I’ve been reading a book called “Enchantment” by Guy Kawasaki and I think it’s worth sharing a meaningful part of it (to me anyway), so that we can go into 2012 with the best of intentions!

“Mensch” is a German term for “human being” but in the Yiddish term, it means “honest, fair, kind and transparent, no matter who you’re dealing with and who will ever know what you did.” 

2012 is said to be the end of the Mayan calendar and the beginning of a new consciousness. Let’s think about all the people that passed away in 2011. Osama Bin Laden, Kim Jung Il, Kadafi, Michael Jackson, Steve Jobs and several other world influencers and leaders. 2011 was a year of revolting- the world begging for real, tangible change. 2012 will be the beginning of it for all of us and I can’t wait to see how it will unfold! 

My two biggest lessons of 2011:

1. The power of consistency. Creating a truly consistent business, finding consistently performing staff, delivering product to the public in a consistent way every time. Being consistent with what we say and how we act with our peers, co-workers, friends, family and loved ones. Consistency is not confusing. I will focus on this in 2012.

2. The power of a great team. Hiring the right people that fit the right jobs will eliminate so much stress and increase the chance of success exponentially. Round pegs in round holes, not any other way. Your team should eliminate stress, not add to it. If you feel like your workload is more with the addition of a teammate, chances are you have the wrong hire. Hire slow, fire fast- only way to be. I learned this the hard way.

For 2012, let us all begin by being Menschs!

Here are 12 things for all of us to think about, to print out and put on our fridges so we can look at it every morning before we begin our days:

1. Always act with honesty.

2. Treat people who have wronged you with civility.

3. Fulfill your unkept promises from the past.

4. Help someone who can be of absolute no use to you.

5. Suspend blame when something goes wrong and ask: “what can we learn?”

6. Hire people who are smart as or smarter than you and give them opportunities for growth.

7. Don’t interrupt people (even if you’re excited to share a thought). Don’t dismiss their concerns offhand. Don’t rush to give advice. Don’t change the subject. Allow people their moment.

8. Do no harm in anything you undertake.

9. Don’t be too quick to shoot down others’ ideas.

10. Share your knowledge, expertise and best practices with others.

11. Focus on goodwill (positive actions that make the world a better place.)

12. Give people the benefit of doubt.

Happy New Year and let’s share our resolutions with our closest and dearest so that we can all hold each other accountable.

Hi Michelle,
My name is Miki and I own two restaurants in New York City called “Slice, the perfect food” (www.sliceperfect.com) which are all-natural and organic pizza concepts. Over three years ago, I started giving talks to public schools all over New York City, educating kids about food and eating better through pizza! It’s an INCREDIBLE ice breaker for kids since all kids love pizza! Our crust is whole wheat, our sauce is slow-cooked so we don’t add any sugar at all to our sauce, our part-skim 100% organic mozzarella cheese comes from exclusively from Organic Valley (one of the most humane dairy companies in the world). How I start my talks is as follows: I bring in a pizza pie and give it to the kids. They love it (of course) and then I ask them “What are you eating?” and they yell “Pizza!” and then I say “Did you like it?” and they yell “YESSS!” and then I say: “Ok, well, did you know that you just had whole wheat crust.” And then they are surprised. And then I said “you just ate organic cheese!” and they were surprised that they loved it all. And then we were able to have an open discussion about food because the kids just experienced a discovery, they ate pizza and loved it and had fun.
So, my point is, the “right kind” of pizza made with the right ingredients, is a great discussion ice breaker for kids and I would LOVE to take you with me to a class and perhaps you can help me with getting these talks out to more schools around the city! I love giving these talks, I am passionate about good, healthy food, and it makes me so happy to give back to my community. 
Looking forward to hearing from you!
xo
Miki
PS. I hand wrote a Christmas card and brought it to The White House (I went bowling at the White House a few weeks ago, see video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=413UJENTtqw) and see my adventure to get there http://www.vimeo.com/8288203, wondering if you read it. :-)
PPS. A Slice rap song just for you. (Um, it’s meant to be “So bad” that it’s “So good” so please keep that into consideration.) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NnHRlmeSf1g&feature=player_embedded