We attract great personnel by doing two things: First, by being a great place to work and having the kind of principled leadership that people want to work for. The second is making sure that, with each role, the employees know how they fit and believe that somebody here genuinely cares about them, personally and professionally. The way you attract people to come and work at a place is to ensure that the vision you have as a company is compelling and worth their best effort. For Ruby Tuesday, we have a core brand that we absolutely believe in, and we have a passion for food and quality and doing things right.
Working your way up can be an avenue, but wherever you are on the ladder, if you give it your all, you’ll be able to move up. It doesn’t matter where you started, it matters where you are, how you behave, what your outlook is on the future, and how you contribute.
My attitude is to be mobile and agile and always remember that I work for the company versus an individual. Two basic things allowed me to be successful: doing what was in front of me to the absolute best of my ability, and not being hindered by the boundaries of whatever my current role was. Those things, combined with trying my best to do what was right in every situation, have been the springboard of my career.
At the end of the day, when the people I’ve had an opportunity to work with have felt good about our interaction, believed that our interaction made an impact on their achievement or performance, and that they understood that this organization—and me, in particular—saw who they were, what they needed to succeed, and recognized their effort and accomplishment—that’s a good day to me. 
