Denny’s CEO says that she starts brand new concert in “walking with a small newspaper” and asking the staff the same questions

• When Kelli Valade became CEO of Denny’sShe did not enter a five -point plan – she brought a notebook. The former chief of the red lobster always begins a new concert by asking staff and guests what is worth preserved and what must change. “If you ask for enough times and wait for the answers, the real things come out.”

First day of work? Do not come in hot, come be hungry to listen. It is, at least, according to the CEO of Denny, Kelli Valade.

The 55 -year -old man became at the head of the solid restaurant chain of more than 1,600 locations in 2022 and his first order of commerce asked his new workforce a series of specific questions. And it is exactly the same that she asked workers when she has taken the best jobs from Red Lobster and Chile.

“(What am I always doing with a new mission, is it walking with a little newspaper and starting to ask people the same questions. What does it look like here? What do you like here? What would make him even better here? What is sacred here?” Valade said Nation’s News Restaurant.

“These same questions really bring to this basis of what culture really looks like. And if you ask enough times and wait for the answers, the real things go out.”

At the time of her arrival, Denny’s had a strong record, but Valade said that the “mouth of wood” from previous years filled with pandemic stressed an even greater need to go out of the beaten track and to be curious – something that she is embodied throughout her career.

“Maybe don’t color inside the lines, maybe don’t wait to ask for something. Maybe say,” I think I can help. “What is the worst that could happen? She added.

Fortune contacted Valade to comment.

Success is in a two -way street

Although asking questions is important to succeed in business, which is just as important, said Valade, is to be able to really listen and accept comments – even if it is something that is difficult to swallow.

“Emotional intelligence is as strong as any other intelligence, and it served me well,” said Valade. “If people have given me comments – and I got it a lot and I am a work in progress – go to these comments. React. Be grateful. And use it to your advantage and move forward. “

This philosophy served Valade well throughout her career when she climbed into the ranks of the catering industry. His previous stays include the president of the Chile and CEO of Red Lobster before joining Denny’s.

And although some business leaders can be put on a title or a salary in their careers, she encouraged young people to find a path that really triggers a passion.

“I often say that you must be faithful to yourself. You have to find a product you like, or a story or a dream that you can really associate, which really strikes the house for you,” she said to Nrn.

The creation of Denny of a technological leader

Denny’s is perhaps known for her high school breakfast, but for a CEO of Tech, the company means much more.

The very first work of the CEO of Nvidia, Jensen Huang, worked as a dishwasher in a Denny when he was only 15 years old:

“I planned my work. I was organized. I was set up,” Huang told students of the Graduate School of Business in Stanford last year. “I washed the living daylight of these dishes.”

And with a net value of some $ 119 billion, he said that his experience in Denny has helped to highlight the importance of having a strong work ethics, regardless of work.

“No task is under me,” said Huang. “I was a dishwasher. I used to clean the toilet. I cleaned a lot of toilets. I cleaned more toilets than you all combined. And some of them just can’t inevit. ”

This story was initially presented on Fortune.com