Mike Bradley, Silver Plate

The foodservice arena is losing one of its own. Mike Bradley is transitioning out of his career in foodservice, having been recently appointed Ashland (OH) University's director of physical plant. This follows a 17-year stretch during which he worked his way up from general manager of Ashland dining services to auxiliary services director, and for a few more months he will straddle the fence between facilities mgmt. and foodservice.

But it seems that although he is moving on to the next act of his career, he has certainly left his mark on the one before.

A team approach: Bradley's career began, as did many foodservice operators, working entry-level eatery jobs as a means of making money while in college. This experience was the launching pad for a career that has spanned 24 years so far and that includes a number of positions in college foodservice departments.

In 1985, he joined Ashland's foodservices department, which Bradley says was poorly managed at the time and was in need of some reorganization. "We built a team of people who had a passion for what we wanted to do which was turn our program into the best dining program around," he says.

Seventeen years later, Bradley points to the building of that team and its subsequent success as his and Ashland's most notable accomplishment. "The most significant thing was turning a program that was challenged into one where the customers are pleased with what we provide them."

When asked for the formula of this success Bradley sums it up quickly: "hard work. There's no substitute for hard work."

Single visionary: Getting the staff to believe in a single vision and feel part of the process was also important, he says. Bradley, heading this team of f/s workers, has undoubtedly left his mark on Ashland's foodservices, but he's been happy to witness others make their marks, and being a part of the staff's development has been a priority for him.

"What I've enjoyed most is watching people grow, giving them the tools to do their jobs, whether it's a set of knives or education. It's just fun watching people grow, getting out of their way, removing the obstacles."

He also credits the university and its business administrators with providing the necessary support for achieving the team's goals. "They've given me and my staff opportunities to grow and to take the department to heights that you don't typically see in a small college food environment," explains Bradley.

It is the freedom to be creative without the fear of making mistakes and learning from them that has been the most gratifying aspect of working at Ashland. This creativity has been applied to "everything we've touched"—from the menus to the aesthetics of the dining facilities. The end result of this freedom, creativity and hard work has been happy consumers.

Big shoes to fill: Still, Bradley says it is time for him to move on. After 17 years, he contends, it is time for others to step up and implement their ideas and visions.

He asserts that much of his success has come from asking questions and veering away from complacency. The key is "looking at things and saying, 'we can do that better. Why are we doing it this way?'" It's a mentality he has worked to instill in his staff. "They are at a point where they are questioning things and saying what we do today, we can do better tomorrow," Bradley adds.