What’s coming in ’23? Likely, more of the same. No doubt, more AI and robotics, ever tighter client budgets, headaches with hiring and retention, more demand for tech solutions with faster, more consistent production. The list goes on. Chaos or not, this is what we signed up for as professional foodservice consultants. At the same time, with the pandemic, recession, war, supply chain disruption and more, I find myself asking a different question for 2023.  

What can we do to maximize our effectiveness, our work, our growth, and our teams?

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Culture drives Brand

What’s also true is this: problems in corporate culture exist and they could wreak havoc on your operations. Here at Miick, we help brands find solutions to organizational culture problems before they kill productivity and employee morale.

Culture in place is, as often as not, a liability for businesses both small and large. How so?
Culture happens, it simply is. As often as not, Culture is ritual and unconscious! These unconscious habits or norms in a company get modeled more than touted. Culture ends up being an outcome of chance and old habits, more than choice. Headline: Culture is a choice! We need not be creatures of habit, just because the habit exists. We can create “Culture by Choice, Not Chance.” At Miick, we do this constantly with our clients, time and again with success.

Headline: Culture IS a Choice!

I often get asked, “How do I know if my culture’s a liability or an asset?” You can start by keeping an eye out for these five unmistakable signs of bad company culture.

5. A New Hire Gets Told What’s “Really True” 3 Days In…  

The public brand and persona is, “This is a great place to work!”  

Sure enough, the Onboarding and Orientation goes pretty.  New hire inspiration exudes!

At the same time, there are subtle “cracks in the dike” along the way. Yelling, angry faces, aggressive tones of voice, lack of cleanliness or positive feedback are all warning signs of bad company culture.

Sure enough, within the first three days of work, co-workers offer direct comments about what really happens here, here’s what you can really expect. This process is quiet, shared on breaks, on Zoom post meetings, or at the bar after work. Before long, the inspired new hire has gone native. The rock star that began with us, silently slips into the shadow norms of culture. And, worse, the good ones leave.   

4. We’re Better at Catching People Doing Stuff Wrong Than Right

Another common issue in organizational culture is when Trainers, Managers, and Co-workers, coach to the negative.   

Feedback is closer to hand slaps than coaching! Focus is on what didn’t work, or what needs to be edited, or shouldn’t have been done. If your company has listed values or a mission, the values are used as hammers, prefaced with, “you didn’t…”  instead of coaching to the positive.  Instead, find what worked well and build on that!

From Miick:  “Be a coach, not a cop!”

3. Sarcasm is the Humor or “Coaching” of Choice 

Sarcasm is about power, insider information and “othering.” Sarcasm also drives drama and indicates an underlying organizational culture issue. The second you call me out on my sarcastic or sideways comment, I duck and plead, “I was just kidding!” You and I, and your team, know you weren’t.   

Sarcasm is not to be confused with performance feedback.   At the very least, sarcasm sends mixed signals to anyone but the most intimate friend … even then, there’s a tiny cut that need not be there.   At worst, sarcasm is deadly; it is fear-based instead of courageously stating the real story! Beware of sarcasm in the workplace.

2. Finger Pointing with Absolutes, Single Value Reasons, Stories and Excuses 

You know the drill. Here comes a staff member or manager running to you or HR with an issue that’s huge for them!   

As often as not we’ll hear phrasing that includes absolutes like, “everyone” or “no one,” “all the time,” or “never.”   If you have defined values, support to this transgression is typically offered with the use of a single company value.    

First opportunity: Thanks for coming in and sharing.

Second opportunity: Who’s everyone?  Or, when you say “always,” how many times in the last week? 

Third opportunity: What other values apply? Or how would you integrate other values into this issue?

And there’s more…  

1. The Real Meeting is “After the Meeting”

This habit shows up in two ways. 1. The management team, or all staff, or board sits silently in the meeting. When asked, “Do you have any questions?” Silence is the response. Another variation is that one or two people dominate the meeting, with little to no support, pushback, or debate.   

