Becki Giese Director of Operations Olive Garden “Hiring the right people in the  restaurant business can be tricky,  because it’s perceived as an easy  industry to get into.The fact is,  however, that you have to enjoy  working with the public and that’s  not for everyone. As someone  who makes hiring decisions, I  have had to sharpen my intuition  skills. One of the most helpful  tools has been Darden’s Diversity  Learning Experience.The course  goes beyond gender and ethnic  diversity to really teach you to  appreciate many different types of  personalities and to broaden your  thinking about the role they can  play in your restaurant operation.” Leadership Defined These days, few people are fortunate enough to find a company where  they can envision spending their entire career. Becki Giese says she’s  one of the lucky ones. In 1988, she started with the Olive Garden as  a server, quickly advancing to certified trainer, a position that helped  her pay her way through college. Upon graduation, Becki accepted a  position with Olive Garden as a restaurant manager, and over the past  16 years she has steadily risen through the ranks. Today, Becki is a  Houston-based director of operations, responsible for eight restau- rants, and readily says, “I hope to retire with Olive Garden – I can’t  imagine finding a better place to work.” Longevity is a hallmark of Olive Garden. For two decades it has been  America’s favorite family of Italian casual dining restaurants, and for  39 consecutive quarters it has posted same-restaurant sales growth  on a year-over-year basis, a remarkable feat in the competitive casual  dining segment. In fact, Olive Garden’s annual sales increased by  11.1 percent in fiscal 2004, with record total sales topping $2.2 bil- lion, and record annual operating profit. 10  Darden Restaurants Inspiration