On June 5, the SALIDO team attended The Welcome Conference at the Alice Tully Hall at the Lincoln Center. The Welcome Conference brought together leaders from the hospitality industry for a full day of lectures that surrounded this year’s topic of Conflict and Change. This year’s lineup included many of the leaders of our beloved Food and Beverage industry, the CEO of SoulCycle, a Brain Scientist, and even an FBI hostage negotiator. Our team got the chance to explore how Conflict & Change have impacted the lives of our clients and ourselves.
All the speakers had beautiful and inspiring stories to share and each speech left us in awe. It allowed us to reflect on the ways we should face conflict and change in the midst of our company’s rapid growth.
During the conference, Will Guidara and Daniel Humm described the ups and downs during their 13 year partnership and the disagreements that they faced while building their Make It Nice brand. However, they asserted that these disagreements were integral to the growth of their empire. While they initially tried to avoid certain conflicts, they learned that it is crucial to embrace them earnestly. They were just recently named the best restaurant in the world, so we are sure this advice is worth something! Although conflicts are tough, we must always frame it in the context that will enable us to grow as individuals, as an organization, and as an industry.
Frank Guidara delicately opened up about the loss of his first wife and his fight against pancreatic cancer. He concluded that “adversity is a terrible thing to waste.” These experiences exist to help us grow and become a better person. While they are devastating, they are essential for us to learn and grow as people.
Change is inevitable as well as extremely necessary for advancement. Thus, we should try to build up our confidence in order to navigate through it. Rather than fighting against that which brings us discomfort, we should accept it as a part of life and believe that it will bring better results for each of us.
Lastly, Richard Melman, the founder of Lettuce Entertain You restaurants left us with the words “If it doesn’t give me goosebumps, I don’t do it.” We interpreted this as reminder for us to choose the things that make you excited, that brings you happiness and gives you the willpower to navigate the conflict and change required to bring your dream to life.
We intend to use these lessons accrued from the Welcome conference to help us face change and conflict in our company as we continue to grow. We also encourage you to think about these concepts and face conflict and change head on to bring about success for your business, whatever it may be.
Thank you Will Guidara and Anthony Rudolf for hosting the conference. It was an immense honor to be able to attend and be in the presence of such wonderful speakers. We are already looking forward to next year’s conference!
