A look at how some restaurants are cutting down.
When New York City–based burger concept 4food opened its first location in August, the media buzz it generated mostly stemmed from its innovative use of technology and social media. Plasma TV screens adorn its walls, including one that scrolls customer tweets. iPads are used to order food. And diners can save their specialized burger orders to an online database, available for anybody to order in the future—an act that credits the customer with 25 cents on later 4food visits.
But one of the most innovative features about 4food’s first unit isn’t wowing customers with its flashy technology. In fact, it’s in the basement’s washroom.
For the founders of 4food, it’s a critical component to an operation they hope to be as sustainable as possible—and a tool that might be a sign of things to come for a fast food industry that’s creating billions of pounds of waste annually.
The composting machine that 4food keeps in its basement disposes of all food and packaging waste the restaurant generates.
“It’s capable of composting up to 400 pounds of food waste and compostable packaging in a 24-hour period,” says Michael Shuman, cofounder and manager of 4food. “The amazing thing is, it runs on microorganisms, so it runs 24/7/365—we just feed it enzymes on a weekly basis.”
The product churned out by 4food’s composter, which is manufactured by a food disposal company called Orca Green, is just as interesting as the tool itself.
“It turns [waste] into drainage water,” Shuman says. “There’s no compost super sludge; this water just gets drained away.” The machine will also compost the waste from 4food’s next four or five locations as well.
4food’s solution to diverting its waste from landfills is a bright idea in an industry desperate to figure out what to do about waste. Although a composting machine like 4food’s is a capital investment not every operator can afford, some experts say just sticking to the status quo is ultimately too harmful to the environment—and to an operation’s bottom line.
Michael Oshman, president of the Green Restaurant Association (GRA), says waste in the restaurant industry has become a major issue—so major, in fact, that the GRA lists “Waste Reduction and Recycling” as one of its seven Green Restaurant Certification Standards.
“Restaurants can easily put out a few hundred thousand pounds of waste every year,” Oshman says. “And that’s one restaurant. Multiply that by almost a million, and you get a lot.”
Making the transition to a system that reduces waste sent to a landfill, however, is not one that a lot of operators feel they can make, especially in a down economy.
“Restaurants have a very tight margin and operate at a very quick pace,” says Jack Macy, commercial zero waste coordinator for San Francisco’s Department of the Environment. “There’s a perception that if it’s a lot more work, they’re not going to want to do it without really big incentives. The reality is it doesn’t have to be more work at all. … But to get people’s attention, it always helps to have incentives.”
And indeed there are incentives for restaurants to begin reducing the waste they send to landfills. The GRA, for example, awards a Green Restaurant Certification to restaurants that accumulate at least 100 points in the organization’s point system. In the “Waste Reduction and Recycling” category, restaurants are required to divert plastics, glass, aluminum, cardboard, and paper from landfills; recycle grease for biodiesel or energy purposes; and compost preconsumer food, the food that is leftover from production.
Monday, November 22, 2010
What Colin Powell Says About Leadership
Powell said that his idea of what it is to be a leader evolved as he moved through various positions in public service. Among his key points:
•Leaders exist to give followers what they need to get their job done. It is the followers who go into battle and accomplish the tasks assigned.
•The most important part of leadership is instilling trust in those you command. If you have their trust, they will follow you anywhere. “Every human endeavor has leaders and followers, and your job as a leader is to inspire,” he said.•Leadership begins with goals. When the followers know what the goals are, everyone understands the importance of their own role for the common purpose.
•People want to know that you are serving a greater purpose than just your own. “Increasingly, our people want to see leaders who are respected, leaders who are selfless,” Powell said.
•Express appreciation. Make sure that those under your command understand that you appreciate what they are doing, Powell said. While serving as secretary of state, Powell said, he let people know he appreciated their work through personal visits and thank-you cards.
•Solve problems. A leader also needs to recognize when someone is not performing well. It is a leader’s job to identify the source of the problem, and fix it. “Leadership is problem-solving, and you are expected as leaders to know what’s going on throughout your organization,” he said.
.
•Leaders exist to give followers what they need to get their job done. It is the followers who go into battle and accomplish the tasks assigned.
•The most important part of leadership is instilling trust in those you command. If you have their trust, they will follow you anywhere. “Every human endeavor has leaders and followers, and your job as a leader is to inspire,” he said.•Leadership begins with goals. When the followers know what the goals are, everyone understands the importance of their own role for the common purpose.
