People can work for years creating a healthy culture in their restaurants – then one false move destroys it all. On a recent Monday morning, Texas Rangers President of Baseball Operations Jon Daniels called a press conference to announce he was firing his direct report: manager Chris Woodward. Two days later, Ray Davis, the normally reclusive team … Continued
Do your guests smile, feel happy, enjoy their meals, and tell their friends about that? Do your financial statements appear predictable and healthy – making you proud? Does your culture deeply permeate your restaurants every unit, every shift, every table, every time? Do your people demonstrably improve – doing things today that they couldn’t do … Continued
By the time I start working with most of my clients, they’re already successful – making more money than they’d ever imagined. The reason they’ve brought me in, though, is that they know there’s an opportunity for so much more. What the Airport Reminded Me Recently I was waiting for baggage at Denver International … Continued
You miss out if you return from summer vacation with only lifetime of memories, and cool photos on your Instagram. Yesterday was my first day back in the office after two weeks in the Pacific Northwest and Colorado – two weeks of being with family and friends, enjoying nature, eating great food, and living with … Continued
Many of the restaurateurs I talk to every day often make assumptions that send them in absolutely wrong directions. When this happens in your brain, let me help you neutralize them with Matthew’s Top 10 Course Corrections – the cure for the faulty assumptions that rattle around in restaurant owners’ heads. When you… Think you … Continued
A lot of restaurateurs forget to ask for the results they want – then feel puzzled when they don’t get those results. If you suffer from lack of specificity, learn to ask “why” over and over. Borrow a three-year-old or remember when you raised a three-year-old. You want people to develop managers, boost service, comb … Continued
Chains won the pandemic – independent restaurants lost. Chains leveraged their financial and resource superiority and, in a frightening (for us in the independent world) turn of events, learned to act quickly. Chili’s created a virtual brand across 1,000 units in a few months. Chipotle waved what looked like a magic technology wand, and built … Continued
We live in uncertain times – in a maybe-recession, maybe-not recession, maybe-shallow recession. In the big cities where most of my clients operate, restaurants experience softer sales. Guests are spending, but that spending happens while on vacation in France, Spain, the Bahamas, Florida, Colorado, California, Galveston, the Gulf Shores, or Padre Island. When school goes … Continued
Right now, the kiddie pool in the hotel your family visits this summer is deeper than the management pool in the restaurant industry. Every few days I have a conversation where one of my clients complains that the management talent in their organization is not prepared to operate up to standards. Owners are frustrated about … Continued
Haruki Murakami wrote in his novel, The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, “If people lived forever…they’d probably just figure, ‘Oh well, I’ve got plenty of time for that. I’ll think about it later.’” Stop operating your company with immortality in mind, like you have unlimited time to handle the issues that can make a huge difference for … Continued