Anyone interested in innovative ways to manage should head over to Quartz to read a great story about how Chipotle is transforming the way it hires and promotes employees.

“In 2005, the U.S. company underwent a transformation that would make its culture as distinct as its food,” Max Nisen wrote. “As more than 1,000 stores opened across the U.S., the company focused on creating a system where promoting managers from within would create a feedback loop of better, more motivated employees. That year, about 20% of the company’s managers had been promoted from within. Last year, nearly 86% of salaried managers and 96% of hourly managers were the result of internal promotions.”

The best performing stores, in fact, are ones that have managers that have risen up from crews. However, store sales aren’t what gets you a raise or promotion. It’s how well a manager mentors others.

To start off, every Chipotle employee must have these 13 characteristics before being hired:

Conscientious
Respectful
Hospitable
High Energy
Infectiously Enthusiastic
Happy
Presentable
Smart
Polite
Motivated
Ambitious
Curious
Honest

“The idea was to come up with a list of traits you can pick up on in a relatively short meeting,” Nisen wrote. “Inexperienced managers tend to look for the person who can help right away rather than indicators of long term success, [Co-CEO Monty] Moran says.”

Please read the story to learn more about how the company is promoting a culture founded on each employee helping the people around them be better.

Do you have a similar list of traits you look for when hiring employees at your venues? How often do you promote from within? Please share your stories with us in the comments section.

(photo credit: Brian Wilkins via photopin cc)

It’s the first day of spring. It’s also the International Day of Happiness, as proclaimed by the United Nations in 2012.  To honor this day, here’s another “59 Seconds” video that shows even if you force yourself to smile when you don’t feel like it, you’ll change your disposition and be much happier.

“Next time you want quick dose of delight,” said Richard Wiseman in the video, “just spend 30 seconds or so behaving like a happy person.”

Think of the country’s most famous bridges. Now, think about them as venues for concerts, festivals, and other events. That’s what one Pittsburgh councilman has done.

Ed Kress is exploring the possibility of turning into venues the Roberto Clemente, Rachel Carson, and Andy Warhol bridges as a way to generate revenue for Allegheny County. He told Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 that if a bridge is closed for a weekend and used for an event, it could draw attendees from outside the city.

“Kress wants the county to look at what improvements need to be made to the bridge to make it better suited for large events,” reported Bob Hazen for Action News 4. “One obvious upgrade would be electrical outlets. At past events, vendors have had to bring generators. The county would also have to examine liability issues and how much security for the events would cost.”

Kress says that if the bridges can be opened for events, then entrepreneurs can decide the best way to increase revenue on them.

What do you think? Would you like to see an iconic bridge used as a large venue in your city? Please share your thoughts in the comments section.

(photo credit: JC McGreehan via photopin cc)

Our International Stadium Management Conference takes place in Atlanta, Georgia, May 7-9. This is a great opportunity for stadium and racetrack  managers to meet together, learn from one other, and make new connections.

Over the weeks leading up to the conference, we’ll have many of the presenters and organizers offer their thoughts about the event and why you should attend. This week we feature Lee A. Esckilsen, CFE, CHE, an associate professor at The Center for Sports, Entertainment and Event Management at Johnson & Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island.

Why do you feel it’s important for managers to attend this conference?

I believe that it is important for stadium managers to attend this conference because it will give them an opportunity to meet with their colleagues face-to-face. It can be lonely at the top, and this will give managers the opportunity to hear and talk about issues that they are confronting as stadium managers on a daily basis and find possible solutions from their peers.

What’s one topic or session that attendees will benefit from and why?

I think that all the sessions will be enjoyable and enlightening. Just as there are many facets to managing a stadium there will be many new and interesting ideas presented at this years ISMC conference.

TED 2014 started yesterday. The annual talk-fest takes places in Vancouver, British Columbia, this year instead of its regular home in Long Beach, California. Moving the event to a new venue caused it to try something new, namely, building its own 20,000-square-foot theater inside the Vancouver Convention Centre.

“The custom, pop-up theater created by renown New York architect David Rockwell marks an unprecedented foray into designing around the unique experience that is TED, taking into account the needs, desires, and comforts necessary to create the intimate experience TED promises for both speaker and audience,” Shaunacy Ferro wrote for Fast Company. “Most theaters are designed for viewing a two-hour play or a musical performance, an experience that differs vastly from listening to speaker after speaker for days at a time, and one that requires a host of different design considerations.”

Ferro’s article features interviews with Rockwell and TED curator Chris Anderson about the design, seating, and portability of the theater.

“The theater was built nearby in more than 8,000 structural timber pieces created with the help of a computer-aided cutting machine, which arrived at Vancouver Convention Center on 50 trucks,” Kate Torgovnick May wrote on the official TED blog. “The theater was designed as individual “boxes” of approximately 10’ x 12’ x 20’, which fit together for easy assembly. Each individual ‘box’ withstands the dynamic forces imposed when moved and, in total, it’s designed to stand up to the normal live/dead loads in any other building.”

Check out the time-lapse video below to see how the theater was created, and please visit Ferro and May‘s articles for more information about the project.

(Image: TED/Rockwell Group)