In these two meeting norms, two equally frequent outcomes occur:   

Habit 1: After the meeting, the real meeting happens at the “water cooler,” bar, on Zoom, or in the parking lot: Resistance, debate, and pushback show up in earnest; “he/she”, “they”, and “those guys” and likely as not “f-bombs” (or the equivalent) get thrown around like a hot potato.   

Habit 2: The people that did take the risk to speak up did so out of habit, likely as not, and allowed other folks to stay silent. Then in the meeting after the meeting they’re as easily blamed for lack of movement as the leaders themselves, OR, are left as either heroes or victims “trying their best!” and failing again… 

Here are some options:

Action 1: Have the real meeting in the meeting. Listen as much as speak. Instead of asking, “Do you have any questions?”, change the frame and expect/invite questions by asking, “What questions do you have?” 

Action 2: Name the elephant in the room (I call it the “moose in the room”) as fast as possible. As appropriate, consider beginning a meeting with this: Who’s got a moose?   

(Heck, name your animal of choice: Elephant, 800 lb. gorilla). Have fun with this exploration of a deeper truth that really needs to get addressed! Sooner the better!

This list could as easily be the top 10 list, or top 20 list. These five points will get you started on building a company or corporate culture by choice not chance!   

For more on the “how to” of healthy, dynamic Corporate Culture, visit: miick.com

Call: 303-413-0400.

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Critical issues and decisions needed come at us fast.  Going forward my bet’s the pace of critical decisions is not going to slow down.  The need for speed in effective decision making is the real “new normal.”   

If clarity in chaos is the goal, two questions top my list:  

1. How do I or my team get clarity in chaos?   
2. How do I and my team make good decisions at speed, under pressure?   

From experience over decades, here’s an approach that has worked for my clients regardless of industry, segment location, or size, all the more in chaos:  

Realize Everyone Has Values.   Values drive behavior and decision making.   

The values each of us hold are the outcome of life events and the learning and beliefs that show up in behaviors, effective or not.  Our values at a gut level (read: beliefs) guide behaviors that end up by default as decisions.   As often as not, “values” are alluded to, not defined clearly and get left to what we tend to call, “common sense.”   

Tracking values for a living, I make the case one’s real values show up as behaviors under stress.   “Dignity and respect” is easy to talk about when the “water’s calm”, or we laugh off, “sarcasm is just joking”, … how do you and I behave in “a hurricane,” or in when with no fault of our own, our business is shut down due to pandemic?   

A major pitfall with values left to common sense is this:  What’s obvious to an owner or manager, is not so obvious to a person with a different life experience or background.  

Worse, when left undefined, under stress one set of values overrides another.   Partners, board, leaders, team, even family, are left to “figure it out” in real time.   Decision making gets very inconsistent, muddy, and even crazy making.   

What’s the alternative?  The more clearly we define, share and model values and do so consistently, the more people around us can join us and step into performance guided by those shared values.  

Another outcome of clearly defined values used in active decision-making is this:  the folks that don’t agree with those values can opt out quickly, or better yet never join us in the first place. 

Action 1: Each of us has a choice in our Values.

The more conscious, “awake” and mindful you and I are as leaders, the easier it is to evaluate the effectiveness of the values we espouse.  Is there a defined value about fiscal health, a value about growth or training, a value about our communication or the ways in which we treat each other?   Yes?  You have the equivalent of a leadership GPS.  No?  Your left adrift to shouting opinions, the loudest voice, the biggest bully,  biggest shareholder, or fear that leads to drama.    

This begs the question, Is the drama or mis-understood meaning from sarcasm really something we value, or could we be more effective?  Do we have a value specific to accountability instead of finger pointing and blame?   

I often use an analogy of my company or yours being a water balloon.   As you apply pressure on one side, notice it just plops out on the other.  Values in action hold the balloon (the company) as a whole, expanding or contracting evenly as a whole system.   The end goal for clear decision-making is effectiveness.   Do the values held get us where we want and need to go?  Are we moving toward our defined vision or at least in the direction of our vision?   A jet in the air is only on course 4% of the time, there is constant course correction, so too in our case, even in chaos.      

