Cook. Craft. Create. Convention & ShowAugust 3, 2015 – Orlando World Center Marriott

My Story

Warren Dietel, CEO & Owner Puff ‘n Stuff Catering & Chef’s Commissary

Serial entrepreneur since my teen years Professional experience:

Car detailing, Disney Weddings, Disney Institute, Scott Kay

Purchased Puff ‘n Stuff Catering in 2003 Opened Chef’s Commissary in 2013 Restaurant Partners Procurement Partner

Housekeeping

I speak fast

We are going deep - big initiative for my companies

Questions welcomed during and at the end

Copy of the presentation available on www.slideshare.net/warrendietel

You can reach me later for questionswarren@puffnstuff.com 407-227-5697

The Book That Started It All

Organization Health

“When an organization’s leaders are cohesive, when they are unambiguously

aligned around a common set of answers to a few critical questions, when they communicate those answers again and again and again, and when they put effective processes in place

to reinforce those answers, they create an environment in which success is almost

impossible to prevent. Really.”Patrick Lencioni

And then what…

Hyper engagement at the leadership level permeates through the every member of the organization

Old Puff

Opened in 1980 as family-owned business Positive reputation in the community Purchased in 2003, annual sales of $1.8M,

at operational limit Infrastructure required improvements to

support growth Small leadership team – mostly family Very much a small business feel

New Puff

Tremendous potential + aggressive growth plan = 267% growth in 3 years – 2004 – 2007

13M Sales Goal for 2015 Expanded to Tampa in 2010 with acquisition and now a new

32,000 sq ft commissary opening in 2015 600+ team members Passionately perfecting our clients life

celebrations Diversifying segment base 8 Exclusive venues 220+ Preferred venues Chef’s Commissary’s now in stand alone factory Cohesive leadership team…finally

Two Requirements for Success

• Strategy• Marketing• Finance• Technology

• Minimal Politics• Minimal

Confusion• High Morale• High

Productivity• Low Turnover

Smart

Health

The Four Disciplines

Discipline #1 Building A Cohesive Leadership Team

Team #1 - Leadership team - Small group collectively responsible for achieving a common objective

3 to 12 members , but ideal would be 3-8

Collectively responsible – selfless and shared sacrifices

Common objectives with collective focus

Puff’s Leadership Team

2014 9 people First meeting on

2/26/14 Committed to one

another that we will be collectively responsible

Defined #1 goal for 2014 (financial responsibility to budget)

Redefined core values and strategic anchors

2015 • 9 people (one open)• Leader changes – right reasons• Bi-Weekly meetings• More cohesive and trusting• Defined #1 goal of 2015(building up team #1)

• Continuing to fine-tune 2014 initiatives• Laser focused on departmental objectives (vision letter)

2015 Puff Team #1

Warren

Rosy Usmani

Marketing

Fred MillerHR

Mary DicksonFinance

Heather Hofmann

Tampa Operations

Heather HofmannOrlando

Operations

Heidi BriceOrlando

Sales

Amy PryorVenue

Relations

Raul MatiasChef’s

Commissary

Lauren BaldenTampa Sales

Vision - Goal Setting Letter

What does your business look like 1 year in the future?

Create a vision of the future describing how you achieved your key goals. Measurable = Accountable.

Process Steps1. Brainstorm alone or with a colleague to identify your goals 2. Present to your peers for feedback3. Finalize Vision Letter incorporating these insights4. Attend quarterly review meetings with peers to review

your progress 5. Review Vision performance at the end of the year

Teamwork Model

Five Behavioral Principles

1. Building Trust: Team members who trust one another are comfortable being open, even exposed, to one another about their failures, weaknesses and fears.

2. Mastering Conflict: When trust is present, teams are able to engage in unfiltered ideological debate around ideas, issues and decisions that must be made.

3. Achieving Commitment: The ability to engage in conflict and provide input enables team members to buy-in or commit to decisions.

4. Embracing Accountability: After commitment is established, team members must be willing to hold one another accountable and remind each other when actions are counterproductive to the team.

5. Focusing on Results: Collective team results must supersede any departmental or personal objectives or pursuits.

#1 Building Trust Exercise Purpose: To improve trust by giving team members an

opportunity to demonstrate vulnerability in a low-risk way and to help team members understand one another at a fundamental level so that they can avoid making false attributions about behaviors and intentions.

Time Required: 15 - 25 Minutes Instructions: Go around the table and have everyone answer

three questions about themselves.1. Where did you grow up?2. How many siblings do you have and where do you fall in

that order?3. Please describe a unique or interesting challenge or experience from your childhood.

