A Tribute To My Team

How many times have you heard that recognition is a part of successful
leadership?

How many times have you heard that you have to deposit in your team’s
emotional bank account 5 times positively before you can take one withdrawal?

How many times have you been told you get more bees with honey?

I thought this week I would write about the obvious positive impact of recognition
to your team’s success, your long-term goals, and improving your leadership
skills. Instead I am going to take advantage of my weekly spot on the “front page”
of FOHBOH to “actually” recognize some key people within my organization.
If it weren’t for them and their impact on the overall results of our team, my
quality of life would be crap, and all of my passion for sharing the virtues of great
leadership to everyone I meet would be worthless as I would be spending all my
time trying to catch up to my To Do list. Great results produced by a successful
team allows for my time to be successful.

In no particular order….

Tom Jasen, GM in Niles Ohio…you have a great heart and a genuine desire
to please. I have never seen someone apply so much effort to achieve an end
result. Your resilience during tough times, just amazing

Brian Zillinger, GM in Hermitage, PA….you deserved a shot a long time ago.
You give me an example everyday of how to methodically decide what is most
important and get that done first. For that, thank you!

Aliecia Shields, GM in Marysville, OH….the day I met you as a bartender I knew
you would be part of something big and your recent promotion only proves that.
Your drive to be awesome…can’t be compared to anyone else. If it weren’t for
your recent work in your new position my life would invariably suck.

Joel Shields, GM in Boardman, OH…new dude, new team, new set of eyes, and
an overwhelming desire to catch up to speed faster than anyone I have seen.

Jeremy Kline, GM, Columbus, OH…..wrestling a monster, learning along the
way, finding a way to make yourself better. Your personal growth skills at the rate
you are improving, I have never seen. So proud of you

John Luther, GM, Columbus, OH….a knight in shining armor brought to the
team from out of the blue….I was struggling to keep up until you arrived. Your
attachment to the community and brand good will makes me wish I were a better
person.

Bill Haren, GM, Whitehall, OH…another monster wrestler, clarity in analytics,
calm under extreme pressure, steadfast, new dad, and nary a negative word
comes out of your mouth. How do you do it….I am amazed.

Casey Tea, GM, Marion, OH…watchdog, pitbull, keeper of the cash, holder
of “keep it simple, stupid” Our financial mentor and developer. You brought the
missing piece to the team

Kim Kidwell, GM, Hilliard, OH….the water carrier, the organizer of any new
procedure, the savior, the one that makes it happen by the book, process, or
standard no matter what the cost. I wish I had been as good a GM as you.

I am truly blessed to be surrounded by such overwhelming leadership People
often ask me where I get my ideas in leadership to write about each week. I get it
from what the people listed above do every day. It’s not theory, it’s seen in what
they contribute every day.

Thanks to all of you for allowing ME to be a part of YOUR success!

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Comment by Michael L. Atkinson on August 13, 2010 at 11:45am: Andy,

This is awesome and a great use of FohBoh. To call out your team and publicly recognize them is just one more example of your leadership skills. So, let me play this forward and recognize my team here at FohBoh:

Sarah: Without you, FohBoh would not exist. We would have a smaller vision, no fun and its true passion and mission would not be known. If the next generation of leaders of this amazing industry are like you, we are in really great shape.

Emerald: The gem of FohBoh, personifies loyalty and flawless execution. I can always count on you.

FohBro: Commitment, dedication, passion and intelligence. Michael's service philosophy is to love and serve all. If you haven't felt that through his prose and tone. you don't understand hospitality DNA.

Keith: Man, what would be do without your mad-scientist approach to programming and untangling PHP spaghetti. From vacuum tubes to cold fusion, FohBoh and its evolution beyond the community to become a successful social web technology company, has your signature all over it.

Phil: Bringing foodservice media experience to FohBoh will broaden our value proposition 50X. Your vision and energy is inspiring. Welcome to the team.

Rod: Two years ago you said FOHBOH was "Full Of Heart, Built On Hope". Exactly. Thanks for that!

Alice: You have committed your resources, time, heart and intelligence to making our company a valuable asset to our industry. Leadership is inspiring. You are a true leader.

Scott: Keep challenging and pushing us. It's this wisdom and commitment to our mission, that keeps us focused.

MNAH: Supportive. Offering only good and sincere advise. Always willing to listen and connect. You taught me to use my two ears and one mouth, accordingly.

Rich: Can you say grounding? You are leading us to our next destination with a renewed focus and keeping the wheels on the bus filled with promise.

Kim: Simply put. FohBoh is here because of you.

Thank you all and our mates from 185 countries.

Comment by Andy Swingley on August 10, 2010 at 8:31pm: Thanks to all for your comments!

Non-Operator Comment by Rod Guinn on August 10, 2010 at 2:25pm: Nice, Andy. You're fortunate to have such team members -- and they're fortunate to have you. Good begets better.

Comment by Joel Shields on August 10, 2010 at 10:24am: Andy, your guidance, support and instincts are the driving force. Thanks for the privilege of being a part of this team!!

Comment by Kim Kidwell on August 10, 2010 at 6:42am: Andy,
I know you don't want to hear this, but we are the blessed one's by getting to work with you! Everyone of us really appreciates the work that you put into communicating with our teams every day and it contributes to the morale of the group and only drives us to be better than the day before!

We do have a fantastic team, it is fun watching each GM contribute to the monthly meetings, someone always surprises us with their wisdom when we are least expecting it!

Thanks for all that you do, this is a great reminder that we need to take the time to appreciate those on each of our teams for all the work they do to make us successful!

Casey--you are the hero in driving our profits, we all thank you for being the leader and for all the time you spend everyday to ensure we are all setting the example for R2!

Comment by Scott Hutchinson on August 10, 2010 at 6:23am: Andy,

Again....you walk the walk my friend...so glad i get to work so close with you and your team!