Chase Leblanc's Blog (19)

With all due respect to the comedy of Jeff Foxworthy and his classic riffs on “You might be a redneck if…” - I’m helping myself to a new theme that is a little closer to home –

 “You might be a #restaurant #epic #fail if…”

• Lights or letters in your outside signage are broken for weeks on end
• Without speaking a word of greeting, your host turns heel, grabs menus proceeds across the room and exasperatingly gesticulates for the guests to…

It was a regular day and I was going to stop at the local, newly remodeled King Soopers  (A Kroger grocery store) to pick up some items. Now this was early in the morning and, by nature, the night crew is winding down and the day crew is winding up. I like to grocery shop really early to avoid the crowds, but this places me squarely in the employee performance twilight zone.…

And now…I will shed some light on a—not so little—secret of organizational life.

There are some over-eager beavers, who deftly scramble up the political and positional ladder seemingly salivating at the prospect of power. Their mastery of corporate gamesman/woman-ship does not guarantee that they are the “sharpest knives in the drawer.” All too often, my experience has shown that if you were to strip away their job title, many lack the influence or substance for making critical…

The words “leader” and “leadership” used to be widely accepted definitions of person(s) at the very top. Now, they have been widely broadened to reflectively include those who contribute to the process of moving things forward at any level, in any business setting.

I like to think of it this way, leadership is like ice cream, and the specific business, industry or circumstances are the flavors. It is impossible to use chocolate chip and make it work when pistachio swirl is required,…

I have

lived up, down, in the middle and on both sides of the USA, but I was raised in

the West. I’m not a farmer or rancher, but as I was growing up I had a chance

to spend some time “learning the ropes” from my relatives who…

“Low-down -dirty- good for nuthin…”

I still remember the first time I heard my Grandfather

deliver his ultimate displeasure with another human being.  It was his considered opinion that you could

be “good at” something and still be “good for nothing.”  As he saw it there were people who were darn

fine farmers, welders, mechanics, truck drivers, hunters, and so on, but if

your positive-character flag wasn’t flying high, he’d keep his distance.

When it comes right…

Just back from the CHART (Council of Hotel and Restaurant Trainers) shindig in Las Vegas, what a great group! I highly encourage anyone involved in HR/training/ops to join this stellar organization and attend their conferences. You will meet serious professionals who are enthusiastic, caring, and ever-learning.

The learning activities were full of valuable content and the peer relationship building opportunities are unmatched. The guest speakers were phenomenal, including Dawn…

A friend just mentioned to me that Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple (as if you don’t know who he is) had hired top business school professors to work up a project they call Apple University. It seems as if they are producing business case studies that review major decisions made by the Apple team over the years in an effort to capture, and make available internally the business magic that polishes the Apple.

Major business schools utilize the business case study as a foundational teaching…

Not all companies want their managers to be great leaders—it depends on the

leadership of the company.

Truthfully, many companies would be more agreeable to producing better

followers than better leaders for a myriad of reasons. It could be the small

mindedness of the people in the top-jobs who feel threatened when a

subordinate outshines them and realistically there is a startling lack of rewards for

mentors involved with mentoring relationships.

There is…

Leadership is a term for a “role” that one seeks or is thrown into (or back-doors into), and is brought into play when one must influence/guide/impact others. Management refers to the “job” of having responsibility for bringing about specific outcomes or overseeing certain activities. You can be a leader without management responsibilities, which is called a figurehead. If you have no other person within your span of influence (let’s say you’re operating a street-cart) then you can manage…

A new car is all crazy-fresh-n’good when it rolls off the lot, but more than anything you hope (darn well expect) that it will go for miles and miles without trouble. Granted, it is going to need some more gas, an oil change and, at some point, new tires. And if you get in an accident, you might need to straighten the frame, or give it a coat of paint. Would you say that your odds are better at having your car last longer/go farther if you stay current with all the maintenance and service…

Over the years, I have been hounded by tribemates looking for a raise in pay (not unwarranted, but alas, still pervasive). If you want a pay increase to materialize at a faster pace, you must do some homework in addition to your work duties. What follows is the hospitality- manager response I have given to those on the money hunt: Whenever you are being evaluated for hiring, a promotion, or a raise, start with the most significant accomplishments you can cite from your recent…

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You have heard of Anthony Bourdain, he of NYC/chefdom/ Travel/Discovery Channel/Author/Back of the house buccaneer/ fabulous’ness & fame - Well, he also travels around and does a live stand up show. Recently, I read that he was coming to my Mile High City.…

There is no way you can be considered for, let alone achieve, a top hospitality dream job without walkin’ and talkin’ dollars and cents. You may be a front of the house/heart of the house expert, but to grow or perhaps, at times to survive, you may need to travel beyond your personal network to obtain money. It doesn’t matter if it is the bank, the boss,…

We’ve been going steady for a long time, but now I’m writing to tell you that we are through. I’m older now than when we first met, and frankly, I’m tired of the way you treat me. Do you even remember when we first met? I was 10 and on a family vacation to…

So, you want to run a hospitality (restaurant – bar – both - other) operation. If you think you had a full plate at last year’s Thanksgiving dinner, wait until you see what they are going to be dumping on your plate now. The following is not a top ten list; in fact, it is a random start to a never…

Everywhere you go there is divisiveness. “They are not like us”, “they” say, one country vs. another, men vs. women, blues vs. reds, old vs. young, rich vs. poor, tech savvy vs. tech newbie, and… front of the house vs. back of the house.…