If you’re ever in Muskoka, do visit

Last summer, there was a cafe in Port Carling called Legends. They were hiring a dishwasher. I searched for a job. They hired me on the spot which I found odd. The chef took me through a walk-through the next day. He showed and taught me all the processes of the kitchen. On my way out, he said to me ‘this place is toxic dude. The owners are f*@cking nuts.’ That was my introduction to the organizational behavior in this fine establishment.

Over the course of the one week I worked with that chef, his behaviors started to turn into my behavior. A rush stressed him to the point of a near mental breakdown. He resented customers and became uncaring about the quality and the cleanliness. As the only other employee in the kitchen, I started to mirror the same feelings. They have to be wrong, difficult, picky if anything was sent back. They must be wrong. Between the two of us, that was the norm.

But he eventually snapped. The norms and environment created by him broke him. His friend came in and took over the situation.

Gordon Ramsay famously pushes his staff to the breaking point

Those last few weeks I spent there, I noticed the norms changing. Food came out better than before, the kitchen started to get cleaned, and the customer miraculously knew what they were talking about. There was no argument, no resentment, and no breakdowns. This serves as an example of the importance of leaders; they make the norms in the kitchen and can turn around a family business’ future.