Action 2: Conscious Practice Makes Perfect!  Gain Clarity and Calm in Chaos

Like a professional sports team, world class orchestra or dance company or frankly, like the military, the more we practice a skill set, the more competent we become.   Active experiential practice in actively using our values in decision making gets that decision making to speed on a daily basis.   

In most cultures, populations allude to “our values” as a collective more than define them specifically or more, use them actively in dialogue or decision making. The root point of my offering here is that we have another option. We can actively use our values in real time as decision making tools and in dialogue. That is, we have the option to practice clarity, practice using values in real time, under pressure. I call this, “using values as verbs” instead of nouns. With this choice values can actually guide behaviors in real time. The more you and I practice this, the more effective we get.  

No surprise.   

IVS (Issue/Values/Solution)

Here’s an example:  When a manager, staff member or board has to make a decision, ask two questions:  1. Which Values apply?  2. What are the behaviors that support that value in action?   Hint:  the more values we name, the stronger and more long lasting the decision will be.   

Now, ponder this:  As an alternative to a values conflict which is a concept many leaders talk about, act with values integration.  Here’s an example: While fiscal health is a value and a must, so too are “environmental health” and “active participation in our community.”  From experience we know in pandemic and economic recession chaos reigns.  In this scenario we also know cutting costs is an immediate must.   The default habit is likely one of values conflict and that “fiscal health” tramples anything else.   At the same time, there is an opportunity to use existing inventory or labor in ways that reach out to the neighborhood in sustainable ways and actually build sales instead of losing sales.   Can we make a decision that integrates the best of ourselves and all three values of fiscal health, environment and community instead of one or none?   The short answer is yes.   And in fact, some business leaders did so, while others simply froze in the chaos from fear or some other catalyst.   

With Purpose, Vision and Values intact, any issue that comes at us, is aligned through Values in action and an IVS approach.   What does operating at 25% or 50% capacity mean?   At first cut, the response is likely, business is not designed to survive at 25% capacity.   Quickly, the clarity and use of operating values to make choices that act on purpose to align with vision AND remain solvent is a tangible outcome in case after 

case.   For those without said tools, the likely hood of survival has been close to zero.   Those with tools have survived and thrived.   Full circle, next issue, what actions do we take?  What must our behaviors be or how must they shift to maximize performance?  Values guide and make behaviors, read: decisions, clear and expedient and effective. 

Last, with defined values used on a regular basis, you and I have the opportunity to include the whole team in our decision-making process.   You may push back here, however time and again, even in this last “pandemic year,” I’ve watched folks as young as 16 – 26 behave far beyond their years, with the maturity of board members and investors.  How?  Re-read from top to bottom.   Instead of relying on common sense, go to values integration with a clear goal in mind.   IVS, two questions:  1.  Which values apply to support  our purpose and vision?   2.  What are the behaviors that support successful implementation of that value, each value and our purpose to accomplish this vision, this mission?  Try it.  I invite you to watch and experience an outcome of ownership attitude in your team when these two simple questions get asked and implemented.

The more clearly your values are actionable, the more we practice, voicing values and behaviors in real time, decisions get made at speed, in real time, regardless of the issue:  reduce the inventory, tighten production, how do we build a new pickup line?  etc.   While you may reach a port you never intended, like a plane or ship in a storm, you will land alive and healthy, vessel/company intact, team inspired and tighter than ever!  No theory here, the process works.  Clarity in Chaos.  What a gift it can be.   

For more on building a dynamic “Culture by Choice, Not Chance”, visit miick.com or call us at 303-413-0400.  Tap into a free consult with me!  

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The world of restaurants and foodservice performs every aspect of business there is. We literally have “all” verticals of industry under “one roof” every day. More so, our transaction time is faster by far than most. Our production cycle is multiple times an hour, every day, with the expectation of zero defects, and 100% money-back guarantee. We accomplish this outcome with very tight margins! At the very foundation of our performance, and most often taken for granted, is sanitation and safety.

As global pandemic of Covid 19 spreads this month three simple rules apply: Rule 1. “Wash your hands with soap and water for twenty (20) seconds.” Rule 2. Sneeze into your elbow/sleeve. Rule 3. Manage personal space. These rules are basic in our industry, so obvious and so often forgotten. 

