Building a High-Performance Culture is More Important Than Ever
by Bob Gershberg, CEO/Managing Partner Wray Executive Search
It is the mission of most leaders to build a high-performance culture, particularly when teeing up for substantive challenge or growth. The long revered strategic plan may forge a path, but truth be told, its course loses direction when the need to scramble rears its head. A strong and focused talent strategy is paramount in creating a high-performance culture. People policies drive strategy. Leaders must own employee engagement.
Instilling an unwavering sense of pride, having a concrete mission along with clear guiding principles will help ensure high performance. Winning organizations are typically performance oriented, purpose driven and principles led. Talent needs to be sourced, engaged and developed in order to execute vision and business strategy. A collaborative culture is engaging and energizing but let your eagles soar.
by John A. Gordon, Principal and Founder, Pacific Management Consulting Group
The Fog of War
All of our lives changed on March 12, 2020, when it became clear that COVID-19 had become a big problem, here and throughout the world. Of course, it would impact our business greatly, as our business is a people business, primarily fulfilling either kitchen replacement or socialization dining. Fortunately, many—smart-- management teams adapted quickly where they could. Customer preference mix changes quickly, generally the QSR space recovered very quickly, lead by drive-thru concepts, chicken, and most pizza brands. Some fast-casual brands have recovered, think Chipotle (CMG) and others. Casual dining is still difficult overall but flagship portfolios like Darden (DRI) are at the peak of their game and will continue to lead the way post-COVID.
I’ve been working on a business transformation project for a medium-size restaurant operator that has several different restaurant brands. It has first-class corporate officers, operations, financial management, human resources, and information technology disciplines among others. It is working to improve others, and it does have some investment gaps, which it has recognized. One of the interesting observations was that while they were very analytical, the corporate staff departments were so analytical that they tried to find perfect information to justify taking action. Unfortunately, they were on the verge of, in the words, of an old boss of mine, making “perfect to be the enemy of good.” Making company-wide decisions was taking too long.
"A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way"
~John Maxwell
Remembering Arne Sorenson
Arne Sorenson, who built the Marriott hotel company into the world’s biggest, has died at age 62. He had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in May 2019. Sorenson's $13 billion acquisition of Starwood Hotels & Resorts five years ago, beating out rival bidders Hyatt Hotels and China’s Anbang Insurance Group, “created a colossus with 30 brands,” such as Ritz Carlton, writes The Wall Street Journal. The deal was driven by competition from online travel agents, and the company went on to create a home-rental service to rival Airbnb. Sorenson was the first outside the Marriott family to lead the company as CEO.
5 Reasons Your Employees Don’t Trust You
By Stuart Hearn
Do you trust your employees? Do your employees trust you? How can you be sure?
If you are in a position to claim that you and your colleagues are trustworthy, congratulations! Your company is on the road to achieving great results. If you’re unsure, though, now is the time to search for causes of and remedies for distrust within the workplace.
The general perception employees have of managers is that they’re some type of Big Brother entity that observes and analyzes their attitudes and performances at work. The feeling of being watched and examined can adversely affect the relationship workers develop with their managers. Consequently, this may translate into a lack of trust.
Is Trust Important in the Workplace?
The question is clearly rhetorical. Trust is the glue of society, and it is fundamental in any human relationship. When managers trust their employees and vice versa, both parties can build meaningful relationships and perform better at work.
Yum! Brands Reports Fourth-Quarter Results, Primed to Grow in 2021 and Beyond; Same-Store Sales Decline of (1)%, Record Digital Sales of Nearly $5 Billion
