Les leaders se fabriquent eux-m\u00eames \u00e0 partir de la meilleure raison au monde\u00a0: vouloir cr\u00e9er quelque chose qui a le potentiel de devenir beaucoup plus grand qu\u2019eux. J\u2019ignorais ces choses en ouvrant le premier petit resto. Comment l\u2019aurais-je su? Moi qui n\u2019avais appris, pendant trop longtemps, que des mati\u00e8res immat\u00e9rielles telles que l\u2019histoire du monde, les langues anciennes, la litt\u00e9rature et la philosophie. Lorsque je me suis retrouv\u00e9e divorc\u00e9e, fauch\u00e9e et pauvre comme Job, je souhaitais juste gagner ma cro\u00fbte et nourrir mes trois enfants.<\/p>\n
Mes d\u00e9buts en affaires sont beaucoup moins prestigieux que ce que vous pourriez imaginer. Peut-\u00eatre suis-je tomb\u00e9e par hasard dans la \u00ab\u00a0potion magique\u00a0\u00bb! En v\u00e9rit\u00e9 : je n\u2019ai pas choisi la restauration, c\u2019est elle qui s\u2019est impos\u00e9e \u00e0 moi et c\u2019est pourtant ainsi que j\u2019allais rapidement exceller. Ayant vendu in extremis la maison familiale que la banque avait dans sa mire, j\u2019ai ouvert le premier Cora sans id\u00e9e pr\u00e9con\u00e7ue, ni passion particuli\u00e8re pour la nourriture, ni r\u00eave de grandeur ou de r\u00e9ussite \u00e9clatante. J\u2019allais juste cuisiner, servir des clients, nettoyer le bouiboui et apporter \u00e0 l\u2019appartement les restes de nourriture pour le souper des enfants.<\/p>\n
Mais me voil\u00e0 pourtant comme un \u00ab\u00a0dumpling\u00a0\u00bb, la t\u00eate \u00e9mergeant du bouillon. Soudainement happ\u00e9e par un second niveau de signification, je me suis mise \u00e0 donner de l\u2019importance aux gestes, aux choses et aux cr\u00e9ations alimentaires nouvellement install\u00e9es dans ma t\u00eate de patronne. Chaque jour, je me surprenais \u00e0 vouloir embellir, mieux faire, ajouter de la couleur et une saveur inoubliable \u00e0 chaque d\u00e9jeuner. Sans m\u2019en rendre compte, les rondelles de bananes, les fraises et les framboises se sont mises \u00e0 danser sur les tranches de pain dor\u00e9. Les bleuets frais sautant sur les triangles de melon avec les gros raisins rouges, les fl\u00e8ches de pommes, et les sourires de p\u00eaches juteuses.<\/p>\n
Quelque deux mois plus tard, j\u2019ai compos\u00e9 mes premi\u00e8res feuilles d\u2019horaire du personnel, feuilles d\u2019inventaire des denr\u00e9es, un rapport quotidien de fermeture de caisse avec le nombre de clients et la somme d\u2019argent, ainsi qu\u2019un mod\u00e8le de r\u00e9sultats mensuels afin que je puisse suivre notre progression. D\u2019o\u00f9 m\u2019est venue cette soudaine expertise? Je me le demande encore. Dans ce premier resto Cora, jour apr\u00e8s jour, j\u2019ai cr\u00e9\u00e9 tout ce que nous appellerions plus tard \u00ab\u00a0le concept CORA\u00a0\u00bb. \u00c9purant la tradition d\u2019alors, j\u2019ai am\u00e9lior\u00e9 chaque recette et chaque choix d\u2019aliment. Je me suis souvenu du m\u00e9lange \u00e0 cr\u00eapes de ma m\u00e8re et j\u2019ai fait mon propre sirop \u00e0 la vanille. Puis, me rappelant le blanc-manger du coll\u00e8ge, j\u2019ai concoct\u00e9 une cr\u00e8me p\u00e2tissi\u00e8re hors du commun.<\/p>\n
Mon assurance en cuisine grandissait aussi vite que les files d\u2019attente quotidiennes s\u2019allongeaient. Je m\u2019en souviens tellement. Ignorant encore la port\u00e9e de mes gestes, j\u2019organisais dans ma t\u00eate le travail \u00e0 faire et le monde autour de moi pour m\u2019aider. Sans le savoir, je nous pr\u00e9parais \u00e0 croire \u00e0 une r\u00e9alit\u00e9 encore invisible \u00e0 l\u2019\u0153il nu. Voil\u00e0 humblement le d\u00e9but de ma carri\u00e8re en restauration. Certes, je n\u2019avais pas choisi cette vocation, mais le temps a enflamm\u00e9 ma passion. Au lieu de m\u2019apitoyer sur mes mis\u00e8res, je me suis attel\u00e9e \u00e0 la t\u00e2che; tirant nos vies vers des jours meilleurs. Parce que je n\u2019avais pas le choix, je me suis engag\u00e9e \u00e0 r\u00e9ussir. J\u2019ai multipli\u00e9 les efforts que d\u2019autres n\u2019ont pas fournis et j\u2019ai obtenu une abondance de r\u00e9sultats que les moins convaincus n\u2019ont pas connus.<\/p>\n
