
Talent Management: Good help is hard to find. Recruiting, engaging and developing top talent is a challenge in every industry and company, large or small. If you can lead people in a 120-degree kitchen on a muggy May afternoon, you can probably make your team feel good about the latest corporate cost-cutting initiative.
Flawless Execution: If you don’t deliver the goods to your clients in the corporate world you could get fired. In the kitchen, careless production can make people sick (or dissuade them from returning). Setting up effective systems and processes to handle the details is essential in either environment. A long way from the kitchen now, I never imagined that I would find myself in my current role. One of the best pieces of advice that I ever received came from a man who continues to be my mentor. He said, “As long as you can come away from an experience by learning and growing, it was a worthwhile venture.”
None of us knows what life has in store, but if we learn from each opportunity, we will be ready for whatever the future has to offer. That’s why it’s helpful to occasionally head into the kitchen and subject yourself to some extreme heat. You’ll be amazed at how well it will help you think on your feet.