What makes a Great Team?
Over the past few years, I’ve traveled the country in pursuit of the answers to this question. In that journey, I’ve asked the best sports coaches and some incredible corporate leaders for their input. Some of the greatest insight came from G.J. Hart, CEO of California Pizza Kitchens, as I asked why his dynamic organization continues to win in the marketplace—and in the hearts of its customers.
Among the company’s secrets: Granting wishes.
Yes. You read that correctly. A restaurant chain ensures its success by granting wishes.
California Pizza Kitchens is known for its creative takes on traditional recipes, but its recent partnership with the Make-A-Wish Foundation has placed the organization at the forefront of servant leadership.
“Supporting the communities that we serve is an important part of our culture at California Pizza Kitchen, at all levels – from our Support Center to each and every one of our restaurants,” Hart explained. “I am proud to serve on the national board for Make-A-Wish Foundation, and my wife Heather serves on the board of our local Orange County, Calif. chapter. It’s an organization that’s deeply important to my family and to the thousands of CPK employees across the country who regularly contribute their time to support its important mission by participating in Walk for Wishes events, hosting fundraiser nights in our restaurants or supporting wish reveal parties for Wish recipients in our communities.”
Hart’s company is passionate about philanthropy and impacting the
lives of its community members. Additionally, California Pizza Kitchen
employees thrive off of the organization’s competitive, learning
culture. So when the Make-A-Wish Foundation partnership materialized,
Hart and his executive team extended the wish-granting process to the
company’s 200 locations across the United States—and gave their
customers a chance to get involved, too.
Hart explained it this way: “In selecting Make-A-Wish as our national
charity partner, it was important not only to our senior leadership
team but to our employees in the field that we work with an organization
that allows us to get hands on at the local level; we didn’t want to
just write a check. We wanted our local restaurant employees and our
guests to have a direct impact and chance to get involved.
“This partnership enables us to work with local Make-A-Wish chapters in our restaurants’ backyards and raise funds through the Round It Up America program, which gives our guests the opportunity to round up their bills to the nearest dollar or enter a specific donation amount to help grant wishes to kids with life-threatening illnesses across the country,” Hart said. “Since the program began in August, we have raised more than $500,000 thanks to the generosity of our guests. The funds raised so far will enable us to grant more than 30 wishes in our communities. Our goal is to be able to grant one wish on behalf of each of our nearly 200 restaurants here in the US.”
To support Make-A-Wish, CPK employees host “wish reveal” celebrations for children and their families and participate in community events with local Make-A-Wish chapters. On one occasion, a wish child asked to meet Emeril Lagasse, celebrity chef, restaurateur, and television personality, in person. When Hart learned about the child’s request, he thumbed through his rolodex and called up Emeril himself, who jumped at the opportunity to grant the wish.
CPK’s national partnership with Make-A-Wish fascinates me because it shows just how powerful brands and companies can be if they joined in a common goal to make real change. Additionally, CPK’s dedicated employees help make an even bigger impact with the vision of Make-A-Wish because the pizza chain’s culture is built on service.
“To me, our business is hospitality and we have an incredible
opportunity every day to make a positive impact on people’s lives and to
make our guests happy,” Hart said. “Serving and inspiring others,
whether through our culinary creativity, fantastic hospitality or
participating in community service projects, is a core value at
California Pizza Kitchen. I believe that when you give, you get back so
much as an individual. The satisfaction and sense of purpose our
employees get by helping others, especially together as a team, is
powerful, and it increases the spirit of giving and hospitality within
our restaurants.”
Managers and aspiring leaders, take note: Great Teams create real change by aligning their cultures with a common goal. The most effective leaders of our time all know that there is power in the value of association. And they have the rolodexes to prove it!
What is your organization’s community service story? Leave me a comment. I’d love to hear how you and your professional team created real change within your neighborhood.
Over the past few years, I’ve traveled the country in pursuit of the answers to this question. In that journey, I’ve asked the best sports coaches and some incredible corporate leaders for their input. Some of the greatest insight came from G.J. Hart, CEO of California Pizza Kitchens, as I asked why his dynamic organization continues to win in the marketplace—and in the hearts of its customers.
CEO of California Pizza Kitchen G.J. Hart
and the California Pizza Kitchen Team in New York City. (Photo by Ben
Gabbe/Getty Images)
Yes. You read that correctly. A restaurant chain ensures its success by granting wishes.
California Pizza Kitchens is known for its creative takes on traditional recipes, but its recent partnership with the Make-A-Wish Foundation has placed the organization at the forefront of servant leadership.
“Supporting the communities that we serve is an important part of our culture at California Pizza Kitchen, at all levels – from our Support Center to each and every one of our restaurants,” Hart explained. “I am proud to serve on the national board for Make-A-Wish Foundation, and my wife Heather serves on the board of our local Orange County, Calif. chapter. It’s an organization that’s deeply important to my family and to the thousands of CPK employees across the country who regularly contribute their time to support its important mission by participating in Walk for Wishes events, hosting fundraiser nights in our restaurants or supporting wish reveal parties for Wish recipients in our communities.”
Recommended by Forbes
G.J. Hart (Photo by Amy Sussman/Getty Images)
“This partnership enables us to work with local Make-A-Wish chapters in our restaurants’ backyards and raise funds through the Round It Up America program, which gives our guests the opportunity to round up their bills to the nearest dollar or enter a specific donation amount to help grant wishes to kids with life-threatening illnesses across the country,” Hart said. “Since the program began in August, we have raised more than $500,000 thanks to the generosity of our guests. The funds raised so far will enable us to grant more than 30 wishes in our communities. Our goal is to be able to grant one wish on behalf of each of our nearly 200 restaurants here in the US.”
To support Make-A-Wish, CPK employees host “wish reveal” celebrations for children and their families and participate in community events with local Make-A-Wish chapters. On one occasion, a wish child asked to meet Emeril Lagasse, celebrity chef, restaurateur, and television personality, in person. When Hart learned about the child’s request, he thumbed through his rolodex and called up Emeril himself, who jumped at the opportunity to grant the wish.
CPK’s national partnership with Make-A-Wish fascinates me because it shows just how powerful brands and companies can be if they joined in a common goal to make real change. Additionally, CPK’s dedicated employees help make an even bigger impact with the vision of Make-A-Wish because the pizza chain’s culture is built on service.
Recommended by Forbes
Managers and aspiring leaders, take note: Great Teams create real change by aligning their cultures with a common goal. The most effective leaders of our time all know that there is power in the value of association. And they have the rolodexes to prove it!
What is your organization’s community service story? Leave me a comment. I’d love to hear how you and your professional team created real change within your neighborhood.
Comments
Post a Comment