74 CEOs Fired This Year. Here's The Real Reason Why.

🍽️ Why the Best Leadership Happens Around the Table

Where Food Industry Leaders Are Made – One Habit at a Time!

🎯 Quick – Timely – Impactful Lessons of Leadership

🔋 Leadership Endurance

When Pushing Through Becomes the Problem

74 CEOs forced out so far this year. The highest number since records began in 2017.

This isn't about market conditions. This isn't about quarterly earnings. This is about exhaustion masquerading as leadership.

🥖 Opening Bite

In August 2024, Starbucks CEO Laxman Narasimhan was suddenly ousted after just 17 months on the job.

The stated reason? Declining sales. Investor pressure. Operational challenges.

But here's what the press release didn't say: Narasimhan was known for prioritizing work-life balance. He famously said he wouldn't work past 6 PM. He spent six months training as a barista to understand the business from the ground up. He was doing everything the leadership books tell you to do.

Yet he's gone.

Because in 2024, we're still measuring leadership by hours worked instead of outcomes achieved. By presence instead of impact. By exhaustion instead of excellence.

And it's killing us.

According to the latest executive burnout research, 37% of executives now work longer hours than ever before, and 75% report health issues directly related to their jobs. The restaurant and hospitality industry leads every sector with 68% attrition rates among frontline managers.

We're not just burning out individual leaders. We're burning down entire leadership pipelines.

🔥 From the Kitchen

Here's what 30 years in food distribution taught me: The leaders who burn brightest don't burn longest. The leaders who last know how to refuel.

I learned this lesson the hard way.

My first lessons in food didn't come in a boardroom or classroom. They came in a small kitchen, next to my mom, as she poured her Greek heritage into every dish of her catering business.

Food was never just food. It was service. It was community. It was connection.

That love led me to the Culinary Institute of America, where I earned High Honors and became a chef. But behind the long nights, missed holidays, and endless grind, I saw a truth: the life I wanted long-term wasn't sustainable in the kitchen.

So I pivoted. I started from the bottom in food distribution as a sales rep. Slowly, I climbed: District Sales Manager, VP, GM, Division President, and today EVP of Member Development & Training at UniPro Foodservice.

The path? Messy. I've made missteps. Faced setbacks. Questioned myself more than once. At times, I felt like I was going backward before moving forward again.

But those turbulent seasons became my teachers.

They reminded me:

✅ Leadership isn't about perfection.

✅ It's about persistence.

✅ It's about the habits you choose every day.

The myth we believe: Leaders who endure win. The truth: Leaders who recover win.

Burnout doesn't happen all at once. It happens one skipped lunch, one ignored boundary, one "I'll sleep when I'm dead" decision at a time.

And by the time you collapse, you've already been leading poorly for months.

🍽️ The Recipe

THE ENERGY MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORK FOR FOOD INDUSTRY LEADERS

Most food industry leaders manage their time obsessively. They optimize schedules. They minimize "wasted" minutes. They squeeze in one more call, one more meeting, one more emergency.

But here's what McKinsey's latest research proves: Time management doesn't create peak performance. Energy management does.

Think about your typical day:

• 6 AM: Check emails from overnight supply chain issues

• 7 AM: Team huddle

• 8 AM-5 PM: Back-to-back meetings, calls, decisions, emergencies

• 6 PM: More emails

• 8 PM: "Quick check" on tomorrow's orders

• 11 PM: Finally stop thinking about work

You "managed" your time perfectly. You hit every deadline. You responded to every crisis.

But you made three decisions you don't remember. And two of them were wrong.

