Thank you ---------------- It is an honor to be part of today’s program. 

I would like to read something to you that I wrote in my e-zine newsletter that went out this past Thursday. It’s really the best way I can express how I feel about speaking to you today:

“This weekend I will have the privilege of delivering a keynote at the American Culinary Federation's Northeast Regional Conference in Newport RI. As many of our readers already know ACF members are the backbone of our industry. They are always the first group to step forward when someone needs their skills for a charitable event. I intend to remind them that for every TV chef there are 1,000 other chefs that work tirelessly in the sub-basement of hospitals and office buildings and for every chef that gets to work in a glass enclosed kitchen there are 1,000 that put out incredible food in less than perfect conditions and for every celebrity chef there are 10,000 that go to work each and every day proud of what they do and passionate about how they do it. Real chef's are not in it for the glory---they're in it for the passion, for the honor of serving others and for the love of good food prepared well!! Thanks ACF—this one’s for you!” 

Leading in today’s business world (whether it be as a leader in ACF or a leader in your business) -----is about passion, laser beam focus, and personal courage. It is about living what you believe in, being fully committed to making things happen and having the guts to keep going when it’s easy to quit.

Think about those in our industry that have been genuinely successful: Norman Brinker – Rich Melman- Ella Brennan- Danny Meyer of Union Square Café -------- Each of them has been passionate about their concepts---they are completely immersed in what they are trying to accomplish and they have the guts to keep going and bring others along with them. (Don’t forget that line---“bring others along with them.”

And then there are other leaders—leaders that are famous to this group-------names like--George O’Palenick, Michael Ty, Ed Leonard, Jim Taylor, Peter Hyde and the young woman that that read our Culinarian’s Code at the opening today. 

These leaders—not only are leaders in their own organizations, their own kitchens, their own businesses----but they have given the gift of their passion, focus and perseverance to ACF. 

What are their secrets? ---what does it take to lead? 

What does it take to develop a personal brand that will separate you from the pack—help you stand out and set you up for personal and professional success?

In an industry that employs 12 million people, has close to 900,000 locations and generates 1.2 billion dollars a day in sales—it’s not easy to stand out----but there are things you can do, real things, things you can do everyday---little leadership actions that you can take that will strengthen your personal brand, expand your realm of influence and set you and your team up for genuine success.
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Genuine Leader’s do Three Things Well:

They “Speak It”—meaning--they always say it like it is—they let their people know exactly what’s going on and where they stand----There are no secrets in a successful business!! Have you ever noticed that when we get in trouble in our business is when the catering manager is not fully sharing information with the chef or visa versa—what’s the result? Your right—total disaster!!! There are no secrets in a successful business. Everyone has to be on the same page. Everyone has to be clear on the mission at hand. Great leaders communicate their vision at every opportunity. They “speak it” everyday!

Secondly----They Provide Hope for Others—they make people feel good about what they are doing. They make their people feel important. They make others feel that their contributions really count in the success of the operation. They work hard at creating stars at every level of their operation. Hope is the greatest gift a leader can give. 

And third----leaders are fully engaged—fully involved---fully committed---They do stuff-they make things happen--they stand up for what they believe. They take action---At it’s very essence---after you reduce all of the leadership info down to it’s essence—this is what leaders do—they take action!!!!! They get stuff done!!!!
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Leaders come in all shapes and sizes—some are famous but most are not! Here’s one story about a chef that took action
—Executive Chef Tom Hurley from Lush Restaurant in Portland Oregon. Tom, a retired firefighter, realized his dream of becoming a chef by attending and earning a diploma from The French Culinary Institute in New York City. While studying in New York he befriended the firefighters from Rescue I in Manhattan. Immediately after the September 11th tragedy Tom flew to New York and cooked for several weeks at their firehouse also giving the gift of friendship and support. Since returning to Portland he has raised over $70,000 for the NY Firefighter's Fund. AND --------"in the selfless firehouse mode, he insists on wanting no personal credit." He has replaced credit for his actions---with the influence he has had on others. 

This next story is about hope and the power that giving hope to others has:

Several year’s ago I attended the Ivy Awards dinner in Chicago during the NRA Show and by chance sat at the table with Chef Paul Prudome. A young chef by the name of Frank Brigtsen was receiving one of the Ivy’s that evening and he had apprenticed under Chef Prudome. Frank gets up to receive the award and he begins to talk not about his accomplishments and his award winning restaurant but about what Chef Prudome had done for him. He said that he was very close to living in the back of his car when Chef Prudome took him under his wing and he wouldn’t be standing up there in a fancy tuxedo if it wasn’t for the fact the Chef Prudome helped him believe in himself. Chef Prudome had given him hope for a better future. He turns and looks over toward the table ----- as a son would look over to his father for approval and all of us are in tears. When I think of Paul Prudome I don’t think about Cajun Spice or K-Pauls---I think about Frank Brigtsen—and the power of hope.

