ELECTRONIC HOUSE CALL - December 17, 2004

My father-in-law continues to come and go. A heart attack last week put him back in the hospital but apparently there was no serious damage. Some days he is lucid and some days he crashes. It is his passage to make. All we can do is love him and wish him well in this next adventure. Thanks to all of you who have passed along your concern and best wishes.

This is a family season and children tend to hog the spotlight, but I hope you will find a way to spend some quality time with the older members of your family as well. They will be gone all too soon.

Talk to them. Learn from them. Listen to their stories. Get the family history while you still can, preferably on tape so you can share it later on. Let's not forget that we are all part of a much larger circle.

Restaurant Economics 101
If I ever need something to write about, all I have to do is go out to eat. Yesterday morning, Margene and I went out to a local restaurant that is getting some buzz on the streets for its breakfasts. She ordered biscuits and gravy.

When it arrived, it was not hot, so she sent it back. When the replacement arrived at the table, the gravy was certainly hot enough ... but it was obvious that they had just scraped off the first gravy and ladled the hot stuff on top of the original order. Our reaction was, "Yuck!" ... but she ate it anyway.

I have no quarrel with the quality of the food, but somebody in this place should understand that restaurateurs deal in creating memorable guest experiences ... and in that world, shortcuts hardly ever work. For the sake of saving the cost of a biscuit-and-a-half, they risked losing our business forever. The jury is still out on whether we will give them a second chance.

When you have to re-cook a steak, do you re-plate the entree from scratch ... or re-serve the same vegetables that were on it originally? If you put mustard on the sandwich and they didn't want it, do you just scrape it off ... or make up a fresh sandwich?

If you save a buck and lose a guest in the process, you are your own worst enemy. Don't be penny-wise and pound foolish. Bite the bullet and do the work -- your guests are worth the extra effort.

The Cosmic Juggle
In digging through my files, I ran across this bit of wisdom passed along from Robert Kausen, my co-consipirator for Super Summit 2005. In a university commencement address several years ago Brian Dyson, CEO of Coca-Cola Enterprises, spoke of the relation of work to one's other commitments. It seems to fit with the season. He said:

Imagine life as a game in which you are juggling some five balls in the air. You name them work, family, health, friends, and spirit and you're keeping all of these in the air. You will soon understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back. But the other four balls -- family, health, friends, and spirit -- are made of glass. If you drop one of these, they will be irrevocably scuffed, marked, nicked, damaged, or even shattered. They will never be the same. You must understand that and strive for balance in your life. How?

Don't undermine your worth by comparing yourself with others. It is because we are different that each of us is special.

Don't set your goals by what other people deem important. Only you know what is best for you.

Don't take for granted the things closest to your heart. Cling to them as you would your life, for without them, life is meaningless.

Don't let your life slip through your fingers by living in the past or for the future. By living your life one day at a time, you live ALL the days of your life.

Don't give up when you still have something to give. Nothing is really over until the moment you stop trying.

Don't be afraid to admit that you are less than perfect. It is this fragile thread that binds us together.

Don't shut love out of your life by saying it's impossible to find. The quickest way to receive love is to give; the fastest way to lose love is to hold it too tightly; and the best way to keep love is to give it wings.

Don't run through life so fast that you forget not only where you've been, but also where you are going.

Don't forget that a person's greatest emotional need is to feel appreciated.

Don't be afraid to learn. Knowledge is weightless, a treasure you can always carry easily.

Don't use time or words carelessly. Neither can be retrieved. Life is not a race, but a journey to be savored each step of the way. Yesterday is History, Tomorrow is a Mystery and Today is a gift: that's why we call it 'The Present.'

Make the Holidays special and live each day to its fullest. I hope you enjoy your Holiday presents!

Restaurant Basics
Just a reminder that the deal on the Restaurant Basics e-book will disappear at midnight tonight.

If you would like to take advantage of this less-than-half-price offer on what has become an industry classic, now would be a good time to do it.

Click here to order the Restaurant Basics e-Book edition.

Super Summit 2005
I am pleased that nearly a dozen people have already completed an application for Super Summit 2005, even though the main promotional push for this event will not kick in until after the holidays.

Because of the nature of the program and the need to keep the group small, attendance will be on an invitation-only basis. You can find out more about what we have in mind by clicking on the link below.

Click here to get the story on the Super Summit.

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

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