Leadership - Management

Meet Master Mentor Paul Avery of Outback
(Originally published July 2003)

Earlier this year I had an opportunity to spend time with Outback President Paul Avery when he was visiting Houston. Avery was in town to open the new Outback business incubator at Westside High School. This unique Outback serves as a business model to encourage the entrepreneurial spirit, which is a driving force at Outback, where managers are partners in the business. In effect, Outback and a number of partners in the community, including the Texas Restaurant Association, are providing an environment to stimulate independence and self-reliance. No doubt this is mentoring at its best. As a world-class company, Outback has set the standard others emulate in partnering with its internal customers (managers and employees) to achieve mutual and lasting success.

As Paul and I were reminiscing about our shared experiences at Steak and Ale, we both soon came to talk about the mentor we shared along with so many other Steak and Ale, Bennigan's, and Chili's managers, Norman Brinker. I suggested that Brinker's management model was a jet fighter pilot, who must always check every pre-flight detail and then be absolutely thrilled to blast off. We also both recalled the extensive battery of psychological screeners Steak and Ale had in place by using Dallas-based Batrus-Hollweg to thoroughly examine each potential management candidate. We specifically recalled how setting the pace of your career at Steak and Ale was left to each person, with promotions based primarily upon performance and teamwork skills. Above all, it was the land of opportunity.

So it isn't surprising that Avery and Chris Sullivan (also a former Steak and Ale manager) used that company as a model and added their own enhancements, particularly the ownership formula, to attract the best talent. It's perhaps difficult to imagine, but these partners, Paul and Chris, had a huge dream of having four Outbacks in the Tampa-St. Pete area. 700 stores later, that dream has become an incredible story of entrepreneurial success. What's more, mentoring is the driving force within Outback, whose promotion-from-within policy translates to some 90 percent of general mangers having joined as assistant managers or hourly employees. You can find story after story of servers and bartenders becoming partner-managers, making more than $100,000 annually, while having significant equity in their stores.

It would seem enough to be one of the guiding forces for so many restaurateurs, but Avery's mission goes way beyond Outback. Though important, his trip to Texas was really just the tip of the iceberg. Paul's mentoring passion takes flight in a Florida Program in Pasco County called Take Stock in Children, a non-profit program that "targets economically disadvantaged children in the community and gives them the promise of a college education and guidance from a caring adult mentor." Children selected in the 7th grade receive a 2 + 2 Florida Pre-paid college or a vocational college scholarship. They must stay drug and crime-free, maintain good grades, good behavior and a strong commitment to succeed. Parents are asked to sign a contract promising to support each child's participation.

It's working amazingly well! Since 1991, statewide programs like this in Florida have provided some 2,000 children with scholarships and mentors. 97 percent of the students have kept their word and commitment. What a wonderful stage for future business success this program is setting!

What drives Avery to do all this? He told me it was his master mentor, Norman Brinker, who gave him a simple message that set a lifelong mission in motion: "It's the right thing to do the right things." You can find out about outstanding careers at Outback by checking out their listings on Hcareers. Get information about Take Stock In Children by visiting their web site,
 http://www.takestockinchildren.com/home.jsp. Or, visit Outback's site,
 http://www.outbacksteakhouse.com. Perhaps you'll now see a special meaning in that little saying: "No Rules. Just Right!

Hospitably yours,

Peter

Bio:

Paul E. Avery
Outback Steakhouse, Inc.
President

Paul E. Avery was appointed as President of Outback Steakhouse, Inc. January of 2004, which operates Outback Steakhouses domestically, Carrabba’s Italian Grill, Bonefish Grill, and Cheeseburger in Paradise. He has served as President of Outback Steakhouse of Florida, Inc. since April of 1997, and was appointed to the Board of Directors in 1998 until April of 2004. Paul was elected Senior Vice President of the company in 1993. From 1990 to 1993, he was the Director of Operations for Outback Steakhouse.

Paul began his career with Outback Steakhouse in 1989 as a Managing Partner. Prior to 1989, he was employed by the Steak & Ale Restaurant Company for 7 ½ years where he was a Regional Supervisor. He began his career with Steak & Ale in 1982 as a manager in training.

Paul Avery is 45 years old with an Associate Degree in Hotel and Restaurant Management at Middlesex County College in New Jersey and a Bachelor of Science Degree at Kean University in New Jersey.

Paul is involved in the community through his Chairmanship of Take Stock in Children, a Founders Club member of the Great Outdoors Conservancy, a Board Member of the Hillsborough Education Foundation, Vice Chairman of Tampa Bay Watch and was President of the American Beverage Institute. He is a family man and avid outdoors sportsman.