Before I shelve the program guide...

Some final thoughts on last week’s People Report Best Practices Conference:

The meeting has emerged as one of the industry’s major conferences, and this year’s gathering proved the annual event is no longer merely an HR confab. The number of c-suite residents in attendance dashed that impression once and for all. The focus was on human capital, but the scope of attendees underscored the importance of that resource for all levels of a forward-thinking organization.

Steve Jobs was very much with the conference in spirit, cited by speaker after speaker as an example of an individual who pursued his own way, flouting conventional wisdom at every step. With so many attendees pecking away at their iPads, iPhones and Mac Books, we needed no reminder of that philosophy’s success.

To a surprising degree, the Occupy Wall Street movement and its worldwide spin-offs also drew attention, in conversations between attendees as well as from on-stage speakers. Although the comments were often critical, there was an unexpected level of sympathy with the protestors’ core objection that essential social values have been corrupted by greed.

That dynamic was one more hammer blow to the old certainty that any gathering of chain-restaurant officials will be more solidly Republican and conservative than a bankers’ convention. The diversity of thinking on social issues was evident in the Twittersphere, where posters using the hashtag #prbpc showed a diversity of opinions on matters like economic stimulus programs. I moderated a panel on politics where Craig Miller, a candidate for the U.S. Senate seat from Florida, said he’d rebuke the unemployed to “get off their asses and get a job.” That drew a storm of 140-character objections, and a direct counterargument from a keynote speaker.

The balance in perspectives was underscored by a session at the conference on “connected capitalism,” or aligning business with the interests of communities. The panelists emphasized that conscience needn’t be incompatible with the profit motive. "An unconnected business is not a sustainable business. Period," declared Kat Cole, the president of Cinnabon.

Best new phrase I heard: “One-percenter,” the label used at my dinner table by futurist David Houle to designate a person of outstanding wealth.

A new industry star emerged in the person of John Bettin, the CEO of The Palm steakhouse group and chairman of this year’s PRBPC. I’ve pinned enough conference name badges on my lapels in bygone years to risk Carpel Tunnel Syndrome, yet I’d never had the pleasure of hearing Bettin, who provided a very engaging account of how he’s turning around his upscale charge. He repeatedly flashed a humor and warmth that were very much appreciated by all.

One of the more noteworthy observations from PRBPC co-host Wally Doolin: The imperative of any restaurant chain CEO today has to be to drive sales. He suggested the constant rallying cry of recent years—cut costs with abandon—is waning in its effectiveness as a profit driver.

The overriding takeaway from the conference had to be the essential role that culture plays in employee recruitment, retention, performance, and a restaurant business’ overall success.

Kudos to the natty queen Cole

One of the best presentations I saw in 30 year of attending industry conferences was an amusing account by Claire Babrowski of her climb through the ranks of McDonalds. She did a wonderful job at the podium of conveying both the warmth and the challenges of that career path, which brought her just one level away from the presidency of McDonald’s USA.

If I had a recording of her speech to the Women’s Foodservice Forum, I’d run off a copy and overnight it to Kat Cole, who yesterday was named chief operating officer of the Cinnabon bakery chain. If you don’t know who Kat is, you haven’t seen any of the restaurant trade magazines in the last five years, or attended any of the major industry conferences, or served on an association board. She even appeared on the reality TV show, Undercover Boss.

As head of Hooter’s human resources efforts, she achieved a notoriety that’s exceptionally rare for someone on the personnel side of the business. With the exception of Roz Mallet, a former Caribou Coffee CEO who now heads a franchise operating company, there’s no else I can recall who moved from the HR department to the big C-suite offices.

Cole is no doubt rounding out her executive experience, a bit of prep work that will ease her ascent one day to a chain president or CEO post.

Hence my regret that I don’t have a copy of Babrowki’s speech to share. The longtime McDonald’s official recounted such experiences as worrying she’d trigger a worldwide sesame-seed shortage by minutely altering the specs for McDonald’s hamburger buns. Or the over-her-head sensation of hearing Carolina franchisees literally cry because the first Iraqi war had yanked their customer base overseas, leaving the mom-and-pop operators fretful about surviving.

Best of all was her thumbnail recount of gaining operational experience: No more manicured nails, no more choosing footwear for style rather than comfort, and no more days without aching legs and feet.

It was a striking travelogue of the journey Cole is about to take. Granted, 800-store Cinnabon isn’t McDonald’s. No doubt like Babrowski, she’s destined for great things. I for one wish her well.

I’m also eager to cross paths with her soon because she’s in a position now to answer the question many of us have harbored about her career to date. Cole is a zealous defender of the employment opportunities afforded by Hooters, a chain known for its wings and waitresses in revealing T-shirts. Indeed, she started as what the chain calls a Hooters Girl.

She’s also extremely active in the Women’s Foodservice Forum, a group devoted to fostering executive opportunities for women. Some of us have had trouble reconciling that extra-career activity with what Cole did for the bulk of her week.

Now of course, it’s academic. She’s on her way to becoming even more of a star in the business.

Babrowski eventually left the industry because she didn’t get the top domestic job at McDonald’s. We’re fortunate that Cole is still in the business, making her mark.