Recently, a partner in a startup chatted with me in the dining room of his first unit. He has aggressive goals for growth and wanted to discuss his second unit. He asked, “What are the biggest mistakes you see groups like mine make at the beginning of their development?” The first thing that came to mind was failure … Continued
In successful businesses, if you stop any team member and ask, “What are you focused on right now?” you are likely to hear the very same answer from everyone. Next . . . you meet the business owner and ask, “How does your business fit into your life?” Not only do you get a clear answer, but it is delivered with excitement, happiness and … Continued
The next time you want to talk to your people about service levels, quality, cost management, or training, be sure to provide plenty of context. “We need to work on a friendly, caring presence at the table.” Good. ‘Because our guests are the lifeblood of our company, we are proud of our restaurant and we … Continued
I recently moderated a panel discussion entitled “Beyond Craig’s List: Finding and Keeping the Best People.” It was presented in Austin at the Summit for Texas Independent Restaurateurs, a conference created by the Texas Restaurant Association. A few months ago, I mentioned it to an editor of a national restaurant industry trade publication. He told me, “I’m so … Continued
“What is our company culture?” If you stopped five members of your organization today, would you get five different answers? Maybe something similar but, well, imprecise? Or, confused silence? What if you asked them to tell you what they did today to uphold that ethos? At the most successful businesses, you will get the same answer, … Continued
Management is not about doing things, it’s about growing people and leadership. If you call yourself a manager and you find yourself in the doing mode, stop. Julie Dickson, the managing director of Black Sombrero in Lismore, New South Wales, Australia recently wrote me. That’s right . . . she operates a “Taqueria and Tequilaria” in … Continued
Our server forgot to fire our third course. Which would normally lead to eye rolling, dissatisfaction, exasperation or worse. But the first two courses had been so . . . good, each plate so so well-conceived and unique to Dallas, and we had ordered so much food that we were satiated and almost grateful, ready to … Continued
The most important position in any restaurant company is the General Manager. Properly educated and deployed, the GM can become a point of strength that allows restaurant companies to reduce the corporate overhead historically associated with supervising GMs — as well as improve results. How? When GMs are educated on developing systems, processes, and procedures, … Continued
Fundamentals may look like the boring stuff of business, but in fact they are the foundation for unique and special concepts that capture imaginations of diners and build wealth for their owners. Some companies do well because they are great at the fundamentals of business. Others prosper through the magic of branding and concepts, or … Continued
Recently I discovered a number of entrepreneurs and business owners who hired managers and threw then into the deep end of their pool. When they started to drown . . . they fired them. That’s a poor strategy for a swimming teacher or a cruise ship line, and it’s not a very good one for … Continued