Trust that safe, sanitary production is present in our world of work has historically been at the very core of both guest trial and retention. When we execute effectively, this trust evolves into the creation of raging fans of our businesses.

What has been restaurant/food production “101” for decades cannot be taken for granted. As operators, owners, brand managers, team members, we lead the way. We can be the model for our nation and the globe. We can do this and be this, literally.

Our guidance from the federal government is not consistent. Different levels of government are sharing different views on what is real and/or what is important. In our industry, we know these basic rules, and how to handle and create sanitary conditions. We can model these basic methods and be a voice of reason and care.

There are at least two deeper issues and opportunities we can step into from our wake-up call with Covid- 19. Both issues focus on our teams and their well-being.

Issue 1: 

What about paid medical leave? The alternative is our habit. That is, having our whole team cycle through ongoing illness because there is no paid medical leave. Exacerbated now, the potential of this habit can unknowingly spread illness to our customers. For years, the real cost of lost production and/or sales to our companies when illness cycles on site over and over again has had me in awe. Yet, this has been our habit. Hopefully, no more. We have the opportunity to be conscious and choiceful in our actions. 

Issue 2:

As big, and just simply sad, is the issue of childhood hunger. Covid 19 has raised attention to a major issue of school shut downs, usually unspoken. We seem oblivious to: How many students DEPEND on both breakfast and lunch from school programs. What happens for these kids and their nutrition when the schools are closed? There’s no valid reason for childhood hunger. Yet, this issue will continue as will the awareness of basic hand washing (sanitation) long after Covid 19 is dealt with and “gone.” We have an opportunity to get rid of this issue, if we choose. (Please check out: nokidhungry.com and other programs available via google or other media.) We have an opportunity to be conscious and take positive action by choice!

My invitation, from one restaurateur to another, from one business person to another, is that we step into the bigger dialogue and solution of these two issues: medical leave and the issue of childhood hunger. Along the way we can reinforce all we know about hand washing, sneezing into a sleeve/elbow and honoring personal and public space. 

Best to you, your team and your community during the next few months of this challenge of pandemic! Let’s lead the way in what we can do daily with the choices we make for our lives and businesses!

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Over the years I see the same four errors being played out repeatedly regardless of industry segment. Here’s how owners, managers and HR departments get in their own way and miss the opportunity to get great staff. Read on to find ways to solve these errors and likely ease some of your headaches on this topic! 

Error 1: Waiting until the last minute to interview. 

Schedule Interviews on a regular basis instead of waiting until a staff member offers notice or just quits. Waiting to interview until someone gives notice sets up what I call, “hiring a pulse.”

Ongoing scheduled interviews accomplishes two goals: 1. Effective interviews build interviewing skills. 2. When an A+ player does show up, hire them and raise the performance bar of your team. There’s a big opportunity here to keep interviewing. 

Remember that Culture = Brand! Do not settle for someone that doesn’t fit your culture. Your brand experience will suffer. Keep interviewing until you find the right person. This is likely to be one (1) person out of twenty (20), not one (1) out of five (5). Regularly scheduled interviews set up success.

Error 2: Signage that just says, “Now hiring” 

Tell a story with your job posting. Lose the “now hiring” signs and post something akin to “We’re always hiring folks that love “food” (e.g., helping people, troubleshooting, being part of a great team, etc.)” With Craig’s list, Indeed, or any other posting platform, tell a story about the way your culture feels and the outcomes the person in this position achieves! Create a story line for each position in your company regardless of department or level of hierarchy!

Error 3: Interviewing from a list of questions

Most interviewers ask questions from a check list. Question answered, move on. Skilled applicants go through this rote with the interviewer as bored as the applicant. Unskilled applicants get off the hook easily. Instead, go deeper. Ask the real question.

A commonly asked question is, “What do you see yourself doing in 5 years?” Applicant responds… an example of the real question is, “Of all the things you could do, why that?”

One of my favorite interview queries is this, “Define Common Sense.” The follow up question is: “On a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being “all the time”, based on your definition, how would you rate yourself using/having common sense?”

