40 Inspirational Speeches in 2 Minutes

Just think of how many more things we can get done at a conference if the motivational speech was only 2 minutes long? (more time to build teams over food?!)

The Power of Fun!

Did you ever have one of those days when every task begins with “I got to…”!

Well I call that a “Igotta” day. Where it seems that everything on my list is completely different than what I’d rather be doing.

Well, I was having one of the days today. My business partner wants some simple accounting information, my wife wants me to clean the koi pond pump and the dogs want me to take them on a walk! What about me, what about what I want (proceed to whine right about now ). In fact, we usually call this, “the whine of the day”!

I was in “Igotta” overwhelm!

Then I started to think about what I’d rather do, what I consider FUN!

I drifted off thinking about the last team building group that I worked with and all the fun that we created while cooking our dinner together. Then it hit me like a ton of macaroni, we created the fun. I know this, this is what we do all the time, this is our job, transforming peoples states to one of a state of eating and cooking possibilities! We take people who are in overwhelm with their jobs or at their business conference and create an environment that promotes teamwork, builds relationships and above all, creates FUN!

I realized, this creation of fun is not just relegated to our culinary program, it is capable of being created anywhere. In fact, we regularly share that with our participants. Productivity begins with creating an attitude of fun. Think about the potential of that statement, the power of creating a state of being that transforms your productivity at work, at home, anywhere at anytime.

I started to think about our corporate clients, many of whom have been working on projects all day during a conference, now are rolling up their sleeves and cooking together with their co-workers to put together a multi-cultural gourmet buffet in a short amount of time with no recipes! All because of the environment that was created that emphasizes fun. There truly is power to FUN!

When has the “Igotta” attitude overwhelmed you and what did you do to transform it with fun?

Lessons in Leadership

I am continually amazed at the lessons I learn from being a CEO Chef trainer. Take last week for instance:

It’s a beautiful day and I arrive early because it’s better than being late. In this case, my arrival time worked in my favor. It didn’t take me very long to set up – 20 minutes – which meant I had an hour and a half to enjoy the day. I had already connected with the chef of the hotel where we were holding the program who was very meticulous and willing to do whatever it took to provide our group with the ingredients they’d need for their culinary team building program. He appeared to have everything under control, so I relaxed until the time the food was due to arrive (about 1 hour before “showtime”).

At T minus 45 minutes, I’m realizing the food still hadn’t made its appearance. No worries. My server, Miguel, was on the ball and went back to the kitchen to find out what what going on. He returned triumphant, escorting the rack of ingredients into the food preparation area. It looked a bit sparse, and, when I began to take inventory, I noticed Chef had inadvertently overlooked one full page of food items on the list I had given him.

How would you deal with this situation? Here’s how I handled it:

I reminded myself Chef had my best interests forefront of his mind. I also knew he was good at his job, as were his people. Then, I was confident in the skills of my team – my participant in the program – to produce a superior result, as was I confident in my own skills to manage a challenging situation.

So, Miguel, Chef and I first had a little laugh over the unintentional error. Then, with a positive and “can do” attitude existing between the three of us, we set out to solve the problem. There were some food items critical to the success of the program which were not present, and Chef needed to do some creative thinking to make sure these items would be available to us.

I started the program missing some of these items, knowing the wayward food would make its appearance when I needed it. It did. Hooray Chef and Miguel and the rest of the Hotel Team!

The lessons?

• Accept the situation completely for what it is, without judgment or blame placed on anyone (including myself)
• Trust in people to do their job well, willingly, and happily
• Keep a positive and cheerful frame of mind. It’s infectious and helps to get the job done quickly, successfully and efficiently
• Ask for what you want. People really do want to help you get it.