Everybody in the restaurant business wants to master the art of increasing guest count. Here’s how to do it. In today’s market, the difference between a flatlined guest count and a guest count (as well as revenue and profit) that’s significantly higher is the domino effect of a ton of little pieces. With guests more … 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
Finally finding “the one” – the person your company has missed for its entire life – makes an incredible difference. This missing piece allows you to overcome the barriers between reliable and exceptional success. It’s like a business version of a romance novel, but very real. But who is “the one”? Well, that all … Continued
You can’t afford to have multi-unit supervisors just run the machine. That’s always true, but especially in volatile and uncertain times like these. Instead of running the machine, your multi-unit supervisors must be building a better one. Two Different Outcomes For people who work in your company, do the alarms in their phones wake them … Continued
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