Nearly 250 foodservice industry professionals — including men, for the first time — gathered recently in Las Vegas to learn and network during the eighth annual Executive Summit produced by the Women’s Foodservice Forum.


The three-day development event geared toward foodservice executives focused on building what WFF president and chief executive Fritzi Woods called the three Cs: content, or knowledge; competence, or influence and diplomacy; and connections to other professionals. 


Carla Cooper, president and chief executive of Daymon Worldwide who served as chair of the WFF from 1996 to 1999, kicked off the conference by recounting her journey to the c-suite and the surprises she found once she got there.


For those eager to take the journey, she offered this advice:


• Get ready for surprises. Serving on a board is different than having an insider’s view of a company, and finding skeletons in inevitable, she said.

• You will always be on stage. People will watch everything you do, and the audio and video have to match, she said. Recharging is also important. 

  “You need to give energy, not take it away,” she said.

• Listen first, then practice the art of diplomacy. Communicate and empower people constantly, she said.
 
• People want to trust you, but you have to earn it. Do what you say 100 percent of the time, she said.

• Guard your reputation. 

  “It is everything; it will make or break your career,” she said.

• You may think you’re at the top, but you’re wrong. Board members will give you constant feedback, she noted. Get to know them all, and work those relationships.


Cooper noted that women still make up only 2.8 percent of the CEOs at Fortune 500 companies and suggested that they too often take themselves out of the running, as she did in a prior lateral move. 


“Take responsibility for your own career,” she said. 


Harry Kraemer, clinical professor of management and strategy at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management and executive partner at Madison Dearborn, talked about values-based leadership and the need to prioritize time. WFF has developed an Executive Leadership Program with Kellogg and will also launch a program called Leadership U in the fall of 2012.


He encouraged attendees to literally map out the percentage of time they spend on family, career, spirituality, health, fun and social responsibility. Kraemer also stressed the importance of offering feedback and developing others.


“Spend 90 percent of your time on communication,” he advised, noting how much more smoothly a business runs when everyone knows exactly what they need to do. 


Other speakers included Herb Meyer, vice chairman of the Central Intelligence Agency’s National Intelligence Council; Jim Murren, president, chairman and chief executive of MGM Resorts International; and Marian Powers, adjunct professor of accounting at Kellogg.


Contact Robin Lee Allen at robinlee.allen@penton.com.