•People want to know that you are serving a greater purpose than just your own. “Increasingly, our people want to see leaders who are respected, leaders who are selfless,” Powell said.
•Express appreciation. Make sure that those under your command understand that you appreciate what they are doing, Powell said. While serving as secretary of state, Powell said, he let people know he appreciated their work through personal visits and thank-you cards.
•Solve problems. A leader also needs to recognize when someone is not performing well. It is a leader’s job to identify the source of the problem, and fix it. “Leadership is problem-solving, and you are expected as leaders to know what’s going on throughout your organization,” he said.
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Monday, November 1, 2010
Growing Your Career Up | (part 1 of 2)
(Kathleen Hogan write of using SWOT factors)
Remember your eagerness at the start of your hospitality career to “make your mark”? Your enthusiasm for working in your chosen field was high along with your confidence in all the possibilities of the future. Your drive to succeed was strong. That enthusiasm, confidence and drive were and still are your internal motivators.
It is likely that you will or have already felt those high levels of enthusiasm, confidence and drive diminish with time and circumstances. There are steps you can take to reset those internal motivators and grow your career with upward mobility. The first step is recognizing your responsibility in building your career. Rather than leaving your career path to chance, take control by becoming proactive in setting its course. Take constructive action steps to rekindle those internal motivators and jump start your career.
The September 2010 issue of the Chief Learning Officer magazine had an article, Real Leadership: The Meaning Behind Motivation by Graham Jones, that addressed the need for motivating yourself inside and out with a wonderful story. The story illuminates the importance of motivational balance.
If you feel you may have lost your edge, recognize the value in continuous learning. Learning, like your career, is a life-long journey, compelling each of us to learn more, adjust our thinking, refresh our passion, and update our skill sets in order to grow, thrive and contribute value.
Make it a habit to read 1 book about people in hospitality and/or business who have become successful in the area of your choice. Do this for each of the next 6 months and note how your horizons have expanded. Use many different sources and venues (books, magazines, social media, online services, etc.) when gathering information to limit biased perspectives.
Seek out additional training opportunities to build upon or enhance your existing skill sets.
Learn new skills.
There are many hospitality industry certificates and certifications available to those who want to build upon their knowledge base, CV expertise and career experience. Which certifications should be pursued is dependent on your area of focus and career goals. Certificates are very good stepping stones at the start of your career and may be earned much faster than certifications, which often require 2 to 5 years tenure in the same position.
For example, the Educational Institutes of the AH&LA (American Hotel & Lodging Association) and the National Restaurant Association offer certifications for administrators, educators, operators and suppliers in the hospitality industry. Search and find other sources of advanced certificates and certifications as part of advancing your career. Many hospitality professionals hold more than one certification.
There are certain exercises you can do to be better prepared and keep your career on track.
•Perform a SWOT analysis annually
•Set short and long range goals
•Identify your Motivational DNA
SWOT is the acronym for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. Performing a SWOT analysis is a standard tool used in business for measuring where a company is in relation to its business goals, competition, and future direction. The individual can effectively use the same tool in both their personal and career life.
Perform your own SWOT Analysis to establish a baseline measure of your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats as of today. This exercise brings into focus areas that may need more work, require additional education, certifications or skills, and those areas of strength that may afford you an advantage to build upon.
One way to identify your strengths is through the Strengths Finder book by Tom Rath and its accompanying online test, which lists and prioritizes your strengths. Knowing your strengths may reveal more possibilities for positions not previously considered, and the type of work environment most suitable for you. This knowledge may alter the direction you take in choosing who and where to work, doing what.
When you repeat the SWOT analysis annually, a career tracking and timeline begins to appear, which helps define your accomplishments and set (or reset) the future direction of your career path. Performing a SWOT analysis lends itself to setting career goals.
Part two will provide continued action steps in setting goals and identifying motivators to advance your career.
Remember your eagerness at the start of your hospitality career to “make your mark”? Your enthusiasm for working in your chosen field was high along with your confidence in all the possibilities of the future. Your drive to succeed was strong. That enthusiasm, confidence and drive were and still are your internal motivators.
It is likely that you will or have already felt those high levels of enthusiasm, confidence and drive diminish with time and circumstances. There are steps you can take to reset those internal motivators and grow your career with upward mobility. The first step is recognizing your responsibility in building your career. Rather than leaving your career path to chance, take control by becoming proactive in setting its course. Take constructive action steps to rekindle those internal motivators and jump start your career.
