Our Story
Take a look at the journey of how Croc came to be! 🙂
You know, I have always been saddened by all the people out there who tell me that work is just a chore to be endured. A necessary evil if you will.
These people have come to believe that it is their fate to spend most of their waking hours doing work that has no meaning and no excitement. Just waiting to get home, living for the weekend.
Just what is it that makes so many people miserable in their jobs? In the beginning, I could not explain it. But I knew this widespread phenomena contained seeds of opportunity. So I set out to find the true purpose behind this thing we call work.
It took me longer than expected, but after 25 years of research, I have created an unusual method that enables me to create work that is a source of joy and inspiration. These findings have made a profound change in my life. And in the lives of others as well. Because of this, I feel it is my mission is to share with you what I have learned.
I teach from hard-won experience. It comes deep from the heart.
no other school on the planet will teach you.
You may think I am crazy. Well, if it makes you feel any better, my family thinks I am crazy. My friends think I am nuts. Oh, and by the way – they are extremely jealous. Some people think I’m just lucky… good timing or coincidence maybe. But folks, it didn’t come easy.
As I set out on my journey, I decided to take a page from the people who have earned rewards that others only dream about. I discovered they all had 2 things in common… A mission and a plan. Without these two things, work becomes stale. Alas, I have been there.
For you, we have something very, very special. But first, read up on some history of Crocodile Catering.
A BIT OF HISTORY
Good food has always been a love of my life.
I always loved everything about cooking. At age 2, I would stand by my mother’s side in the kitchen, watching and asking questions. My first words to my Grandmother were; “these chicken livers are delicious!” 😀
Just a few days after my 16th birthday, I got my first job. It was mostly grunt work- carrying out garbage, washing dishes, mopping floors, and stuff like that- but since I was working around food, I was happy as a kid in a candy shop!
I worked in restaurants for the next 14 years, only taking time off to finish high school and to earn a marketing degree at Penn State. Beyond the grunt work, I was a cook, chef, kitchen manager, cost control analyst, management trainee, restaurant manager, and general manager of a restaurant chain.
I learned the business. Topping off the list of skills I developed was a special knack for being able to take great ideas and make them happen. My motto was, “Cook, chop, or get outta my way.”
THE CROC IS BORN
I thought I had figured out exactly how things should be run. It was my way… or the highway. If someone wasn’t up to the task, they had no choice but to pack their bags and hit, “the highway.” Yeah, I could be – and often was – a difficult S.O.B. One of my employees even came up with a clever nickname for me – Kurtler.
But in spite of running the Croc like a dictator, my catering business grew. By 1992, the Croc was a financial success. For a while, I was quite proud of myself and of my accomplishments in the food industry.
STILL, I HAD HARD TIME FINDING THE RIGHT EMPLOYEES.
Employees came and went so quickly that I could barely keep their names straight. No wonder. They were just looking for a paycheck. And that’s about all they got from me.
Why was my turnover rate so high? I was running a successful company here! What more could these employees want? If they would only stick around and apply themselves, they too could reap the benefits of the Crocodile gold mine.
These sorry souls worked 10 or 12 hour days, commuted home, stole a precious hour or two for “real life,” slept, woke up and did it again. This vicious cycle played out day after day. They were trapped in dull, tedious, dead-end jobs. They weren’t really interested in the Croc as a company. And it seemed they had no interest in their education and self-improvement.
But so what if my employees were unhappy and unmotivated? I was making good money and living the American dream and it was good enough for me.
Eventually though, I realized that I was one of the few people – perhaps the only person – who was truly happy with me. “My way” was no longer working- even for me.
WHAT WAS WRONG?
One day it hit me like a bolt of lightning: I had learned how to make money, but I needed get others involved and “pay it back.” Relationships at work- and in my personal life- were suffering. I had to rewire my thinking, I had to find a better way. So I did a lot of reading, coursework and studying. My epiphany finally came in 1998.
BACK TO THE BOOKS
I stumbled across an obscure branch of yoga called karma yoga – the yoga of work. Unlike other forms of yoga, you didn’t have to be flexible enough to bend yourself into a pretzel. But you do have to be flexible in your thinking and able to follow certain principles.
A key principle of karma yoga is selfless work. Karma yogis perform their work with the intention of serving others by giving their full effort, creativity, and generosity. Karma yoga philosophy also incorporates the virtues of honesty, concentration, beauty, excellence and courage.
Eureka! This is what had been missing at the Crocodile – a purpose that transcended monetary rewards!
The sheer genius of karma yoga is that you practice it while you work. Unlike other methods of self-improvement, there’s no need to set aside times for special practice. You see, karma yoga offers guidelines for developing effective work relationships.
After delving deeper into the philosophies of this new way of life, I was hooked. I decided to use karma yoga’s principles as the foundation for Crocodile’s new operations, as well as my personal life. This was the foundation that would dramatically change not only my life, but the lives of the people around me as well.
At first my wife thought I was out of my mind. She was not alone. I’m sure everybody else felt the same way. They all thought that financial success was all any business owner could realistically expect. But I became convinced there had to be more to this thing called “work” than just money.
After countless hours of studying, leadership courses, and the aid of fellow Crocs, grad school, and my wise guru, Bob, the new purpose of the Crocodile began to take shape. Quite simply, the Crocodile mission is…
“To teach others how to create more productive, joyous, and inspirational workplaces”.
