The Lead

You see, printed on the placemat, right below the brief overview of the restaurant, was a timeline dating back to 1904 describing the history and accomplishments of Legal Sea Foods. No less than 50 major events in the company history were chronicled. You can see an animated version of the Legal Time Wave on the company's Web site.

Sure, there are the things you'd expect -- "best restaurant in Boston," feature on Julia Child's cooking show, "perfect platter" honor at Oysterfest, etc. These "accolades" are great, and are part of any company's public relations arsenal.

But what's more remarkable are these notable events:

- Construction of the Quality Control Center for fish processing and distribution
- Creation of an exchange program with chefs from the Shandong province of China
- Partnership with the Food and Drug Administration and Department of Commerce in developing the HACCP program for industry food freshness and safety
- Hosts expert chefs from China as part of a new "CuisinEast" program
- Development of a heart healthy blend of cooking oil
- Hosts expert chefs and ayurvedic practitioners from India as part of "Spices of Life" program
- Builds state-of-the-art seafood processing facility
- Publishes "The New Legal Sea Foods Cookbook"
- Purchases Lady Grace as a floating memorial to fisherman who died at sea

When you're talking about building your company's reputation -- it's the "acts" that are more important than the "accolades." Take a page from Legal Sea Foods and you'll see your company's "Performance Recognized."

Oh, and you can't go wrong with the chowder and crab cakes...