Some people turn out to be better at starting projects than finishing them.
I see it all the time both as a student of personality types and advisor of restaurant companies.
Initiatives begin and then get sidetracked when another shiny object – or simply the siren song of day-to-day restaurant operations – sucks the attention away.
At other times anxiety related to change causes people to lose focus or, worse, abandon their plans and just do what they have always done.
But having the fortitude, focus, and structure to do the things that matter is the only way to increase guest count, year-over-year sales, and the resulting profits.
Fear and distraction remain enemies standing between you and necessary change.
So if you count yourself amongst the restaurant company owners who wonder why it takes them so long to make an impact and improve their condition, I urge you to find people in your organization (or hire additional people) who excel at follow-through.
Three Case Studies
In the past month, I sat with a client business owner who had a hard time reaching the end of the implementation cycle on major improvements to their company. So many opinions were exchanged after the plan had already been agreed upon that nobody could clearly remember the original agreements. So I provided guardrails and focused them (and reminded them about that agreement), so we could attract a new customer that was necessary for the future of their brand.
At another client, I collaborated on a six-month improvement program that touches every aspect of the business: service, hospitality, cost management, profitability, menu, management development. The leader there is strong, so I have no doubt it will all happen – resulting in what looks like an additional seven figures of profit in 2026.
Finally, I talked to a partner in a client business that had failed to implement the initiatives in a Road Map I had created with them when they acquired their restaurants in 2023. We decided to take a new course to hire someone new to reverse their negative sales trend – and implement that original plan.
A Lot to Do
You will never finish up your day, leave your office, and truthfully say to yourself, “I have completed everything I could possibly do today, so it is time to go home.”
And you will never walk into one of your restaurants and say with a straight face, “Things seem perfect – we’ve really nailed it, and I can’t do any better.”
The value you create comes not in the idea for improvement, but in making it real.
I’m not here to judge you about whether or not you make things real. But I will figure out how to make your ideas and my ideas happen, knowing that – if you stand still in current market conditions – you will eventually realize you are actually going backwards.