Debrief: Ask team members to share what they learned about one another that they didn't already know. This reinforces the purpose of the exercise and allows for a natural ending to the conversation.

#1 Building Trust

Sales and Marketing as One Unstoppable Force Fall 2013 new Marketing Manager hired 3rd in 2 years Tampa: Doesn’t always have the same access /

unique challenges due to commissary location Orlando: In the past a constant struggle and

lack ofcohesive support from marketing

Persistence, patience and an open-mindyielded growth and trust

Unified decisions have brought Tampaand Orlando together, through marketing

#2 Mastering Conflict

With trust, conflict is just pursuit of truth

Conflict avoidance at the top transfers it down Ideally, the team should engage in constructive

conflict but not destructive Willing to recover if the line gets crossed Mine for conflict in meetings, and reinforce it when it happens Trust is critical

#2 Mastering Conflict

It’s not all roses and sunshine! Trusted team member came up the ranks to

leadership level. Trust was breached. Unhealthy conflicts moving away from vision

(shared goals) Created two opposing factions Team #1 opened the door to face the conflict Attention to the challenges and offered a “reset”

button

#3 Achieving Commitment

Can’t happen without trust and conflict – people need to provide input, ask questions and understand the rationale of decisions

Can’t wait for consensus – disagree and commit Leader’s responsibility to break ties Prevent passive sabotage (not speaking up then

instigating “the meeting after the meeting”) Must have clear agreement on message Move forward UNITED!

#3 Achieving Commitment

Hear No Evil; See No Evil Team #1 committed to “financial responsibility” in

2014 To support this goal finance department committed

to reporting financial results on time and accurately Required commitment from all leaders to submit

invoices on time and be mindful of spending Monthly reports provided clear snapshot of progress Finance department also provided additional

support by offering advice and knowledge to leaders to assist with maintaining their budgets

#4 Embracing Accountability

THE HARDEST PART Requires commitment first Peer-to-peer accountability is the primary

and most effective source of accountability on the leadership team of a healthy organization

Can’t all come from leader, but leader has to be willing to confront

Hardest part of building a cohesive team Ultimately, courageous and selfless (it’s not

about you or me, it’s about the company)

#4 Embracing Accountability

Blame Game Over $1m spend on (all) discounts in 2013 Determined there was no ownership, accountability or

process in place Finance, Marketing and Sales teamed up to create a

better system that would reduce this amount and provide greater understanding of our discount dollars

Reduced total amount by 20% Shared accountability has increased trust among these

three departments. Positive results fuel additional shared projects

#5 Focusing on Results

Ultimate outcome of trust, conflict, commitment and accountability is results

Need to focus on collective goals – not departmental goals – one team, one score

Place higher priority on leadership team than the team they lead

Leadership team must embrace the power of team #1CELEBRATE

#5 Focusing on Results

This Feels Good…NO, better Steady decrease in employee moral for past 4 years Led to poor productivity, high turn over and reduction in

overall quality of service Single, most difficult challenge faced by leadership Frequently discussed during meetings Solution: Added HR position to oversee current efforts,

become employee advocate, relieve Finance of HR tasks Action Items: Better staff communications, targeted hiring,

anniversary lunches, personal birthday cards, Token of Appreciation Program, accurate job descriptions, progression planning, improved training, and many more

People who don’t fit our core values are invited to work elsewhere

Checklist for a Cohesive Leadership Team

The leadership team is small enough to be effective (3 to 10 people)

Members of the team trust one another and can be genuinely vulnerable with each other

Team members regularly engage in productive, unfiltered conflict around important issues

The team leaves meetings with clear-cut, active and specific agreements around decisions

Team members hold one another accountable to commitments and behaviors

Members of the leadership team are focused on team number one. They put the collective priorities and needs of the larger organization ahead of their own departments or themselves.

The leadership team must agree on the answers to six simple, but critical questions

1. Why do we exist?2. How do we behave?3. What do we do?4. How will we succeed?5. What is most important, right now?6. Who must do what?

Discipline #2: Creating Clarity

Question 1: Why do we exist?

Core purpose from Built to Last Why a company exists has to be completely

idealistic Employees in every organization need to know

that at the heart of what they do lies something grand and aspirational

Here is why we exist…Deliver a better world for our valued team members in order to deliver a better product to the client.

Question 2: How do we behave?

Core values guide employee behavior Can’t be effective if broad Core values

Apparent in the organization for a long time 100% of the team must be committed Found in best employees (and missing in employee misfits) Must be embodied and modeled by leadership team

Here is how we behave… Quality Creativity Dedication Consistency

Question 3: What do we do?