Another opportunity often lost is this: when someone mentions a school you went to, mentions a place you know well, or shares a passion that you share, typically the interviewer gives away critical information, “oh, I’ve been there”; “I play guitar too”; etc. Instead, hold back your information and go deeper with questions about the applicant’s experience. If the applicant is misleading you here, they’re likely mis-speaking about other parts of their interview. Pay attention. 

Error 4: Keep Talking; Just Talking

Two opportunities here:

1. All too often the candidate is just allowed to ramble on with answers. Once you’ve made a decision (e.g., no; move to a second interview; yes to a hire) stop the interview by thanking the candidate for their time and information shared. Do not feel obligated to keep going just because of some artificial deadline.
2. In addition to dialogue and asking questions, set up work exercises (not roll plays) with as little explanation as possible. Let the exercise show the applicant’s skill set relevant to what they’ve said or not. Whether they do well in the exercises or not, the interviewing team gains immediate information that verifies or negates what’s been heard from the candidate.

Exercises can be as simple as greeting a guest, selling a random item, adding a list of numbers (with a pre-determined total), carrying a tray, etc. Have two or three exercises ready for each position you interview; have props ready in advance of the interview so there is easy flow from a question to an exercise.

Take advantage of these recommendations to make hiring easier and more effective. This is just the tip of the iceberg with hiring. Let me know how it goes!

And, there’s more information coming in Rudy’s new book, soon to be released, From Purpose to Profit! Be in touch with Rudy at: rudy@miick.com

The post 4 Mistakes That Make Hiring Hard appeared first on The Miick Companies.

Three issues, three solutions:
Issue I. Finding and keeping great staff is illusive. This is the same old story. Here are three solutions to this issue:

1. Define excellence in every job or position. Instead of relying on common sense (there’s no common sense by the way) create a shared sense of what performance excellence is. Period. See item II Below!
2. Tell a story in your job posts. Re-think help wanted and talk about the kind of work place you have and the opportunities there are for anyone working here. Hire attitude, teach skills. See item II Below! 
3. Hold interviews on a regular basis. Instead of hiring a warm pulse, interview until you find the right attitude. Hire A+ when it shows up. The ratio we’ve found typical is about twenty (20) interviews for one (1) A+ hire. (All the better when we define what A+ actually is.)

Issue II. Be aware of three (3) cultural norms! Two are deadly. After forty years building, evolving and growing values driven, high performing companies, I find the following Irrefutable: Workers work in three broad culture norms. Each is created by leadership behaviors which by choice or default create a Brand/Culture norm. Motivators are one of three:

1. fear = do the job or else. 

With fear, A+ players leave because they know they can get a job anywhere. A company driven by fear gets left with average or below average performance. 

1. neutral = it’s a job;

A company playing in the neutral mode, have leaders thinking it’s the workers that need to change or evolve to our habits, it’s not us that have to shift attitudes it’s the employees that need to adhere to us. 

Here’s what happens: In neutral mode (the typical restaurant or hospitality side is neutral) and performance is, well, average, not great, not horrible. Outcome? The attitude of leadership we find is that labor is hard, we can’t find any good people. We have a turn over median that is +/- 185%.

C. inspiration = I am inspired by what we do and thus, I perform at a higher level.

In an inspired workplace excellence is defined, A+ players are inspired, performance rises, and we just keep getting better! Turnover drops and retention rises in an inspired workplace because the team is, well, inspired. 

Of interest too is this: people not inspired leave of their own accord. Ironically who replaces them are other inspired workers. Hence the potency of a values driven work place. The more we define excellence and coach to the positive, the culture/brand acts as an attractor for new hires that want to perform! Turnover goes down, costs go down, retention, sales and profits go up! Period.

Issue III. AI is a paradox: Incredible opportunity and threat! Be Aware!

The good news and the bad news is that unemployment is at a near all-time low. Bad news, our story continues to be, “I can’t find any good people out there!” (Where do I find great people? start over, read from the top of the blog)

Good news: Just “around the bend”, 5 years, 10 years at most, there’s a freight train headed straight at us. Thanks to the story about how hard it is to get good help, and ever enhanced technology, AI is going be a capital investment that replaces any staff position that demands consistent, replicable performance.