The Four Energy Domains Leaders Must Protect:

1. PHYSICAL ENERGY, not optional, not "nice to have." Essential.

• Sleep (7-8 hours, non-negotiable)

• Consistent nutrition (not grabbing whatever's available)

• Movement (even 15 minutes)

• Recovery breaks (not working through lunch)

2. MENTAL ENERGY, your strategic thinking capital

• Deep focus time (protected, no interruptions)

• Clarity breaks (stepping away to think)

• Decision limits (you have 5-7 good decisions per day max)

• Strategic thinking windows (when you're sharpest)

3. EMOTIONAL ENERGY, what makes people want to follow you

• Positive interactions (not just problem-solving)

• Purpose connection (remembering why this matters)

• Relationship investments (time with people who energize you)

• Emotional regulation (not reacting from depletion)

4. SPIRITUAL ENERGY, your "why" reservoir

• Values alignment (doing work that matters)

• Contribution sense (making a difference)

• Meaning-making (seeing the bigger picture)

• Legacy thinking (what you're building beyond today)

⚠️ RED FLAGS YOU'RE DEPLETED:

• Making decisions you don't remember later

• Snapping at people who don't deserve it

• Dreading work you used to love

• Can't focus on conversations

• Everything feels urgent

• Physical symptoms (headaches, stomach issues, insomnia)

• "I'll rest after this project" (but there's always another project)

💡 QUICK TIP: If this resonates but feels overwhelming, Wednesday's Breaking Bread newsletter breaks this down into one simple habit you can start today.

🥘 From the Line

Walk into a high-performing restaurant kitchen at 7 PM on a Saturday night and watch carefully.

The best chefs aren't moving frantically. They're moving precisely. They take intentional micro-breaks. They fuel consistently throughout the shift. They've trained their bodies like athletes because they understand:

Precision beats frantic motion every single time.

The line cook who works 14 hours straight without eating makes mistakes. Burns the protein. Misses the timing. Creates rework.

The experienced chef who takes three 5-minute breaks, eats properly, and stays hydrated? Executes flawlessly for the entire shift.

In food distribution, energy management is a competitive advantage.

The distribution VP who answers emails at 2 AM isn't winning. They're making errors that cost money:

• Approving orders without verifying inventory

• Missing supplier pricing changes

• Greenlighting logistics plans that don't pencil out

• Responding to customers with unclear commitments

The VP who protects their recovery time makes better decisions during the actual crisis. They catch the supply chain disruption before it becomes an emergency. They negotiate better deals because their brain is working at full capacity.

[Add your food industry example here - 2-3 paragraphs about someone in your network or an operation that learned this lesson, what happened, and the outcome]

Energy isn't just physical. It's mental, emotional, and strategic. Smart food industry leaders protect it like their most valuable inventory.

Because it is.

🍷 Plated: The CEO Exodus of 2024

Back to those 74 CEOs forced out this year.

Daniel Schauber, founder of exechange.com (which tracks executive departures), explains it bluntly: "CEOs who do not perform well in the rapidly changing market environment are now apparently being replaced very rigorously."

Translation: Boards have zero tolerance for depleted leadership.

The average CEO departure score in 2024 is 6.2 out of 10 (with 10 being "clearly fired"). That's the highest since tracking began. Narasimhan's exit rated a 9.

Here's what's actually happening: Leaders are being evaluated on exhaustion-driven poor decisions, not their potential or capability.

Nobody cares if you worked 80 hours. They care if you delivered results. And exhausted leaders don't deliver results, they deliver expensive mistakes disguised as hard work.

The food industry is no different. Right now, restaurant and hospitality sectors have the highest leadership attrition of any industry. Not because the work is hard. Because we haven't learned how to sustain the humans doing the work.

The wake-up call: Your board won't save you. Your team won't save you. Your hustle won't save you.

Only you can save you. By protecting the energy that makes you effective.

🧂 Season to Taste

Take five minutes with these before you move into your week:

1. What's draining your leadership energy right now? Be brutally specific. Not "work is stressful." What person, project, pattern, or commitment is actively depleting you?

2. Are you setting the same standards for your recovery as you do for your results? If you demand excellence from your team, are you demanding recovery for yourself? Or do you have double standards?

3. What's one boundary that could help you lead with more clarity this week? Not someday. Not "when things calm down." This week. What's one thing you could protect?

🔪 This Week's Prep

THIS WEEK'S CHALLENGE: The Energy Audit

Right now, yes, right now, pull up your calendar for the next five workdays.