Simplest of the six questions Not idealist – just a description of what the

organization actually does One-sentence business definition No adverbs or qualifiers, no details on strategy Can change over time

Here is what we do now…Provide catering solutions to diverse markets in the Tampa and Orlando communities.

Question 4: How Will We Succeed?

Essentially – the strategy Strategy is simply the plan for success – intentional decisions

a company makes to thrive and differentiate from competitors Broad – every decision is part of it Important to boil down to 3-4 strategic anchors Create an exhaustive list of everything intentional you do –

hiring, product/service approach, marketing, décor Then look for patterns to find three strategic anchors Strategic anchors change when market conditions change Provide clarity to walk away from opportunities that don’t align

with strategic anchors

Question 4: How Will We Succeed?

Here is how we will succeed.. Strategic Anchor: A care in selection and

development of team members at every level. Strategic Anchor: State of the art equipment,

technology and processes for superior execution. Strategic Anchor: Establish our identity as the

ultimate caterer in the market place…Really. Strategic Anchor: Enable each team member to

understand their purpose within the organization.

Question 5: What is most important, right now?

Most immediate and tangible impact on the company Companies have too many top priorities Create alignment by having one top priority at any given time Identify a thematic goal

Singular – one thing is the most important now Qualitative – not about specific numbers (yet) Temporary – clear time boundary of 3 to 12 months Shared across leadership team – all member focused on this as their

top priority Not about rallying the troops – more about clarity for how the

leadership team will spend their time and resources Must identify four to six defining objectives to achieve, and also

identify standard operational objectives

What was Goal #1 for Puff in 2014?

Financial performance to 2014 budget.

Objectives to Achieve This Finalize the budget – gain commitment & buy in (I can’t commit

if I don’t understand) Staff training for great efficiency and Leadership training to

better understand the budget Transparency – Communication about productivity expectations

needs to cascade down Provide a consistent message – this is the budget and it must be

achieved. That’s it! Daily measureable results – accountability & follow up

What Is Goal #1 for Puff in 2015

Building up Team #1.

Objectives to Achieve This Mine for conflict Hold each other accountable Providing a consistent message Ask for clarification Measurable Result: Employee moral and retention Measurable Result: Staff satisfaction survey’s Transparency – Communication about productivity

expectations needs to cascade down

Question 6: Who must do what?

Division of labor – starts at the top Easy step but can’t be overlooked Worthwhile to clarify so everyone on the

leadership team knows and agrees on who does what

Make sure all critical areas are covered

Back to the org chart for who does what…

2015 Puff Team #1

Warren

Rosy Usmani

Marketing

Fred MillerHR

Mary DicksonFinance

Heather Hofmann

Tampa Operations

Heather HofmannOrlando

Operations

Heidi BriceOrlando

Sales

Amy PryorVenue

Relations

Raul MatiasChef’s

Commissary

Lauren BaldenTampa Sales

Members of the leadership team know, agree on, and are passionate about the reason the organization exists

The leadership team has clarified and embraced a small, specific set of behavioral values

Leaders are clear and aligned around a strategy that helps them define success and differentiate from competitors

The leadership team has a clear, current goal with a collective sense of ownership for that goal

Members of the leadership team understand one another’s roles and responsibilities, and are comfortable asking questions about one another’s work

The elements of clarity are concisely summarized (‘Play Book’) and reviewed regularly by the leadership team

Checklist for Creating Clarity

Discipline #3: Over-Communicate Clarity

Employees are skeptical about what they’re told unless they hear it consistently over time.

Need to be CROs – Chief Reminding Officers. But Leaders are hesitant to repeat themselves. Why? It seems wasteful and inefficient – want to avoid redundancy. They fear it is insulting or patronizing to repeat a message. They get bored saying the same things over and over. Need to overcome all this and do more reinforcing of key messages.

Leaders need to tell ‘true rumors’ Cascading communication takes the message through the company Three keys to cascading communication

Consistency of message Timeliness of delivery Live, real-time communication

Have to end leadership meetings answering the question: What are we going to go back and tell our people? And make sure there is agreement.

Checklist for Over-Communicating Clarity

The leadership team has clearly communicated the six aspects of clarity to all employees.

Leadership team members regularly remind the people in their departments about those aspects of clarity.

The team leaves meetings with clear and specific agreement about what to communicate to their employees, and they cascade those messages quickly after meetings.

Employees are able to accurately articulate the organization’s reason for existence, values, strategic anchors and goals.

