For The Union Club of Cleveland’s Lawrence McFadden, CMC, GM/COO, change in the club culinary industry begins by taking the first step.
Stephen Covey always advised beginning with the end in mind so that actions have workable solutions.
When I became I chef, I never counted hours or relied on fair market value for my worth. I felt I needed to work for my piece of the pie by learning the recipes and controls first. Only once I mastered those things I expected fair compensation and the benefits of a work/life balance.
Today I tell managers to earn their annual salary through improved revenues or cost saving balance. That rule goes for me as well as the General Manager of The Union Club of Cleveland, otherwise I’ll become too expensive for the club and I could be replaced by someone cheaper.
The comic strip, Student Debt by Rick McKee, reminds me to always be accountable for my actions and career decisions. Growth, change, and self-development must continue or institutional selfishness usually creeps in.
As our industry grapples with many of the challenges I discussed in my previous blog post, What Happened to my Beloved Profession?, reflecting on these callenges as well as challenges I’ve faced in other parts of my career, will help our industry and the chefs within it emerge.
Lesson 1: The Gifting of Trust Before Trusting
Chefs leave one kitchen thinking they can bring their past success into the next kitchen. What they typically find is that each new decisions is met with friction, doubt, and disbelief. Conversation eventually end with a deep dive into differences between what was an what is. The simple fact is that none of the decision or situations are so different. But trust in those decisions and in the decision maker is not yet established.
In 1990, the U.S. Culinary Olympic team set up regional teams where those who excelled could be promoted to the National Team. The National Team was made up of top scorers who knew that they could be replaced. This strategy of “next man up” sounded like it would keep everyone motivated. Unfortunately, the exact oppostie happened. Creativity ground to a halt. No one risked making a mistake.
Building trust takes time. Allowing others to take risks while securing best in class results is important , too.
Lesson 2: Change is the Currency of Success
Change is always viewed as a major roadblock. Fear resides comfortability in this mindset. Our reputations can be affected when we assume visionary change. This risk causes most of us to stay the safe course.
With my current Board of Trustees, my role is to be known as a “velvet agitator.” Synonoms for this role include task master and change agent. All businesses must push their mission forward regardless of current situations. And sometimes we must be the ones to push the boulder up the hill.
Fortunately for me my confidence in my abilities allows my Board to assume their role and keep evolving our beloved Union Club.
Lesson 3: Rejection is an Ego Killer So Blame Shifts
We often place blame on our bosses, corporate offices or even customers. It’s interesting to me how the customer has become the fall guy for the service industry.
Everywhere we look we see “please be nice to the employees” signs. Why are customers now being blamed for wanting service or having expectations? The customer in the luxury business has always had high expectation pre- and post-pandemic.
Working in the service industry has its challenges, but interpretation around dialogue is only one of them.
Lesson 4: Every Culture Has Its Own Traditions, BUT…
Traditions secure our existence. They can also stand in the way of progress. Some of our visionary heroes and mentors would disapprove of the changes we are making today. But the rules are different now.
When the Ritz Carlton changed its dining dress code our staff and regular customers were so conditioned that it challenged their ability to support the future movement of the brand. Our customer once again were being blamed for wanting to be dressed in comfort when spending their money.
It makes me wonder how much damage, “No Shirt, No Shoes, No Serve” has caused our industry…
Lesson 5: Does Institutional Thinking Keep Everything Smooth?
This thinking defines the mindset: “I am not paid to make the changes, just to do the job.”
Working for a company is safe, easy and secure, espeically compared to being an individual owner. We can fall victim to that feather bed of security and thus fail to evolve as culiarians and professionals. But we must understand we are part of the solution and that change is not only inevitable it’s necessary.
In 2010 fine dining left the hotel business as casual dining and global cuisines took hold. White tablecloth, silver, and coats and ties were replaced with flip flops, bartenders and TV monitors.
The classic hotelier could no longer tell the diner what to eat, how to sit or what to wear. That control was difficult to give up. It caused mentors to leave Ritz for brands that still measured luxury on how you looked instead of your desire to be served.
Our slogan during those years was, “Dusting Off The Lion”—and it was the most impactful lessons of my career.
Lesson 6: Job Titles Keep Everyone In Their Own Lane
Job titles have useful meaning but can bring huge, misguided misconceptions for both the organization and the individual.
While moving up, one moves through the titles quickly arriving in this case at the Executive Chef title. What happens when you hold that title for twenty years even as our industry continues to evolve? Harvard business journal states, “A person will relearn their career four times in a lifetime of employment.”
In 2004, I was tasked with helping Marriott move from Executive Chef to “Chef-and-b” as it was commonly called. Marriott wanted to combine the jobs in smaller hotels and culturally our brands were miles apart. Ritz saw the title as a destination, while Marriott saw it as a step toward greater positions. Both organizations were right, but economics were forcing smaller properties to think differently.
Slowly, we moved the title together, and made progress with the smaller hotels where one person could be the visionary of the Food and Beverage department. Today’s Executive Chef title is taking a different course than our mentor’s.
While none of these lessons are directly related to the pandemic or to our current environmnet, they do have one common thread: Change is a critical factor in survival. And change begins with taking the first step toward something new.