What more noble profession could there ever be than to make work worthwhile? But initially, all I really had was a vision of what I would like my business to become. So I had a mission, but I had no real plan. I had no “tool kit” to make this wonderful mission come alive. I needed a set of guiding principles. Guidelines that could tell us what to do (and what not to do).
THEN, AFTER STILL MORE RESEARCH, WE DEVELOPED A SET OF LIFE CHANGING PRINCIPLES TO HELP US CARRY OUT OUR MISSION. IT IS CALLED…
THE FIVE STEPS TO SUCCESS
Learning these secrets is like stepping back and seeing your whole mission as a person through a crystal-clear pane of glass. You’ll know precisely what you need to do and say to produce the best results – for yourself, those around you, and your community.
The Crocodile 5 Steps to Success… in a nutshell (I even have a Behavior Scorecard which helps us measure and train these steps)
Step 1: “Get Real.” … Honesty, Courage, Listening.
Our simple system will help you better understand who you are, where you are today, and what makes you tick. Best of all, you will learn how others view your behavior.
Step 2: “Dream Tall.Worry Small.”… Imagination, Goal Setting, Learning,Taking Action.
Learn to dream again (like when you were a kid). Develop a more optimistic view of your life. Build a brighter future with our no-nonsense tools that will help you make positive changes in the way you learn and think. Learn to hold onto the best parts of the past… and leave the bad stuff behind.
Step 3: “Turn Scars Into Stars.”… Creativity, Optimism, Persistence. Become a courageous warrior who actually relishes adversity. Believe me, you will never look at problems the same way again. You will actually find yourself saying “Bring ‘em on, Baby.” Our easy-to-use tools will help you develop your creativity as you realize the “smuggler’s truth”…there is always a way.
Step 4: “When You Go There, Be There.”… Concentration, Excellence, Non-Attachment. Learn how to stay in the present moment like a Zen master. Be more successful, attentive and creative using our proven system to boost your concentration levels. Create work that is dynamic and liberating by focusing on the path… rather than the goal. Develop a mindset where risk taking (and even failure) is accepted and encouraged.
Step 5: “Be the Best for the World.”… Generosity, Inspiration, Kindness, Gratitude. Learn the art of generous living which will help you get most of the things that money can buy…and all of the things that money can’t buy. Supercharge your life with these sure-fire techniques that will help you find the secrets to true and lasting joy in your work (and life).
We put The 5 Steps to Success into action – even though it was not perfected- it changed everything. No longer were we just talking a good game; we began to play a truly remarkable game.
You see, in the design phase, I had brushed aside thoughts about boosting the Croc’s bottom line. In fact, I figured the company’s profitability would go down. Our concerns were to create a more creative, productive and joyous workplace. And we did.
Imagine my shock – yes, shock- when I realized that the model had also uncovered sure-fire steps to an even more profitable way of doing business. Long story short, Crocodile’s sales have doubled and profits have tripled. My accountant says our business is in the top 1% of all the businesses he sees!
What was once a small sandwich shop has become one of the most financially successful catering operations on the East Coast!
TAKE A LOOK AT THE CROC TODAY AND YOU WILL SEE …
- Crocs with smiles who are eager to learn real skills in culinary arts, marketing, education, and leadership
- Customers who are delighted to be working with a company that really cares about them
- Suppliers who “walk the extra mile” for us because they know we will always treat them fairly
- King Croc (that’s me) who is considered more like a team leader than like a dictator
With this totally unexpected financial success, the Croc is able to do things it could only dream of before. We can afford to hire great people, invest in extensive employee training and benefits, take menu R&D field trips to foreign countries, offer B to B consulting, cooking classes, give that something extra to our customers, and make significant donations to local charities and educational institutions.
And now with Covid-19, the Crocodile has been offered the opportunity to rebuild and strengthen our locally owned business. We are on the “hunt” for new employees and customers. Let us know if you are interested!
ROCK ON CROC!
For new team members…. we can help you take that crucial “giant leap forward” in your career. You will come to understand business at such a high level that there will be no limit to how successful you can become.
And for our customers… your team members will be delighted with our food, service and creativity. So much so that you might even get a big, fat raise!
Admittedly our approach is unique. That’s why it flat-out works. If you are thinking “this can’t be true,” then you ought to check us out. The proof is in the pudding, folks!
But remember, if you continue to do what you are doing, you will get what you always have gotten. To get what you deserve, you must take action.
We have all bought books, attended seminars, and joined clubs thinking we would put forth the effort to improve our skills – only to end up wasting our time because we didn’t make the extra effort to apply what we learned.
If your gut is telling you, “Wow, this is exactly what I’ve been waiting for. I need to get started fast!” then the Croc just might be for you.
You see, helping others is our specialty. That’s because our mission- our reason to exist- is to teach others how to create work that is more creative, productive and inspirational.
Welcome.
Want to partner with our team? Anybody you know who might be interested? We’d love to hear from you! I am happy to give guided tours of my state-of-the-art kitchen upon appointment and share with you my Behavior Scorecard which outlines in detail; The 5 Steps To Success. Just email to [email protected]
Here’s to a beautiful, new future!!!
Kurt