Bad news: As low as unemployment is now, it’ll be that proportionally high when AI kicks in hard. Seems like it can be an employer’s dream.

… One last piece that I’m not hearing anyone talk about is what happens to gross sales when so many people will be unemployed and potentially unemployable?

What’s our role as leaders, founders, c-suite and floor for vision with training, ongoing learning of all kinds for the team members we have and will have?

Obviously, the three issues relate. When issue I. and issue II are put in place, Issue III. takes care of itself for now. (More on this in coming blogs.)

Questions come to mind: What’s it take to have a truly inspired workplace? Do We actually care enough to inspire? Is it just easier to drive people? Is our training enough? How do we keep getting better?

As my colleague/friend Horst Abrams asks, “Your Thoughts?”

About Miick

The key to receiving these benefits is learning how to delegate effectively. Miick is an able coach and guide for you and your team in the process. Our Values drive us to client success and our track record proves it. We walk our talk. We can coach you in becoming a better leader who knows how to delegate effectively. We can also help build up the performance of your business as a whole. Please be in touch to see how you can benefit from the two of us working together. 

The post 3 Labor Issues, 3 Labor Solutions appeared first on The Miick Companies.

Yes, you could do this thing you’re about to give away. And, you know you’d do it right. At the same time, with all you and I have to do, the most effective action we can take, if we can trust the process, is to give this task away! Give it away. You got it, delegate!

However, giving away the task, does NOT mean, throw the keys at somebody and say, “You’ve got it!”

To Delegate effectively there are some important action steps to take. Make no mistake, it’s worth working through these steps because effective delegation can bring strong benefits.

First, the steps to take, then the benefits to celebrate! 

6 steps to Delegate Effectively:

1. What needs to be accomplished?
   Be as clear, as definitive as possible. Name the goal, name the timeline, name the budget, name the resources. 
2. Why this is important!
   Name the biggest reason you can think of and share why this task/event is important! The bigger the “WHY”, the more likely the job will be done well, e.g., jobs will be created, top line will expand, profit sharing of the bottom line will expand, new markets will be created, a new door will likely open for you, are all examples of big “Whys.” And, be clear, because I ask you to do this, and I’m your boss, is more a whip than a why.
3. Why YOU are the right person! 
   Think through and share why the person you’ve picked is the right person. E.g., “Susan, you have the skills to do this, you’re ready for the challenge and the opportunity!” And, it’s okay to say no! Success for the goal is imperative and so too, success for the person to whom I’m delegating. Pick someone who wants the gig! 
4. How will this get done?
   Check in, be a resource; hear the action steps, suggest ideas based on experience.
5. What is the check back?
   For someone new to your process, check back is likely going to be sooner than later and more often than not. This does not mean micro manage. It does mean, check in, verify progress against budget, timeline and deadline. The more proven the track record of your picked lead person the longer the check back period can be. The less experience, check back more often. This is not to micro-manage. It is to support and guide possible solutions. Be a resource and have resources ready.
6. Keep a window to Course Correct!
   With points 4. And 5. Check back often enough that if the process is off course, we can course correct. An eleventh (11th) hour miss is too late to fix. Again, this is not micro-managing, it IS effective check in on progress reports to ensure success.

Here’s what you win with effective Delegation!

• Employee Development
  Supporting others to take over responsibilities gives them a chance to learn and grow. Group projects allow team members to connect with one another and other departments. Making decisions and getting things done with you and me serving more as mentor than cop empowers the team. With fewer channels to go through, staff members finish tasks quicker, and enjoy the feeling of accomplishment.
• Leadership Development
  Delegation opens up more time for you and me to do the stuff we ought to be doing! We can focus on the duties specific to our role as well as other areas that will us develop ourselves. Our career goals seem easier to see and accomplish as tangible.Confidence is built in myself and in my team. Trust and respect show up; not only with those you and I lead directly, with other staff and leaders too. Bonus? There ends up being a growing assurance that when time is taken off, work will still carry on smoothly. Want a real vacation? This is how.
• Higher Efficiency
  Effective delegation, read project management, improves teamwork, results, increased productivity and profits. The extra time provided by efficiency allows shorter or more flexible workdays and the ability to take on more clients.
• A Stronger Company
  Those given the opportunity to take charge show up satisfied with their job environment and tend to stay loyal to the company. This lowers turnover. The more effectively we delegate the stronger our pool of team members with gained skills and experience. This stability strengthens the company. Follow the 6 steps of Delegation and delegate anything and everything you can. At the same time, do not delegate those things that only you can do. 

