They say time forgets pain, forgives heartache, and heals broken hearts...my question then is what determines the length of time necessary to overcome?
8 years ago I was given the challenge of opening the new Montana branch of Challenger Pallet & Supply. After nearly a 5 year tenure, my personal life was critically viewed and my options then changed.
My run in Restaurant management began in springtime of 2009 with Ryan at Pickett's Bambino.
As my time there progressed from learning how to actually make the food to clean, count drawers, and lock up, came the opportunities to lead. I wasn't really born to follow I've decided. Don't mistake my heart 8 had to learn to follow and follow obediently as leadership is earned through diligent followship.
As Ryan began to see a greater need within his organization, more responsibilities were thrown my way. By fall of that year I was the General Manager of Pickett's Bambino with responsibilities ranging from training and development of the the leadership of both Rigby and soon to he Idaho Falls restaurants, to public relations, marketing strategy, and brand standardization. I worked in the store helping serve guests and training the crew, I attended chamber of commerce meetings and city functions. I did a couple interviews for the media and helped find and hire the crew and management team which would open the Idaho Falls restaurant.
It was a great job honestly. I got to work with great people, train and coach managers into leaders, and work with the public in an already popular platform. The boss stayed out of the way and I was compensated well.
There was just one tiny problem...to this day I'm unsure entirely what the major issue was, but there was a point that Ryan realized there was not room enough for my influential leadership and his ego in the same organization. So he let me go. Disgracefully I might add.
I have kept in touch with various people from that organization and have kindled close friendships from those I trained and invested in. Their support and admiration have served me well in the last couple years. Friendships with Kaylene Hunt and Tommie Kearns will always be close to my heart as members of my leadership circle.
As that chapter closed, I knew I needed to open another fairly quickly. I wasn't meant not to be active.
I set a plan in place to win! I still have my goal sheet from April 2010 and it motivates me still. Focusing on leadership and personal development books, to a certain amount of possible job contacts and interviews kept me focused and moving forward in an otherwise frustrating and emotionally trying time.
Mom and dad also were great supporters. I was living at home at the time and their daily reassurance that everyone would be okay was well, priceless.
I came across a listing one day for a restaurant "Manager in Training" position here in Idaho Falls. I sent an email and got a response from a Bill Hawes with a time when we could meet. I remember the morning we met over at Five Guys Burgers and Fries. It was a very new concept for me. I'd never been to a Five Guys and knew very little about it.
What I had anticipated being a grilling questionnaire of my qualifications and experience soon turned into the outline of how he had come into the burger business and what his goals for the company were all about. We probably spoke for nearly 45 minutes, mostly about him! After asking a few questions, I was so fascinated by his story and what he was doing that I just kept asking more and looking for as much information download as possible. This was a remarkable guy I wanted to learn about!
At the end of a brief life history, without really getting into my work experience or anything, he just simply said 'we need to get you into the system'. He had a few ideas as to where but he wasn't certain which was going to be the best fit for now. He introduced me to Rick, the GM of the Idaho Falls restaurant and within a week I believe I was putting on a red shirt and suiting up to begin making great burgers and fries.
This was in mid-May of 2010, and at the present day of writing it is exactly mid-may 2012, it's interesting to see how those first few weeks at Five Guys went and how the next couple of years panned out. As with so many other areas in my life, I continue to be challenged and reminded that anything can happen, when you do the right things long enough and keep an opportunistic attitude. Little did I know that things were about to transpire that I would never have expected and possibly not have chosen had the opportunities not been thrusted upon me.
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