Discipline #4: Reinforce Clarity

Every process that involves people needs to reinforce the answers to the six questions

You need to institutionalize culture without bureaucratizing it Hiring, performance management, training and compensation need

simple systems specific to the company Hire for cultural fit Orientation needs to be built around the six answers and leaders need

to take an active role in design and delivery Performance management needs to be simple and stimulate the right

kinds of conversations on the right topics. Compensation and reward has to be tied to one or more of the big six

questions Leaders need to give recognition and personal appreciation, and be

quick to take out employees who don’t fit the values

Great Meetings

A cohesive team with clarity requires more meeting time, not less.

Eliminate meeting stew – can’t combine tactical, admin, strategy, personnel and brainstorming in one session.

Emotionally engage your people Anniversary lunch hard questions Be careful what you wish for Be ready to take action

Making them feel truly a part of the team

It is crucial that leaders bring back key content (agreed upon by team #1) to their teams.

Impacting and engaging future leaders

Heather Allen, Special Event Coordinator Started in 2010 Awarded ICA & Vertera’s scholarship Demonstrates Puff values (the right hire) Department leader has provided a

clear progression path Clearly communicated goals, while

providing tools to achieve them Takes initiative to gain hands on experience

Receiving promotion to Special Event Planner

Checklist for Reinforcing Clarity

The organization has a simple way to ensure that new hires are carefully selected based on the company’s values.

New people are brought into the organization by thoroughly teaching them about the six elements of clarity.

Managers throughout the organization have a simple, consistent and non-bureaucratic system for setting goals and reviewing progress with employees.

Employees who don’t fit the values are managed out of the company. Poor performers who do fit the values are given the coaching and assistance they need to succeed and grow.

Compensation and reward systems are built around the values and goals of the organization.

Dirty laundry - When it Doesn’t Work!

Case Studies1. “Ops”

Wrong hire and waited too long to react Disrespect was tolerated Horrible communicator From day one the mistake was obvious, but we kept trying to re-align Terminated, refined job description, better recruiting/vetting process, must

follow gut

2. “Chef” Wanted his skillset so bad we overlooked what he was telling us from the

beginning Not a fit for our values Terminated, re-evaluated the Corp. EC position, added middle level leaders Isolated himself through individualized initiatives

Melissa’s words of wisdom

When someone shows you who they are…believe them!

Walking the Walk…every day

Critical to cascade messages throughout organization.

Discipline #1: Build a Cohesive Leadership TeamDiscipline #2: Create ClarityDiscipline #3: Over-communicate ClarityDiscipline #4: Reinforce Clarity

Two Organizations

First - Led by a team who remind employees why the company exists, its core values , its strategy and its top priority.  They communicate the same message to employees, and make sure they know the concerns and ideas of their people to use in decision making.  The company has simple practices for recruiting and orienting people based on core values, managing performance based on top priorities, and training and rewarding based on culture and strategy.

Second – Leadership team limits communication to a few events each year, mainly on tactical initiatives, doesn’t share consistently after meetings, and aren’t aware of employee opinions.  The company has plenty of processes, but most are generic and complicated, not customized to the unique culture and operations of the company.

How much of an advantage does the first have over the second?

A recent success story

Weekend of 2/27 was HUGE and a HUGE team success!

Saturday February 28, 2015 Polk Museum Gala: Plated 277 guests

Food from Tampa, but service, culinary and sales from Orlando DeBatolo Gala: Plated 820 guests Trivedi Wedding: Buffet 188 guests Grace O’Malley: Plated 345 guests 5 additional events between Tampa and Orlando 500+ team members working in concert with support

from every team Hard rains all morning, making set up very difficult Traffic congestion 2x long as expected

A True Team Effort

And if that wasn’t enough…

Sunday February 29, 2015

Discerning, luxury client’s housewarming brunch party 10 day lead time Managed all portions of event production too New action stations Custom designed décor and menu cards Elaborate menu and bar options Many of the staff worked late Saturday night, and

brought their A game to put on a great event

A True Team Effort

But the best outcome of all…

CRAZY GREAT &

BEAUTIFUL

RESPECT

You can market this stuff, too!

By uniting the entire organization around Team #1’s initiatives it can be used as a motivator and a way to communicate the company’s culture as a differentiating feature of doing business.

Here’s a little taste of our Cool-Aid…

Drink up!

Catersource 2016 Conference and Tradeshow: March 13th-16th, 2016 at The Mirage in Las Vegas

Please be sure to join the Catersource Event Solutions Community at www.catersource.com

Don’t Forget…

THANK YOU!

Warren Dietel | warren@puffnstuff.com | 407.227.5697

To download a copy of my slides, go to: http://www.slideshare.net/WarrenDietel

www.facebook.com/puffnstuffcatering | Twitter: @pscatering