About Miick

The key to receiving these benefits is learning how to delegate effectively. Miick is an able coach and guide for you and your team in the process. Our Values drive us to client success and our track record proves it. We walk our talk. We can coach you in becoming a better leader who knows how to delegate effectively. We can also help build up the performance of your business as a whole. Please be in touch to see how you can benefit from the two of us working together. 

The post Effective Delegation: Steps To Take, Benefits To Celebrate appeared first on The Miick Companies.

Is it the candy? Sure, kids love Halloween for candy, but when you get older, candy becomes more plight than it is pleasure. As adults, we’d rather send Skittles to our troops as a token of gratitude rather than eat them ourselves.

Is it the costumes? Certainly that’s part of it. Like an adult trip to Disney World, there’s magic in nostalgia. There’s joy in becoming someone new for the night, to put on a costume in both the literal and figurative sense of it. Theres’s fun in it.

Is it the idea of Halloween? Yellow and orange leaves falling. Pumpkins illuminated with different emotions. Tombstones in the yard and ghosts hanging from the trees. Of course, all of these things contribute to the greater spirit of the holiday, and when they’re combined together, what we’re left with is the culture of Halloween.

Like anything else in the world, when you take things at their individual level that have an intrinsic value, a face value, they are what they are. But when you combine them, when you add additional players or context, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. By definition, this is synergy.

The most common use of the word synergy is in business. It’s used by companies to denote the areas where varying departments or thoughts or processes come together to form something greater. And though these things aren’t always thought of as “company culture,” by nature, synergies ARE company culture because they’re the places where companies becomes something greater than their individual parts, or departments.

It’s no different with Halloween. Or with content. Or with the hiring process. Everything together becomes part of the overall culture. It is part of the context. It’s part of what makes your company your company.

So the question then becomes, how can you cultivate company culture? How can you make it known to everyone inside and outside the organization so the company’s impact is a positive one? How do you define company culture?

The answer lies within the question. You have to define that culture. Create it. Make sure it’s grounded in the overall Purpose and Values of the organization.

If you’re not sure whether your company culture exists by accident or on purpose, or if your answer is “somewhere in between,” it’s time to look at why.

Company culture begins with the top 10 red flags and green flags that say either “our culture needs attention” or “we’re AWAKE and on our way with who we are as a company.”

Review those key company culture indicators today.

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There are new populations like Gen Y and millennials to understand. There’s new technology to learn and then train your staff with. There’s the high turnover, so you are consistently looking for reliable team members. There’s the challenge of retention and creating a culture that staff members want to be a part of.

The most successful operators are new-age leaders who aim to develop new leaders and build a culture that stands out.

But the first step to being a great leader is understanding motives.

We sat down with Rudy Miick, founder of Miick Companies on the recent IOChangeMakers live stream to see what it takes to be a leader today as the restaurant industry experiences a profound shift. As Miick points out, there are two types of workers today. Ones that have to work to make a living and others that are inspired to work.

So the goal is to inspire your team. But that is easier said than done. It all starts with defining the “why” or as Miick calls it “your purpose.”

“If I don’t have a sense of purpose or what some people now call the why, if I don’t know why we’re in business besides making money, then I end up being that rudderless leader,” says Miick.

Once you define the why and then establish values that support the why this is how you create or build a culture that resonates. Understanding the why also inspires new leaders within your team.

Want more leadership tips from Miick? Check out the clip above. The full interview is also now exclusively available on Foodable On-Demand here.

The post The Foodable Network and Rudy Miick Discuss Leadership Skills for the Future appeared first on The Miick Companies.