The third short story is about a young Johnson and Wales graduate by the name of Sara George. I met here last year at the NRA Show. She had just graduated from the Denver program and was working as a recruiter for Johnson and Wales. I asked her to come to a speech I was making to high school students that would be visiting the Show. Sara had started at Pizza Hut at 16 years old and worked her way up to assistant manager before deciding to go off to culinary school .When I had Sara stand up in her crispy and super clean whites and I told the 2000 young people that she had started at Pizza Hut and had just graduated college with a degree in culinary arts------you could hear a pin drop---those of you that know teenagers---know that that it is not very often that you can hear a pin drop. Sara in the eyes of those students had become a model—an example of what they could be. They saw themselves in Sara. It clicked in their head that that could be them up there looking sharp and feeling confident.

Billy Shore who started Share Our Strength says in his newest book “The Light of Conscience” that the hunger for hope is the greatest hunger of all and I say that as chefs our greatest leadership challenge is to not only feed our hungry guests, but to feed the hunger of hope that our employees and associates have.

Three leadership things you can do:

One ----“Speak It” —always say it like it is. Everyone that works for you wants to know two things. This is also the greatest gift you can give a young developing manager and leader. Every employee wants to know two things ---they want to know what you----their boss—their leader expects and second they want to know how they are doing. Take the time each day to make sure those that work for you know exactly what you expect and then let them know----------- how they’re doing.

Second—Provide Hope for Others—you can do this by making others feel useful—feel that what they are doing really is making a difference. I was speaking last week to a group of club managers and chefs in the mid west and I asked them that when they returned to their kitchen the next day to call over the lady that slices the tomatoes and ask for her ideas on a special plate presentation that they may be working on—ask her what she thinks-show respect for her opinion. Would it kill any of us if we actually used her suggestion?

And third----be engaged---Step forward---get involved. When we teach the twelve ingredients of leadership in our Mentor Cares program to young people we have a phrase that says----Leaders don’t lament---they Shut Up and Drive-They take action! Pick an issue in ACF that is important to you----that has meaning for you and throw yourself into getting something done about it. By doing this you honor those in ACF that came before you and you help make the organization better for those that will come after you. 

A couple of quick recommendations for take home:

Two Books:

Billy Shore’s “The Light of Conscience”
And John Maxwell’s “Developing the Leaders Around You”

Two Web sites: 
Of course-ronyudd.com for notes on this speech and I’ve discovered another: RestaurantEdge.com—a site created by a young chef ---with lots of usable info that you can implement in your business right away.

Three other takes homes for success:

Get clarity---list the three most important things that you want to accomplish each day and then commit to only doing the things that directly relate to getting them done. Each time you have to make a decision you ask yourself ----does this help me accomplish what I set out to do today? (Everything else becomes secondary)—all actions taken are geared to accomplish your mission---This is how you develop laser beam focus—this is how you get clarity, purpose and focus.

Next --Reach Back----Brinker, Melman, Brennan—all became successful by helping others reach their full potential. They brought and continue to bring others along behind them. Reach back—become a mentor. Remember the earlier line---Bring Others Along With You!

Remember young people are not our future—we are their future. When you are at the Show this year there will be 2000 high school students walking the floor during Show week. Stop one of them---ask them what they are studying and what they want to pursue in our industry. Hand them your business card and tell them to drop you an email if you can ever help them or provide some advice.
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And last give your people the greatest gift you can give them----make them feel useful—make them feel that they are making a real contribution----when they feel useful –they feel good about themselves and they will do their greatest work. 

I will simply close with a story of a young man by the name of Michael McCarthy a college student at Virginia Tech that has volunteered in our Thanksgiving Cares hunger relief program since he was in high school. The Thanksgiving Cares program collects, assembles and distributes boxes of food to families in need at Thanksgiving time in the DC area. Last year we served 620 families. Last year----after making all our deliveries we were driving back to drop off our rentals trucks late at night. We had just worked two straight 18 hour days----we were exhausted------and I said to Michael that we would have to send him a gift certificate or something to thank him for all the work he had done over the last couple of days. ---------------He turns to me ands says ---Mr. Yudd—I don’t need a gift certificate. I do this because I want to---we are doing some good stuff for those families. Don’t worry -----I’ll be back next year—I know I’m making a difference………… Let’s give that gift certificate to one of those families. Make people feel useful and you can change the world.

Thank you ACF. Remember it’s always been about passion, providing hope to those you lead and having the guts to take action and stick with it! 

Thank you—it has been my honor to speak to you today.