It started with the feelings we share with people around the world about the COVID-19 threat: shock, grief, disbelief, and fear. And it continued with the undercutting of our belief that working hard, staying smart, and continually improving our businesses would mean continued success. It is more than enough for anyone to handle. Every day, … Continued
Here is what I am telling my clients now about surviving this crisis and keeping people working when it passes. If you operate in an area where you can only offer to-go and delivery, take a short period of 10 days (over two weekends) to determine whether you can generate enough revenue to keep some … Continued
In normal times, we avoid talking about safety. After all, why would we want to take guests’ mindset away from the positivity of their experience in our restaurants? But now, with no basketball games? No flights to Europe? And your college kid learning online because classrooms are closed? These are not normal times – and … Continued
I have never met a restaurateur who does not want people to take more ownership, action, and responsibility. But I have met plenty who sabotage themselves every day by actively working against that goal. Many owners of successful independent multi-unit restaurant companies do not yet know how to harness the power of the people they’ve … Continued
You don’t win an NBA championship without superstars. You don’t expect a movie to open strong and gross $500 million or more without the most popular actors. And you won’t ever own the best restaurant company without a few superstars of your own. Only the best operators, however, stop and think about how much of … Continued
The best way to run your second (or third of fourth) concept? Not the way you ran your first. The number one thing restaurateurs get wrong when operating multiple concepts? They superimpose their original concept’s corporate team onto their new one – when maximizing the success of each requires unique leadership, culture, and attitude. It’s … Continued
In our industry, there’s a lot of talk about brands that grow too fast. I recently wrote about that here. Meanwhile, we don’t talk nearly as much about brands that have the opportunity to grow, but grow too slowly – or don’t grow at all. Those aren’t as prevalent as the grow-too-fast brands, but they are … Continued
When I was growing up, my family ate in a lot of restaurants. A lot. And to me, those restaurants were organized and efficient businesses where everyone knew what to do and things ran smoothly. Like where my father, an officer in a Fortune 500 company, worked. In my 11-year-old mind, that is. … Continued
What is it that kills great plans? Organizations with a lack of accountability. Restaurateurs often start off with big and exciting ideas, fantastic talent, and a great grasp of what they need to grow their business. Ideas, plans, and programs become the wish/vision/dream boards of business – creating infinite possibility and the belief in … Continued
Since the Great Recession, we’ve seen over 10 years of economic expansion. That means there are a lot of successful operators out there who have never known anything but good financial times. But they’re like the doctors who graduate from medical school without a business course – they’re missing a big piece of what … Continued