15 memorable takeaways from the 2018 Restaurant Leadership Conference
By Jonathan Maze on Apr. 19, 2018Speakers at this year’s Restaurant Leadership Conference ranged from industry experts, executives and the founders of some of the most disruptive companies in restaurant history to a former NFL quarterback, a onetime presidential candidate and a former secretary of state.
Add all of those together, and attendees got a four-day event full of interesting comments relevant to people in and out of the restaurant industry. Read on for few of them.
“I’m one of six kids in my family. I only have three future labor units of my own.”
—Tim Quinlan, senior economist with Wells Fargo, using economists’ common term for children.
“I don’t want to be a critic at this point.”
—Peyton Manning, former Indianapolis Colts and Denver Broncos quarterback, revealing why he didn’t get into broadcasting.
“If you’re not thinking about it, you’ve missed the train. You have some catchup to do.”
"There are places in the world already doing what you're looking to do, but it's a matter of finding them."
—David Schonthal, professor of innovation and entrepreneurship at Kellogg School of Management and business designer for Ideo.
"The factory of the future will have two employees, a dog and a human. The human’s job will be to feed the dog. The dog’s job is to prevent any humans from touching the machines."
“This business is tough. This business is dirt farming. The world doesn’t need another restaurant. You need to be crystal clear about what you’re focusing on.”
“Men assume they are prepared for a leadership role with 25% of the necessary skills. Women feel they need 80% of the skills before they can apply. Women should get to the point where they feel ready at 40%.”
“We try to foster a culture that grows people as humans … leaning into the ‘tender’ side of Tender Greens.”
“Restaurants are a team sport.”
—Brett Schulman, CEO of Cava, noting that the same data analytics that work for team sports can be applied to restaurants.
“The death of casual dining is not imminent. It is greatly exaggerated.”
—Aziz Hashim, founder of private-equity firm NRD Capital and new owner of struggling casual-dining chain Ruby Tuesday.
“Not a legislator in the country cares about your P&L. But they do care about job creation.”
“Just treat your employees with respect.”
“The ground is shifting under our feet, and holding on to the past way we’ve run restaurants isn’t the way we are going to do business going forward.”
“There but for the grace of God goes you and your brand.”
—Gerry Fernandez, president of the Multicultural Foodservice & Hospitality Alliance, saying that the controversy surrounding two black men arrested in a Starbucks could happen anywhere.