The September 2010 issue of the Chief Learning Officer magazine had an article, Real Leadership: The Meaning Behind Motivation by Graham Jones, that addressed the need for motivating yourself inside and out with a wonderful story. The story illuminates the importance of motivational balance.
If you feel you may have lost your edge, recognize the value in continuous learning. Learning, like your career, is a life-long journey, compelling each of us to learn more, adjust our thinking, refresh our passion, and update our skill sets in order to grow, thrive and contribute value.
Make it a habit to read 1 book about people in hospitality and/or business who have become successful in the area of your choice. Do this for each of the next 6 months and note how your horizons have expanded. Use many different sources and venues (books, magazines, social media, online services, etc.) when gathering information to limit biased perspectives.
Seek out additional training opportunities to build upon or enhance your existing skill sets.
Learn new skills.
There are many hospitality industry certificates and certifications available to those who want to build upon their knowledge base, CV expertise and career experience. Which certifications should be pursued is dependent on your area of focus and career goals. Certificates are very good stepping stones at the start of your career and may be earned much faster than certifications, which often require 2 to 5 years tenure in the same position.
For example, the Educational Institutes of the AH&LA (American Hotel & Lodging Association) and the National Restaurant Association offer certifications for administrators, educators, operators and suppliers in the hospitality industry. Search and find other sources of advanced certificates and certifications as part of advancing your career. Many hospitality professionals hold more than one certification.
There are certain exercises you can do to be better prepared and keep your career on track.
•Perform a SWOT analysis annually
•Set short and long range goals
•Identify your Motivational DNA
SWOT is the acronym for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. Performing a SWOT analysis is a standard tool used in business for measuring where a company is in relation to its business goals, competition, and future direction. The individual can effectively use the same tool in both their personal and career life.
Perform your own SWOT Analysis to establish a baseline measure of your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats as of today. This exercise brings into focus areas that may need more work, require additional education, certifications or skills, and those areas of strength that may afford you an advantage to build upon.
One way to identify your strengths is through the Strengths Finder book by Tom Rath and its accompanying online test, which lists and prioritizes your strengths. Knowing your strengths may reveal more possibilities for positions not previously considered, and the type of work environment most suitable for you. This knowledge may alter the direction you take in choosing who and where to work, doing what.
When you repeat the SWOT analysis annually, a career tracking and timeline begins to appear, which helps define your accomplishments and set (or reset) the future direction of your career path. Performing a SWOT analysis lends itself to setting career goals.
Part two will provide continued action steps in setting goals and identifying motivators to advance your career.
A Framework for Managing Change
Endra Larkin writes about Change and adaption.
When Charles Darwin wrote ‘It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change’, he clearly wasn’t talking about the hotel industry. Yet, his words do hold relevance for hoteliers today, because there are major changes afoot in our industry which will transform the competitive landscape in the years ahead. Of course, change is nothing new in hotels – it has always been an industry where a critical success factor is the ability to evolve in response to shifting consumer and market dynamics; however, the pace of change is quickening, a trend that seems likely to continue.
As a result, all hotel leaders need to be comfortable in personally dealing with change and, more importantly, in helping their employees to cope with it; particularly with regard to those changes which are substantial in nature. For major change, applying a structured, but not rigid, approach to implementation is advisable; one which takes into account the not inconsequential human relations issues associated with any change. Unfortunately, many leaders mishandle the process and this can lead to significant resentment and conflict, much of which is avoidable if some basic principles for managing change are applied.
People and Change
In terms of coping with change, it is not an exaggeration to say that many people tend to struggle with it - to varying degrees - and as a rule, the bigger the change, the greater the likelihood they will struggle. Because of this, gaining commitment at the outset is sometimes seen as the trickiest part of the change management process – and it is undoubtedly a challenge – but sustaining change is perhaps more difficult; often, far more so than we realise.
In an article entitled, Change or Die published in Fast Company Magazine, Alan Deutschman highlighted some startling points about our collective inability to sustain change. Here are some extracts of his article which are relevant here:
. . . What if a well-informed, trusted authority figure said you had to make difficult and enduring changes in the way you think and act? If you didn't, your time would end soon -- a lot sooner than it had to. Could you change when change really mattered? When it mattered most?
Yes, you say?
Try again.
Yes?
You're probably deluding yourself.
You wouldn't change.
