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concept is created. The menu follows, as it is through the menu composition that a concept is brought to life. Karen’s passion for global flavors and intrinsically healthful cultural cuisines drives her product development. Karen’s consulting approach is based on this hierarchy of fundamental principles:
Vision drives greatness Authenticity is golden Bold thinking creates big results Menu Drives Everything!
Karen has received the Excellence in Management Advisory Services from the Foodservice Consultants Society International, Top Achiever Consultant of the year from Foodservice Equipment & Supplies and the Industry Service Award from Restaurant Equipment Reports. She has been a featured speaker at multiple foodservice industry conferences, chaired FCSI’s Council for Professional Standards for six years and contributes articles frequently to various foodservice publications.
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What prompted you to write the article “ Diversity and Disruption: Fuel for Foodservice Innovation ” for the Foodservice Consultant magazine Quarter 3, 2022? I have been fascinated by the difficulty we humans have embracing and tolerating cognitive diversity since my years as a psychiatric social worker. This intolerance is often the root cause of hostility, hatred, misplaced anger, rancor and — importantly — new thinking. As a consultant for over 25 years, I have witnessed first hand the lack of growth and forward-motion that can occur resulting from the inability to allow new ways of thinking. This is classic “getting in one’s own way”. How does diversity of thought most relate to your work as a consultant? It took me a bit of time, as a new consultant years ago, to realize that part of the good work we do in working with our clients is being a disruptor. Disrupting, done restfully and honestly, is not negative. This is why I am so passionate about the Visioning and Ideation sessions I lead with clients: shaking up embedded thinking and challenging the status quo is essential to innovation and breakthroughs. Giving people a safe space to share their differences while not being, or feeling, threatened can be ground-breaking.
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Page 2 of 6 | Fired Up for Consultants , March 2022 - Spring | Vol. 3, Issue 1
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