Here in Texas, a lot of people ask me why Café Express – which you can argue invented fast casual in 1984 – only operates four units when it used to be 15 or more and had aspirations of 100. It’s simple: They didn’t keep up, either on culinary, branding, atmosphere, or service. On the … Continued
The relationship between the first in command and the second in command is the most important relationship in your company. Leadership gives birth to breakthroughs. When I’ve worked with clients where that relationship was in shambles, guess what we did first? We corrected it; if we hadn’t, there would have been no path to success. … Continued
I can’t make it through a single day without someone talking to me about how much they need to hire or develop more talented managers. On many days it’s multiple someones. One nice part of our business right now that can help? Clarity. We know what people want in order to stick around and work … Continued
I have seen more than one organization head into a new year with a comprehensive targeted annual plan but then – once the first quarter starts – forget it completely and just start reacting to whatever’s right in front of them. It’s like one of those amnesia movies where the protagonist wakes up and fails … Continued
Well, Q3 was a disappointment; we all know that. However, most of my clients did OK – because we have correctly managed the brand and value proposition and kept costs in line. But brands that entered Q3 in a weaker position struggled on flat sales or worse. Now that Q4 has started, I’m excited, not … Continued
When the company you own remains the only one you where you have ever served in a leadership position, it can be like going to the same vacation spot every year and having no idea what the rest of the world looks like. You remain uninformed. Much of the work I do with my clients … Continued
It wasn’t long ago that my car dealer was sending me letters every week, asking me to sell them back my car for a crazy premium. I should have done it – because the price of used cars just fell off a cliff. Car dealers have cars in their showrooms again. Their factories are … Continued
When you found out that KFC had formed a partnership with the online Western Governors University to offer employees 100% paid tuition to earn a college degree, you probably rolled your eyes as an independent restaurant operator. Or maybe the shock was so big, you simply choked. But KFC is simply following the lead of … Continued
Have you driven by any of those restaurants with expensive dark and empty dining rooms, waiting a little longer to open – because their management team has not been fully populated? Finding great restaurant managers has always been a challenge. These days, though, many owners I talk to feel like that challenge is becoming more … Continued
One aspect of my work focuses on allowing restaurant owners to leave when they want to – getting their companies to the point where the owner’s hands-on attention isn’t relied on too much. To do this, we supercharge the time they are at work, bringing them to their point of highest use, and have other … Continued