J\u2019ai commenc\u00e9 tr\u00e8s t\u00f4t \u00e0 persuader mes enfants et les premiers employ\u00e9s que nous allions bien au-del\u00e0 que de servir des clients. Nous construisions quelque chose, une id\u00e9e, une fa\u00e7on de faire diff\u00e9rente de ce qui existait \u00e0 l\u2019\u00e9poque. Bien s\u00fbr, je manquais de mots et de connaissances pour articuler correctement l\u2019\u0153uvre \u00e0 laquelle nous participions et dont nous devenions les humbles serviteurs.<\/p>\n
Je ne sais pas o\u00f9 j\u2019ai trouv\u00e9 le courage n\u00e9cessaire pour entretenir cette chim\u00e8re jusqu\u2019\u00e0 ce qu\u2019elle puisse \u00e9merger du n\u00e9ant. Je r\u00e9alise aujourd\u2019hui que, dans ce premier restaurant de 29\u00a0places assises, j\u2019ai accouch\u00e9 d\u2019un concept extraordinaire. Comme une vraie m\u00e8re, j\u2019ai veill\u00e9 moi-m\u00eame mon b\u00e9b\u00e9 jour et nuit. En cuisinant, en inventant et en r\u00eavant, je n\u2019ai pens\u00e9 qu\u2019\u00e0 lui, \u00e0 son bien-\u00eatre et \u00e0 sa p\u00e9rennit\u00e9. J\u2019ai assum\u00e9 toutes les responsabilit\u00e9s li\u00e9es \u00e0 sa croissance et j\u2019ai aid\u00e9 les gens autour de lui \u00e0 mieux le servir. Tout cela je l\u2019ai accompli en prenant soin de nous garder, mes enfants, mon \u00e9quipe et moi, \u00e0 l\u2019abri du chaos pessimiste des incr\u00e9dules.<\/p>\n
La naissance du concept CORA a fait de moi un chef; un leader qui, telle une maman attentive, s\u2019est mis \u00e0 acqu\u00e9rir sur le tas et dans l\u2019\u00e9preuve chacune des forces qui lui serviraient \u00e0 accompagner l\u2019enfant jusqu\u2019\u00e0 maturit\u00e9. J\u2019ai voulu enseigner par l\u2019exemple et ne jamais exiger de quelqu\u2019un ce que je n\u2019\u00e9tais pas pr\u00eate \u00e0 faire moi-m\u00eame. J\u2019ai \u00e9t\u00e9 disciplin\u00e9e et s\u00e9v\u00e8re, \u00e9cartant de moi tout ce qui mena\u00e7ait la r\u00e9alisation de mes objectifs. \u00c7a n\u2019a pas toujours \u00e9t\u00e9 facile de croire au potentiel de mes id\u00e9es; pas facile du tout de croire \u00e0 un concept b\u00e2ti sur une montagne de coquilles d\u2019\u0153ufs.<\/p>\n
Le malheur lorsqu\u2019on est le CHEF d\u2019une entreprise, c'est qu\u2019il n\u2019existe pas d\u2019autorit\u00e9 sup\u00e9rieure susceptible de nous accorder un petit bravo, un \u00ab\u00a0tr\u00e8s bien\u00a0\u00bb entre deux r\u00e9unions. Voil\u00e0 sans doute pourquoi j\u2019avais accroch\u00e9 dans mon premier resto la photo de mon papa, d\u00e9c\u00e9d\u00e9 avant m\u00eame que je d\u00e9marre en affaires. J\u2019avais tellement besoin de ces petits mots d\u2019encouragement \u00e0 mes d\u00e9buts et, paradoxalement, on dirait que c\u2019est l\u2019\u00e9poque o\u00f9 ils se sont av\u00e9r\u00e9s les plus rares.<\/p>\n
Les sourires des clients m\u2019ont toujours gard\u00e9e combative et saine d\u2019esprit. De m\u00eame aujourd\u2019hui, tr\u00e8s chers lecteurs, vos multiples commentaires, chaque semaine, m\u2019encouragent \u00e0 continuer d\u2019\u00e9crire. Mille MERCIS \u00e0 vous tous!<\/p>\n
Cora
\n\u2764<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Les leaders se fabriquent eux-m\u00eames \u00e0 partir de la meilleure raison au […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":414,"featured_media":28269,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28268","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lettre-mme-cora"],"acf":{"img_en":"","contenu_en":"Self-made leaders are driven by one of the best reasons in the world: to create something that has the potential to become much bigger than themselves. I didn\u2019t know these things when I opened our first small restaurant. How could I have? I had spent so many years studying immaterial subjects such as literature, world history, ancient languages and philosophy. Divorced and penniless, I simply wanted to earn a living and feed my three kids.\r\n\r\nMy start in business is not as illustrious as you might think. Maybe I somehow just stumbled upon this \u201cmagic potion\u201d! The truth is, I didn\u2019t choose the restaurant business. Rather, it chose me and success came surprisingly quickly. I sold the family home, which the bank was already eyeing, and opened the first Cora diner without any preconceived ideas, any particular passion for food or any dream of greatness or dazzling success. I was going to cook, serve customers, clean up and then take the leftovers back to the apartment for the kids\u2019 supper.