Fast Company January 2000

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Fast Company January 2000 Their Specialty? Teamwork By Gina Imperato

Gina Imperato writes of Chef Michael Schlow and his colleagues at Radius, a hot restaurant in Boston's Financial District, having an unusual recipe for success: generous portions of learning and a heaping scoop of teamwork.

I selected this article because I have always been a strong supporter of teamwork and have seen the benefits of working together being stronger that the accomplishments of individual efforts.

Radius's recipe for success is a real commitment to teamwork. He claims, "This restaurant is about creating something bigger than any of us could accomplish alone." He also sates that, "Achieving greatness is hard enough. Sustaining greatness is the mark of true excellence." Greatness at Radius starts with great teamwork and great teamwork starts in the kitchen. My experiences with teammates and classmates exemplifies that. The clichi of "you are only as strong as your weakest length" (which I often use) demonstrates this philosophy.

Imperato reported that during her interviewing of the employees that it was important to have atmosphere of experiencing fun, exciting, and educational. This was done by a series of meetings in which both the spirit and the practice of teamwork get reinforced. I feel that this is probably the key to the positive atmosphere of that working environment. I know from personal experience how much more I am willing to give if I feel that I am appreciated and get reinforcement for task. I also hear of my colleagues talk about good and poor administration of our district. The good administrators or the ones that have their faculty behind them because they give them the appropriate feed back. Teachers are caring people as a whole and selected the helping profession because of that. When a teacher feel that they are making a difference and it is noticed for it- the sky becomes the limit.

What has resulted from this unusual commitment to learning and team work: A loyal following and a growing reputation such as Jay Caputo, a 26 year-old line cook. "The first time I walked into Radius, the whole atmosphere was beautiful." He says, "You could tell that people really believed in what they were doing. I knew this was the place for me. I relate that to staff at school. Just think if they felt that they were contributing, appreciated, making a difference, and felt like a true team- the students would sense it and benefit from that atmosphere immensely.

-- Anonymous, January 13, 2000


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