624: Michael Kloeti on Keeping an Open Mind

Born, raised, and trained in Switzerland, Chef Kloeti moved to the United States to enrich his classical French cooking background with other cultures. Before make the move to VT, Kloeti absorbed experience from New York City's 4-star Lespinasse to upcountry comfort food in Hawaii, and back to NYC's Manhattan as Chef de Cuisine in the St. Regis Hotel. In pursuit of work-life balance, in 2002 Kloeti left the big city to open Michael's on the Hill Restaurant in Waterbury, VT. Show notes… Favorite success quote or mantra: "Don't take yourself too seriously." In this episode with Michael Kloeti we will discuss: The family dynamic of a kitchen Keeping your mind open Ignorance Sympathy and empathy Problem solving The importance of being part of a team The importance of being quiet and listening to others Dealing with unions Eye-opening experiences How to motivate people who just work for a paycheck Know yourself before you try to tell others how to be The problem with chefs who get angry at staff and thrown tantrums Controlling your emotions in the workplace Giving second and third chances Avoiding debt Failure is not an option Learning from failures Community Today's sponsor: BentoBox helps restaurants grow their business through a connected suite of tools, offering them an integrated website to connect with their guests and drive revenue online. Restaurant owners and operators are able to easily update menus, promote specials, take catering and event inquiries, sell merchandise, gift cards and more. Revel Systems integrates front of house and back of house operations into a single dashboard. Designed to increase security, stability, ease of use, and speed of service, Revel's streamlined ecosystem provides businesses with the right tools to grow. Learn more at revelsystems.com/unstoppable. Knowledge bombs Which "it factor" habit, trait, or characteristic you believe most contributes to your success? Giving people second chances What is your biggest weakness? Giving people third chances What's one question you ask or thing you look for during an interview? Personality What's a current challenge? How are you dealing with it? Finding qualified staff Share one code of conduct or behavior you teach your team. Don't take yourself too seriously What is one uncommon standard of service you teach your staff? Hospitality What's one book we must read to become a better person or restaurant owner? The Old man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway Setting the Table by Danny Meyer GET THIS BOOK FOR FREE AT AUDIBLE.COM  What's the one thing you feel restaurateurs don't know well enough or do often enough? Hospitality What's one piece of technology you've adopted within your four walls restaurant and how has it influence operations? Cell phones If you got the news that you'd be leaving this world tomorrow and all memories of you, your work, and your restaurants would be lost with your departure with the exception of 3 pieces of wisdom you could leave behind for the good of humanity, what would they be? Don't take yourself too seriously Be open-minded Recognize your own ignorance Contact info: Michael's On the Hill website Thanks for listening! Thanks so much for joining today! Have some feedback you'd like to share? Leave a note in the comment section below! If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the top of the post. Also, please leave an honest review for the Restaurant Unstoppable Podcast on iTunes! Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated! They do matter in the rankings of the show, and I read each and every one of them. And finally, don't forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes to get automatic updates. Huge thanks to Michael Kloeti for joining me for another awesome episode. Until next time!   Restaurant Unstoppable is a free podcast. One of the ways I'm able to make it free is by earning a commission when sharing certain products with you. I've made it a core value to only share tools, resources, and services my guest mentors have recommend, first. If you're finding value in my podcast, please use my links!