Find ONE meeting that's non-essential. You know which one:

• The "status update" that could be an email

• The "just checking in" with someone who doesn't need checking

• The meeting where you're not actually needed

• The recurring meeting that lost its purpose months ago

Cancel it. Forward this issue to your team and tell them you're modeling energy protection.

Use that reclaimed time for recovery:

• Take a walk outside

• Sit in your car with eyes closed

• Have lunch without your phone

• Think strategically without interruption

Just 20 minutes of intentional recovery can restore hours of mental clarity.

Protecting your energy isn't selfish. It's strategic. Your team needs you at your best, not your busiest.

🥖 Daily Bread

HABIT: Energy-Aware Scheduling

Every morning this week, before you dive into your day, ask yourself:

"What's my energy level right now - Low, Medium, or High?"

Then schedule accordingly:

🔴 LOW ENERGY (1-4 out of 10) → Administrative tasks → Email management → Routine follow-ups → Planning tomorrow → NO major decisions

🟡 MEDIUM ENERGY (5-7 out of 10) → Team meetings → Collaborative work → Relationship building → Standard decisions → Client calls

🟢 HIGH ENERGY (8-10 out of 10) → Complex decisions → Difficult conversations → Strategic thinking → Problem-solving → Innovation work

Stop forcing high-stakes decisions during low-energy windows. It's not discipline—it's self-sabotage.

Your team mirrors your rhythms more than they mirror your words. Model sustainable, energy-aware leadership.

📤 Forward This to One Leader

Who needs to hear this message this week?

We grow through sharing. If this issue helped you, it'll help someone in your network. Just hit forward.

🍷 Table Talk

I want to hear from you:

What's your biggest energy management challenge right now? Hit reply and let me know. I read every response, and I feature insights in upcoming issues.

📧 Inbox full? Forward this to a colleague who needs it more than you do. Leadership wisdom multiplies when shared.

Next week, I'm covering Marshall Goldsmith's Feedforward method (the feedback alternative that actually works). If you have a question about coaching, growth, or development, send it my way.

🔥 Last Bite

Your energy is your greatest competitive advantage.

Not your hours. Not your hustle. Not your ability to power through.

Your energy.

Protect it like your strategy depends on it.

Because it does.

The leaders who last aren't the most exhausted. They're the most restored.

🎧 PREFER AUDIO?

Listen to A Student of Leadership Micro Podcast, where I deliver quick, impactful insights for food industry leaders in under 10 minutes.

Short. Actionable. No fluff. Perfect for your commute or lunch break.

Each 6-8 minute episode is your daily leadership vitamin: quick, potent, and essential for growth. We focus on behavioral leadership, not psychological mumbo jumbo. Because real leadership isn't about theory. It's about the habits you choose daily.

Powered by UniPro Foodservice.

Listen here🎙️

⏭️ COMING WEDNESDAY:

Breaking Bread Newsletter: What a 27-year-old manager taught me about boundary-setting (and why it saved our entire operation)

Breaking Bread. Building Leaders. One Habit at a Time. 🍽️ The Leadership Table, a publication by Robert Adams, A Student of Leadership

⭐ THE COMPLETE SET ADVANTAGE

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• 73% better habit implementation (framework + practice + reflection)

• 2× more likely to share insights with their teams

• 3× more leadership conversations started

Why? Monday teaches WHAT. Wednesday teaches HOW. Friday teaches WHY.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Robert Adams is EVP of Member Development & Training at UniPro Foodservice, the largest foodservice distribution cooperative in the U.S. His journey began in his mom's Greek catering kitchen and took him through the Culinary Institute of America (High Honors) to 30+ years of food industry leadership. He's helped over 100 food industry leaders build their impact and legacy. A certified Marshall Goldsmith Stakeholder Centered Coach, he went from MICRO manager (the guy who demanded to be CC'd on every email) to mentor who believes leaders are made, not born. Food gave him his roots. Leadership gave him his purpose.

📌 Real leaders. 🚀 Real growth. 🍽️ One table.

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Breaking Bread. Building Leaders. One Habit at a Time.
🍽️ A publication by Robert Adams — A Student of Leadership.

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