Don't believe it? You want odds? Here are the odds, the scientifically studied odds: nine to one. That's nine to one against you. How do you like those odds?
Where did those odds come from? In his article, Mr. Deutschman goes on to refer to a presentation given by Dr. Edward Miller, the Dean of the Medical School and CEO of the Hospital at Johns Hopkins University, which focuses on an individual’s inability to change:
. . . He [Dr Miller] turned the discussion to patients whose heart disease is so severe that they undergo bypass surgery, a traumatic and expensive procedure that can cost more than $100,000 if complications arise. About 600,000 people have bypasses every year in the United States, and 1.3 million heart patients have angioplasties -- all at a total cost of around $30 billion. The procedures temporarily relieve chest pains but rarely prevent heart attacks or prolong lives. Around half of the time, the bypass grafts clog up in a few years; the angioplasties, in a few months. The causes of this so-called restenosis are complex. It is sometimes a reaction to the trauma of the surgery itself. But many patients could avoid the return of pain and the need to repeat the surgery -- not to mention arrest the course of their disease before it kills them -- by switching to healthier lifestyles. Yet very few do. "If you look at people after coronary-artery bypass grafting two years later, 90% of them have not changed their lifestyle," Miller said. "And that's been studied over and over and over again . . . Even though they know they have a very bad disease and they know they should change their lifestyle, for whatever reason, they cannot"
If people struggle to sustain change even when life and death are at stake, this undoubtedly has implications for managing change in the workplace. And, apart from collective personal failings in terms of change, the hotel environment –customer-driven as it is – creates the ideal conditions for a particular change initiative to slide off the agenda, once the initial implementation steps have happened. No doubt you will have experienced this at some stage: for example, you will have seen cases where a big deal was made around a certain change for a while, but slowly over time, lack of follow through, or shifting focus led to few tangible outcomes being achieved in the longer term. It is fair to say that hotels can, at times, suffer from the ‘flavour-of-the-month’ syndrome.
In light of this, creating a compelling case for change and getting ‘buy-in’ from employees undoubtedly remain critical early steps in managing change; and, experience shows that the more involvement people have in determining the nature and direction of changes affecting them, the more easily they will support the implementation process. However, even when the desire to change has been harnessed, people can easily fall back into old habits, or commitment can wane over time; therefore, creating the conditions to sustain change is also a vital concern. The change process must be effectively managed beyond the early stages and leaders need to really focus on how to bed-down and sustain change, as much as they do on getting people onside from the beginning. In achieving this, the following framework can be helpful:
A Framework for Managing Change
By Enda Larkin
Following a framework such as this provides long-term focus for the change management effort; it provides a template to harness commitment from the start; helps to plan for implementation and, most important of all, emphasises the need to stick with the change. In applying a framework such as this, keep the following general points in mind about managing change:
•Change must lead to tangible benefits, if employees are expected to buy into it;
•Change must be ‘sold’ to employees; forcing change through, whilst on rare occasions unavoidable, is rarely effective;
•Change just for the sake of it winds people up and should be avoided;
•Include employees in decision making around change, where possible;
•The bigger the change, the more difficult it can be for employees, so strong leadership is essential in making the change happen;
•The implementation of change should be time bound, for dragged out change can be disheartening;
•Make sure to define and communicate clear implementation plans and that deadlines are adhered to;
•Show benefits to employees as early as possible in the change process, so people see the value of it;
•Offer lots of support and guidance to employees as they seek to work through the change;
•Recognise that change processes provide ideal opportunities for the negative team members to ‘stir things up’. Pay particular attention to the influence they are exerting at such times.
When Charles Darwin wrote ‘It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change’, he clearly wasn’t talking about the hotel industry. Yet, his words do hold relevance for hoteliers today, because there are major changes afoot in our industry which will transform the competitive landscape in the years ahead. Of course, change is nothing new in hotels – it has always been an industry where a critical success factor is the ability to evolve in response to shifting consumer and market dynamics; however, the pace of change is quickening, a trend that seems likely to continue.
As a result, all hotel leaders need to be comfortable in personally dealing with change and, more importantly, in helping their employees to cope with it; particularly with regard to those changes which are substantial in nature. For major change, applying a structured, but not rigid, approach to implementation is advisable; one which takes into account the not inconsequential human relations issues associated with any change. Unfortunately, many leaders mishandle the process and this can lead to significant resentment and conflict, much of which is avoidable if some basic principles for managing change are applied.