\r\n\r\nBut there I was, like an accidental dumpling, with my head bobbing in the broth. Suddenly seized by another way of seeing things, I began giving importance to gestures, things and new dishes that kept appearing for the first time in my boss\u2019 mind. Each day, I surprised myself by wanting to embellish, perfect or add colour or a memorable flavour to every plate. Without realizing it, the banana slices, strawberries and raspberries began to dance on the French toast. Fresh blueberries jumped on melon wedges, along with big red grapes, arrow-shaped apples and juicy slices of pears and peaches.\r\n\r\nTwo months later, I made up my first staff schedules, a food inventory checklist, a daily cash closing report with the number of customers and the day\u2019s intake, and a month-end closing sheet to track our progress. Where did the sudden expertise come from? I still wonder! Without realizing it, day after day, I created what we would later call \u201cthe Cora concept\u201d in that first location. I recalled my mother\u2019s cr\u00eape mix recipe and I cooked my own vanilla syrup from scratch. Then I remembered the blancmange from college and concocted a wonderful pastry cream.\r\n\r\nMy confidence in the kitchen mushroomed as fast as the daily lineups at the door. I remember it so well: Still unaware of the impact of my actions, I was mentally organizing all the work that had to be done and the team to do it. I was unknowingly laying the groundwork that would one day allow us to believe in a reality we couldn\u2019t yet imagine. These are the humble beginnings of my career in the restaurant industry. I certainly didn\u2019t choose this calling, but time turned it into my passion. Instead of feeling sorry for myself, I got on with the job; pulling us towards better days. I didn\u2019t have any choice but to dedicate every waking moment to our success. I worked a hundredfold more than others and achieved exceptional results that those who were less determined never reached.\r\n\r\nI started early on to persuade my children and our first few employees that we weren\u2019t just serving customers; we were building something new \u2013 an idea, a different way of doing things than what existed then. Of course I lacked the words and the knowledge to properly articulate the project we had embarked upon and whose humble servants we were becoming.\r\n\r\nI don\u2019t know where I found the courage to sustain this vision until it could emerge from nothing. What I realize today is that I birthed an extraordinary concept in that small 29-seat diner. Like a mother, I cared for my new baby myself, night and day. While I cooked, created new recipes and dreamed, all I could think about was its wellness and future. I assumed all the responsibilities for its growth and helped people around me to serve it better. I accomplished all of this by keeping us \u2013 my children, our team and I \u2013 away from the pessimistic chaos of disbelievers.\r\n\r\nThe arrival of the Cora concept released the \u201cboss\u201d within me; a leader who, like an attentive mother, began to learn on the job and put her abilities to the test as she nurtured her child to maturity. I wanted to teach by example and never asked anyone to do something that I wasn\u2019t prepared to do myself. I was disciplined and strict, keeping anything that threatened my success at bay. It wasn\u2019t always easy to believe in the potential of my ideas; in fact, it was very challenging to hold on to a concept built on a mountain of eggshells.\r\n\r\nThe unfortunate thing about being the leader of a company is that there isn\u2019t a higher authority to throw you a little \u201cbravo\u201d or \u201ccongrats on a job well done\u201d in between meetings. Maybe that\u2019s why I hung a picture of my father, who passed away before I started my business, in my first restaurant. I needed to hear those little words of encouragement when I was first starting out; paradoxically, it\u2019s exactly at this stage they were rarely given.\r\n\r\nThe customers\u2019 satisfied smiles kept me sane and motivated. And today, dear readers, your many kind comments encourage me to pursue this conversation with you each week. A THOUSAND thank yous to each and every one of you!\r\n\r\nCora\r\n\u2764"},"yoast_head":"\n