EDITORIAL STAFF Publisher, Anthony Anton Executive Editor, Lex Nepomuceno Managing Editor, Paul Schlienz Contributing Editor, Andy Cook Contributing Editor, Stephanie Davenport Contributing Editor, David Faro Contributing Editor, Evan Fassler Contributing Editor, Marianne Scholl Research Editor, Sheryl Jackson Art Director, Lisa Ellefson JOINT EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE WRA Chair, Phil Costello Stop n’ Go Family Drive In WLA Chair, Matt Van Der Peet Westin Bellevue Hotel WRA EXECUTIVE TEAM President and CEO, Anthony Anton Vice President, Teran Petrina Director of Business Development, Ken Wells Director of Communications & Technology, Lex Nepomuceno Director of Education, Lyle Hildahl Director of Government Affairs, Bruce Beckett Director of Internal Operations, Bekah Cardwell
510 Plum St. SE, Ste. 200 Olympia, WA 98501-1587 T 360.956.7279 | F 360.357.9232 www.warestaurant.org │walodging.com Letters are welcomed, but must be signed to be considered for publication. Please include contact information for verification. Reproduction of articles appearing in Washington Restaurant & Lodging Magazine are authorized for personal use only, with credit given to Washington Restaurant & Lodging Magazine and/or the Washington Restaurant Association. Articles written by outside authors do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of the Washington Restaurant Association, Washington Lodging Association, their Boards of Directors, staff or members. Products and services advertised in Washington Restaurant & Lodging Magazine are not necessarily endorsed by the WRA, or WLA, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the WRA, WLA, their Boards of Directors, staff or members. ADVERTISING INQUIRIES MAY BE DIRECTED TO: Michelle Holmes Allied Relations Manager 206.423.3902 michelleh@warestaurant.org Washington Restaurant & Lodging Magazine is published monthly for WRA and WLA members. We welcome your comments and suggestions. email: news@warestaurant. org, phone: 800.225.7166. Circulation: 6,310.
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President and CEO
Restaurants’ new model must include fierce resolve, contagious optimism By Anthony Anton, WRA president & CEO This is not a shameless plug, but it may be a little bit of hero worship. I just finished the book American Icon, about Alan Mulally’s fight to save Ford Motor Company. I became a huge fan of Mulally while working for Boeing when he was the CEO. I was hired at Boeing the summer it moved to Chicago, but was not scheduled to start working for the company until the end of September 2001. That changed on 9/11 when I got a call at 10 a.m. from the company informing me that I would start that afternoon. My first task, before I even had a security badge, was to inform legislative leadership the company was about to lay off thousands of workers. That was just the beginning of very tough work facing the company in order to survive in Washington. That day, through no fault of the company, shattered the existing model of commercial airplane building. On paper, there was no way to survive; airlines were canceling orders at a shocking rate, the confidence in air travel plummeted, fuel prices skyrocketed and available cash was drying up. But the company did survive, in my opinion, due to the leadership of Alan Mulally. Not only survived, but thrived. How? If you were around the CEO at the time, Mulally exuded fierce resolve, contagious optimism, a transparent recognition of reality and an adamant adherence to a plan. A few years later, Boeing rolled out the first 787 in Everett. The symbolism of Boeing reemerging stronger is a highlight of my life. I am proud to simply have been a small part of it. The parallels between Mulally’s turnarounds at Boeing and Ford are unbelievable. The Ford team had set a date when the company would be out of money, and that was before another September crisis (the collapse of Lehman Brothers, Bear Stearns and others) shattered the remains of their existing business model. Yet again, Mulally provided a fierce resolve, contagious optimism, a transparent recognition of reality and an adamant adherence to a plan. Ford emerged with a new business model, becoming stronger than ever; its stock went from almost $16, in 2004, to a low of $1.43, to a post-recession high of almost $19. Why am I telling you all this? I get many calls, worried that new proposed labor costs are the end of the world. It’s not. It’s likely the end of your business model as you know it, but you know what? You can build a new business model. There will be restaurants in the future, they will just be different. Summon your inner Mulally! Your employees and your business dream need you to do this. Shake off the negative. Develop a fierce resolve, contagious optimism, a transparent recognition of reality and an adamant adherence to a plan. It will be our honor to help you succeed in doing so.