We recently connected with Mel King and have shared our conversation below.
Mel, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s start with what makes profitability in your industry a challenge – what would you say is the biggest challenge?
I believe one of the biggest challenges in our, if not all businesses, is Government intervention. In the restaurant business, we are very dependent on truck transportation and delivery of product. Intentional reduction of oil production and resulting increases in gas prices has hurt tremendously. A mandated minimum wage has resulted in minimum job growth and is why more restaurants are “employing” kiosks instead of high schoolers for their first job. Also, a recent study shows that 55% of shoppers are eating at home more since the Covid pandemic began. It didn’t help that Governors, in some states, imposed restrictions on small restaurants that were difficult in which to comply.
Mel, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I am a business executive who entered the workforce when promotion and opportunities were supposed to be based on performance and qualification. Although, even with these factors, reward was not always guaranteed. I have an MBA from Loyola Marymount, in Los Angeles. When I got out of the service, I started working while attending night school. My first job was in the mailroom of an Aerospace company. Very quickly, and outside of my job description, I was given responsibility of maintenance and upkeep of the company’s fleet of 10 cars. Continuing my education at night, and after a couple of years, I changed jobs I became an Industrial Engineer. to work at Hughes Aircraft Co. in El Segundo, CA. Once again I was given responsibility outside my job description and was asked to lead a negotiation team comprised of four individuals. However, I still had my regular job function to perform. We were very successful as our dollar to win ratio improved over prior negotiations. While in the industrial Engineering function, I introduced a budget analyst concept that changed the way the company managed their manufacturing and assembly process. I was asked to instruct a female supervisor of budget and process control on my methodology. Using the process I taught her, in a newly created division, she later was promoted to a manager, and then a director. I didn’t interview, and be selected for a management position until a few years later. In this new position I was able to turn a minimal impacting estimating department to one the was considered essential when discussing bid proposals. In addition I, once again, was asked to head up the negotiation team, at the time comprised of 14 individuals. All 14 people would go to Washington D.C. to negotiate with the Navy. With me leading the team, and my background in finance and manufacturing, in three years, the number was reduce to five. I left Hughes in 1985 and went to work for Martin Marietta in Orlando, Fl. “once again,” I was asked to transfer a low performing organization into one that is highly productive, during the transition process, we were able to reduce a $14M projected overrun to a $200K underrun. While at Martin I had responsibility to head up their “Total Quality Management” (TQM ) program, program manager for the Government awarded, “Contractor Performance Certification Program, and Program managed the first ever award to an aerospace company, the ” Baldridge Award.” (I performed these functions for Martin, and Hughes as well, however I received little or no recognition for successfully accomplishing the things I did that were out of my job description. There are more instances where I performed above and beyond, and little to no recognition. I am a person of color, and a VP, once told my wife, at Management Club Dinner/ Dance, “If Mel wasn’t Black and played golf, he would be a VP by now.”) All of this and more prepared me for my current function as President of a franchise company in the bakery and food industry. We currently have four franchises with preliminary discussions with two other individuals. Mr. Sticky’s Inc,, makes sticky buns, and has been in existence since the year 2000, I came on board to start the franchising aspect of the business, Mr. Sticky’ Franchise Group, LLC.. Our first Franchisee was in March, 2019, and our fourth, and latest, in March 2023.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
After I left Lockheed Martin, I worked for IBM as a consultant. While waiting for an assignment, I received a call from the placement manager that they wanted me to go to Washington D.C. to meet with the Immigration and Custom Enforcement ICE) Chief Information Officer (CIO). I was told that IBM essentially had been kicked out a couple of months ago and this would be our last opportunity to, “Get it right.” There was a lot riding on this function since other Government agencies were waiting on the outcome. I was .living in Pennsylvania, so I drove down on a Monday, to speak with a couple of guys who were on the original project. I spent half the day with them to get as much information I could about the project, in preparation of my Tuesday morning meeting with the CIO. The next day, Tuesday, I heard two men speaking in the hall, just outside the office assigned to me. They were talking loud enough that I couldn’t help but to overhear one of them mention the CIO’s name. As they began to end their conversation, I got up from the desk, went into the hall to introduce myself. The CIO looked at me, in a very scrutinizing manner, then said, “Come into my office.” He motioned for me have a seat, then proceeded to go to the phone and call the assistant CIO. My Thought was, “OK, this is going to be some heavy hitting.” When the Assistant CIO came in and sat down, the show began. It lasted for two hours. After the meeting, i went back to the office. Shortly thereafter I got a call from the IBM account executive. Hi Mel, How is your day going? “I just got back from a two hour meeting with the CIO,; and he invited me to attend his staff meetings,” I said. “That is fantastic. We haven’t been able to meet with him for two months; and, you made so much progress in two hours,” she said. Later, the CIO told me his career was being stifled because of the delay in the reorganization of his department. I headed up a team of people and we got the job done in about four months. We put together a slide presentation and I assisted the CIO in the presentation. His Boss and his Boss’s, boss plus over 150 field agents were present. Later that same day, the CIO told me that he got the field promotion that he was hoping for.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
I was at the Air Force Academy, after spending two and a half years in the Air Force when I decided that I didn’t want to make the Air Force my career. I did the calculation. 2.5 years, current service, plus 4 years (Academy), plus 6 year obligation after the Academy since I was pilot qualified. That totaled over 12 years. My time at the Academy convince me that the service was not what I wanted in life. It was a difficult choice to turn down the opportunity to become a fighter pilot. While at the Academy, I met the former squadron commander of the Air Force flying acrobatics team,. the “Thunder Birds.” He promised me a ride with the “Birds” while a cadet and at least an interview to be a member after graduation. I submitted my resignation from the Academy during the first semester and it initially was turned down. I was forced to wait two months until the end of the semester. After the Academy, I had nine months of my service enlistment to complete,. At my next assignment I was tasked to inspect for corrosion and paint the giant C-141 Cargo plane. I reorganized the shop and cut the turn around time for inspection and painting from two months to three and a half weeks. The Squadron Commander invited me to lunch and during that time asked me if I didn’t mind if he recommended me for OCS (Officer Candidate School) to become an officer. I told him that I already had an opportunity to become an officer, via the Academy, however I did not want to make the service a career. The commander sat back and said, “I can’t think of anytime when an enlisted person was given two opportunities to become an officer. I wish you well.” A decision to leave the Air Force was very crucial to me. My father had past away, I didn’t have a place that I could call home when I returned to Los Angeles, yet I had a plan, and I was going to work that plan.
Contact Info:
- Facebook: [email protected]
- Linkedin: melkingofla