The Day I Realized...

         After sixteen years of applying myself with diligence and a lot of hard work, I finally made sous chef. Although I was only second in command, I still had to manage a bustling hotel kitchen which consisted of three separate restaurants, a full service `round the world buffet, plus an average of over five million dollars per year in added revenue when you throw in all the lavish banquets and 24-7, upscale room service to boot. On top of this already sizable workload, the employee cafeteria would feed the entire hotel staff for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Of course, these were also prepared by us.

 When the crew is in sync and everything is running smoothly, it's my turn to do what I enjoy most.

 Walking the ballroom or dining room floor in my brightest white chef coat and responding to the many wonderful compliments was not a gamble, it was a certainty. The risk of having to answer to a disgruntled guest was extremely rare, but if so, I took the opportunity to address their issue personally, often times leaving my patron feeling satisfied beyond their expectations.

 Meeting expectations is for the other guys. I commit myself and my staff to consistently exceed their expectations while maintaining the highest of standards in quality and excellence.

 When the rush is over and the kitchen calms down, the next most enjoyable part of my day is when I get to spend some time teaching and training what I refer to as my students, both verbally and physically. I made sure the interns we played host to, who might come from one of the many culinary schools around the world, would be exposed to such things a book cannot teach. And believe me, there are many. So in my kitchen, expect to treated as a student, not just another employee.

 I made my position clear about their job and how I feel about work ethic with this statement:

 "If you don't like your job, you need to find a way to like it, learn a way to love it, or find one you can. Because if you don't, you'll just be miserable. All you need is pride in what you do and your job becomes a whole lot easier."

"Pride Breeds Excellence"

 One thing I learned as chairperson of the Values Committee for Red Lion Hotels is word of mouth is the best advertisement money can't buy. One bad comment spreads like wildfire, but when there are so many great ones going around, success is ensured.

 Enjoying my job was not a conscious decision. Even I wasn't aware of this until a co-worker asked me why I always seemed so darn happy all the time. It was then I realized, "Wow, I actually do love my job."

 A culture of mentor-ship is the cornerstone of confidence and ultimate job satisfaction.