TOP 17 HOTTEST LEADERSHIP BEST PRACTICES
1. One-On-Ones: The best tool that gets the best results for our clients is the 5-minute, "One-On-One" utilized with EVERY employee, EVERY day. We Coach them to pick one employee every day to sit down and have a one-on-one conversation with. This isn't a "gotcha" event as much as it is a "what can I do for you to help you achieve your goals" event. You learn tons when they begin to share what their own personal goals are - or aren't! Then when you go through your entire staff - start over!

2. Employee Roundtables: These aren't your usual staff meetings. Employees meet once a month/quarter with the owner or highest level field manager available. No unit managers are allowed. Open and frank discussions of the culture ensue and the level of engagement during the meetings is phenomenal.

3. 360 Feedback: This isn't only for managers - it's for employees as well. This type of evaluation needs to be incorporated in any ongoing evaluation process you have.

4. Staff First, Guests Second: Never treat a guest better than you do an employee.

5. Hire "A" Level Talent: Hold out for it - period! It will be worth it when you do.

Geoff Robinson, Hotel Manager at the Riviera, Hans Berendes, Bruce Dewing, NHLA Board Member, and Van Heffner, President and CEO of NHLA stop for a picture at last year's Golf Open III.

FUEL PRICES IMPACT FOOD COMPANIES
Many companies could achieve significant cost savings by conducting a procurement audit of their spending.

Rising fuel prices have had a tremendous impact on food and beverage companies far beyond the direct costs of transportation and energy. For example, there has been renewed interest in ethanol fuel in our country, which in the U.S. comes largely from feed crops such as corn. This diversion of corn from the ordinary uses in the market has caused corn prices to rise as much as 50 percent in some areas of the country.

SUPREME COURT SET TO DECIDE TITLE VII
Early in 2008 the Supreme Court agreed to review a lower court decision that limits the range of employees eligible for anti-retaliation protection under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In this decision, Crawford v. Metropolitan Government of Nashville, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Title VII does not protect an employee who voluntarily reported sexually harassing behavior by her supervisor during her employer's internal investigation into the supervisor's conduct.

Now that the Supreme Court has agreed to hear Crawford's case, employers across the country, have a definite stake in the outcome.

SUMMER OF HOSPITALITY DISCONTENT?

It has been tough, folks, and we do not need to beat the drums about the obvious, particularly in the United States. But, there are always silver linings, admiration for those hospitality companies which have hunkered down and navigated the economic trough, as well as those who understand the cyclical nature of the business and have planned forward.

Consultants to the Hospitality Industry usually have some down time in the summer - time to work on their tan, their golf handicap, garden weeds, and bikini contests. There is great opportunity to digest all the white papers, opinions and news about the "devaluation" of our hospitality brilliance - restaurants going under, development curtailed and spiraling, room rates and occupancy way down, travelers herded into truncated flight patterns - the price of everything just sky rocketing - very tough times for we hospitality providers. Can we make that silk purse out of this sow's ear? Absolutely – here are some suggestions!


I'LL HAVE THAT TYPEFACE ON THE MENU
It's no secret that the cost of a restaurant dish tends to mirror its complexity. That's why a menu item that says "medley of berry conserves and pureedpindas " is likely to cost five times what it would if it were just called peanut butter and jelly. But it turns out that obscure menu terminology may be just half the game. A new study suggests that typography also plays a role in influencing diners.