ELECTRONIC HOUSE CALL - November 21, 2003

I am just back from a week of exercising my creative muscles, helping a client in Michigan determine the feasibility of a new restaurant and then developing the operating concept. It was a particularly interesting project because there was virtually no competition in town (how's that for a switch?) that it was difficult to know what the market would support. We came up with a dynamite approach, however and I am looking forward to the grand opening.

We are now officially into the holiday madness season. I always get more philosophical around this time of year and want to share something I originally included in a previous issue of EHC. As Super Summit 2004 draws near, it seemed like a good time to bring it back for your consideration. I hope you agree.

What's the Point?
It was 3:00am just before the first Super Summit in Seattle. The next morning I was to give the opening keynote for the event - a program entitled, "How to Get Out of Your Own Way" - and the ideas I wanted to share were swirling around me.

In the middle of the night, I half awoke with an insight. It was simply, "What's the point?" Here is the way I interpreted its meaning:

What's the Point of Golf?
What's the point of golf? It has to be to enjoy playing golf.

As soon as a game of golf stops being about enjoyment and starts to be about your score or the way you played the water hazard on #14, you are out of the moment and into the details. When that happens, rather than being a stress-reliever, golf becomes a stress-inducer.

Remember that we talk about PLAYING golf, not WORKING golf! The game is only the game but how you approach it makes all the difference.

What's the Point of Fishing?
What's the point of fishing? It must be to enjoy fishing.

If your enjoyment of fishing starts to hinge on whether or not you catch any fish (and it is always nice when you do), then your enjoyment is contingent on outside events and fishing will become more frustration than recreation.

On his 90th birthday, Herbert Hoover said, "Fishing is much more than fish. It is the great occasion when we may return to the fine simplicity of our forefathers."

Perhaps the point of fishing is just as a means to quiet your mind and return to that "fine simplicity" Hoover so obviously treasured, fish or no fish.

What's the Point of Running a Restaurant?
What's the point of running a restaurant? I think it has to be to enjoy running a restaurant.

Sales numbers become a way to keep score but if you are not having fun with the process itself, no sales volume is going to make you happy.

Which comes first, the attitude or the sales? Do you think you would create a more hospitable climate around your place if you were loving your job? Might a more hospitable climate cause your guests to want to return more often (and make your staff want to stick around longer)?

I do not mean to suggest management by meditation, but it is always interesting to see that the more you enjoy what you are doing - the more immersed you are in it, whatever it happens to be - the easier everything seems to work and the more rewards come to you, seemingly by magic.

What's the Point of Your Life?
So it seems to me that the point of any game is really to enjoy the playing of it without regard for the outcome.

What's the point of your life? I think it is just to enjoy your life. How are you doing at that?

Super Summit 2004
The focus of Super Summit 2004 is "Re-Inventing Your Business ... and Your Life" and will be held at Disneyland in Anaheim, California on January 12-13. It is not for everybody, but then again, not everybody will be thriving five years from now. If you want to be one of the prosperous survivors, you want to be with us in Anaheim. Sign up now before the early registration discount expires on December 1.

For details on Super Summit 2004, go to http://www.restaurantdoctor.com/hospitality/index2004.html

The Perpetual Question
What did you learn from your staff today?

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