The Simple Way to Make Successful Restaurant Companies Much Better

My clients often say to me, “I’m making more money than I ever imagined.”

When you’ve reached that level of success, you may feel so much gratitude that self-evaluation becomes hard.

Plus, a lot of the people surrounding you may see your life as so great that there’s no need to speak candidly or find ways to make your life even better.

Also, your success might intimidate them.   

When my clients tell me they’re at that level of success, I find that exciting, thrilling, and admirable.

But then the look on their face changes and they tell me about their difficulty in making incremental gains, growing their restaurant empire, or distinguishing themselves from the competition – or just delegating responsibility and taking time off.

Every Entrepreneurial Company Reflects Its Owner

On a particularly disappointing day, one of my clients asked me, “Is it me?” seeking empathy, sympathy, support, or a way of deflecting issues on to someone else.

“Of course, it’s you!” I told them. “It’s your company!”

What a company does well – food and drink, hospitality, operations, management development, training and education, marketing, guest relationships, technology, site selection, or business – typically looks like what its founder excels at.

Unfortunately, companies also reflect what their founders haven’t mastered.  

How Your Company Breaks Through

My best clients remain very open and honest about their personal responsibility. Even for them, though, it is hard to see missing pieces.

But watch how things skyrocket if you surround that leader with the pieces that did not come naturally to them:

• Turning five units into 22
• Moving single-digit profit to the teens
• Letting busy owners leave for long vacations or spend more time with their family

The Deceptively Simple Idea That Makes the Difference

Looking for my secret sauce, people often ask me how I create these transformations.   

It’s pretty straightforward, actually: We fill in the missing pieces.

Either the leader learns these new disciplines or we add systems, expertise, or talent who have mastered these aspects and can follow the spirit of the founder.

The outcome? A transformed restaurant company that achieves their owner’s dream.

At a point in your career where it may be challenging to self-evaluate, it’s best to surround yourself with people who can be honest – or add an objective outsider who works with a lot of successful people like you.

When I look back at 30 years of helping people like you have the company of their dreams, I see that – as with most important things – this path forward remains deceptively simple.

Over to you. Who in your life gives you candid feedback about your greatness, your company’s greatness, and the areas that hold you back from more? When you receive that input, what do you do next?