People and Change
In terms of coping with change, it is not an exaggeration to say that many people tend to struggle with it - to varying degrees - and as a rule, the bigger the change, the greater the likelihood they will struggle. Because of this, gaining commitment at the outset is sometimes seen as the trickiest part of the change management process – and it is undoubtedly a challenge – but sustaining change is perhaps more difficult; often, far more so than we realise.
In an article entitled, Change or Die published in Fast Company Magazine, Alan Deutschman highlighted some startling points about our collective inability to sustain change. Here are some extracts of his article which are relevant here:
. . . What if a well-informed, trusted authority figure said you had to make difficult and enduring changes in the way you think and act? If you didn't, your time would end soon -- a lot sooner than it had to. Could you change when change really mattered? When it mattered most?
Yes, you say?
Try again.
Yes?
You're probably deluding yourself.
You wouldn't change.
Don't believe it? You want odds? Here are the odds, the scientifically studied odds: nine to one. That's nine to one against you. How do you like those odds?
Where did those odds come from? In his article, Mr. Deutschman goes on to refer to a presentation given by Dr. Edward Miller, the Dean of the Medical School and CEO of the Hospital at Johns Hopkins University, which focuses on an individual’s inability to change:
. . . He [Dr Miller] turned the discussion to patients whose heart disease is so severe that they undergo bypass surgery, a traumatic and expensive procedure that can cost more than $100,000 if complications arise. About 600,000 people have bypasses every year in the United States, and 1.3 million heart patients have angioplasties -- all at a total cost of around $30 billion. The procedures temporarily relieve chest pains but rarely prevent heart attacks or prolong lives. Around half of the time, the bypass grafts clog up in a few years; the angioplasties, in a few months. The causes of this so-called restenosis are complex. It is sometimes a reaction to the trauma of the surgery itself. But many patients could avoid the return of pain and the need to repeat the surgery -- not to mention arrest the course of their disease before it kills them -- by switching to healthier lifestyles. Yet very few do. "If you look at people after coronary-artery bypass grafting two years later, 90% of them have not changed their lifestyle," Miller said. "And that's been studied over and over and over again . . . Even though they know they have a very bad disease and they know they should change their lifestyle, for whatever reason, they cannot"
If people struggle to sustain change even when life and death are at stake, this undoubtedly has implications for managing change in the workplace. And, apart from collective personal failings in terms of change, the hotel environment –customer-driven as it is – creates the ideal conditions for a particular change initiative to slide off the agenda, once the initial implementation steps have happened. No doubt you will have experienced this at some stage: for example, you will have seen cases where a big deal was made around a certain change for a while, but slowly over time, lack of follow through, or shifting focus led to few tangible outcomes being achieved in the longer term. It is fair to say that hotels can, at times, suffer from the ‘flavour-of-the-month’ syndrome.
In light of this, creating a compelling case for change and getting ‘buy-in’ from employees undoubtedly remain critical early steps in managing change; and, experience shows that the more involvement people have in determining the nature and direction of changes affecting them, the more easily they will support the implementation process. However, even when the desire to change has been harnessed, people can easily fall back into old habits, or commitment can wane over time; therefore, creating the conditions to sustain change is also a vital concern. The change process must be effectively managed beyond the early stages and leaders need to really focus on how to bed-down and sustain change, as much as they do on getting people onside from the beginning. In achieving this, the following framework can be helpful:
A Framework for Managing Change
By Enda Larkin
Following a framework such as this provides long-term focus for the change management effort; it provides a template to harness commitment from the start; helps to plan for implementation and, most important of all, emphasises the need to stick with the change. In applying a framework such as this, keep the following general points in mind about managing change:
•Change must lead to tangible benefits, if employees are expected to buy into it;
•Change must be ‘sold’ to employees; forcing change through, whilst on rare occasions unavoidable, is rarely effective;
•Change just for the sake of it winds people up and should be avoided;
•Include employees in decision making around change, where possible;
•The bigger the change, the more difficult it can be for employees, so strong leadership is essential in making the change happen;
•The implementation of change should be time bound, for dragged out change can be disheartening;
•Make sure to define and communicate clear implementation plans and that deadlines are adhered to;
•Show benefits to employees as early as possible in the change process, so people see the value of it;
•Offer lots of support and guidance to employees as they seek to work through the change;
•Recognise that change processes provide ideal opportunities for the negative team members to ‘stir things up’. Pay particular attention to the influence they are exerting at such times.
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