Waffle House "Pull, Drop & Mark" Learning, Little Rock Sites, Blogging at 75 Miles an Hour

Waffle House signs along the highways of America alert drivers to a stop with fresh food, prepared quickly by a cook behind the counter - with wait staff calling out the order - in the old style of Short Order Cooks at a grill. And, yes, we have been stopping at Waffle House restaurants a few times on the 1,900 miles driven so far from New York to Oklahoma. But, what is the learning/training and work process system?

The staff have a “Pull, Drop & Mark” process - with the wait staff ordering a meal with 2 eggs and home fries, with covered or smothered preferences for toppings. Rather than add those to a computer system, the verbal order is reflected in how the cook adds a piece of food at a specific place on a plate.

My lifelong interest in learning has made me an observer and fan of their “Pull Drop & Mark” operational model. Here is a video explaining their system:

Stops in Little Rock: We visited two interesting sites during our afternoon stop in Little Rock, Arkansas:

Little Rock Central High School: In 1957, Little Rock Central High School was the epicenter of confrontation and a catalyst for change as the fundamental test for the United States to enforce African American civil rights following Brown v. Board of Education.

There was a powerful exhibit that detailed the struggle to integrate the school in 1957. The troops from the Federal 101st Brigade were called up by the President to ensure the Little Rock Nine students could attend the school:

Clinton Library & Museum: The display of the 8 years of President Clinton’s term in office was filled with personal memories.

I had the honor of being appointed to the White House Task Force on Expanding Training Opportunities by the President in 1999. I looked up the press release online for my appointment and smiled with pride:

June 5, 1999: President Clinton announced his intention to appoint the following persons as members of the Advisory Committee on Expanding Training Opportunities: Christine Hemrick; Hilary C. Pennington; Clarence E. Anthony; J. Paul Carey; Anthony P. Carnevale; Jerry J. Jasinowski; Lawrence F. Katz; Greta Kotler; Belkis Leong-Hong; Lisa M. Lynch; Elliott Masie; Stephen J. Rohleder; Doug Ross; and Jerry Sue Thornton

Blogging at 75 Miles an Hour: I’ve been loving pushing the technology on this trip. Later today, I will co-host our Empathy Concert from a rest stop, somewhere near Oklahoma City. Bandwidth may come through my T-Mobile phone or from a local wireless, but my co-host, Telly Leung, is ready for a very remote but real time Elliott.

And, I am sitting in the passenger seat, as we drive towards Oklahoma City - passing through the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. My MacBook is smiling as it goes online to Substack, the blogging software sending out this note at 75 MPH.

Hope you are enjoying the journey. We are heading through Oklahoma to Texas to New Mexico, along Interstate 40 in the next 2 days. Love getting notes to emasie@masie.com

Yours in Learning and Travelling!

Elliot Masie