ELECTRONIC HOUSE CALL - May 27, 2005

If this is Friday, it must be the USA! After 28 hours in transit, we arrived home at 1am this morning. Our luggage is still enjoying the pleasures of Germany and has decided to take a few extra days of holiday.

It is definitely good to get away ... and it is always nice to come home. I don't see that home changing any time soon -- so we did not buy property in Italy yet -- but I do like the "citizen of the world" feeling of being comfortable in many other parts of the planet.

But Super Summit II is coming up in another week, so it is right back into the thick of things. At least with the holiday weekend here in the US, I may have a few less interruptions as I sort through the accumulated pile of mail.

CIAO ITALIA
We wrapped up our trip with a couple of days in the wine country of Piemonte, the home of Barolo and Barbaresco, among other notable wines. We had not been in that part of the country before and while it felt less "Italian" than what we were used to, the countryside was gorgeous and definitely worth another, longer visit on another trip.

One attitude we have developed that definitely helps keep the pace slower is to know that there will always be another trip. What we don't see or do this time will be there to see or do the next time.

Some of the more linear among you may argue that there will not always be another trip -- that at some point we will have taken the last one, even if we don't realize it at the time. They are right, of course, but my goal is to enjoy each trip as much as possible ... and that does not always mean doing or seeing more. Sometimes it can mean sleeping until 10am and never leaving the house.

The idea is that every day WE decide, not some pre-determined itinerary, what constitutes a good time. This is totally consistent with the idea that your business should work for you, not the other way around. It is time to stop feeling at the mercy of the events in your life and start taking charge of your own happiness and sense of well-being.

I expect to get another batch of insights on how to do that at next week's Super Summit in New Orleans. While I am not excited about the idea of getting on another airplane just yet, I am very excited about what we have in store for the folks in New Orleans next week.

OPPORTUNITY KNOCKED
"There is a lot that you don't know ... but you don't know what it is." -- A lesson learned along the way

You will not be seeing any more sales copy about the Super Summit. Those who were ready to make the shift were smart enough to apply, get the whole story and register. They are (or are about to be) seeing their businesses -- and their lives -- from a totally fresh perspective. You will be hearing stories of their "impossible" results as we document them in the months ahead.

Those who were not ready were either not curious enough to take the time to grasp the potential of the program -- or could not make sense of what we were offering -- or dismissed it without digging any deeper. In any event, there would not have been a good fit and they effectively selected themselves out.

Many people have asked when we are going to offer this program again, pleading that the timing of the April and June programs was bad for them. While I suspect we will offer something similar in the future -- albeit at a tuition that more closely reflects its value -- it will be interesting to see if "the timing is bad" on the next set of dates also.

EXCUSES ARE ADDICTIVE
While they can become an acceptable reason -- at least to you -- for not doing something you say you want to do (or not accomplishing something you say you want to accomplish), excuses are still a poor substitute for achieving the real results.

Do you think it matters to your child that you have "a good excuse" for missing their big soccer game? Does it make it OK with your mate that you have "a good excuse" for being perpetually distracted when you are home, with no time for intimacy? If you will buy those stories, then you will accept mediocre levels of service, food quality and profitability ... because there will always be "a good excuse" as to why those results can't be delivered.

Those who achieve great results refuse to entertain excuses. They acknowledge that there are circumstances that may require a change of approach, but there is never an acceptable excuse for not getting what you want. A "glitch" does not mean that you will not get the results, just that the results will have to be achieved in a slightly different way than you first thought.

If, in a moment of insight, you discover that you are an excuse-aholic, don't beat yourself up. Just decide that from this moment on, you will no longer accept any excuses. The only way you can beat it is to quit "cold turkey" and never go back.

If that notion seems impossible to you, then do not give yourself an excuse to miss the next offering of the Super Summit.

THE MAY SURVEY
Since I am taking most of the month off, I thought it would be interesting to get a handle on how often the average independent restauranteur -- or however you might describe yourself if you are not actually running a restaurant -- manages to get away and for how long.

We have received 90 responses so far, but I would like to at least break 100 before I put up the new survey next week. Unless you are a very slow reader ... or have a super slow Internet connection ... it will take less than two minutes to add your comments to the May survey. Just this once, go for it! Click here to add your thoughts to the May survey

THE PERPETUAL QUESTION
What did you learn from your staff today?

"I learned that your lessons to the restaurant industry are applicable to all kinds of businesses. Your teaching the concept of listening would have an impact on a wide variety of audiences!" -- Lee Sterling, Carlsbad, CA

My perpetual question is really a lot deeper than it may sound.

Improving your listening skills may be the most valuable management talent you can develop ... and you may not get it at all. It all depends on how serious you are about finding out what you and your company are really capable of becoming.

I promise you that the most effective managers I know can give a fresh answer to this question every day -- no problem. If you do not have a response readily at hand, what does that say about the quality of your listening?

I will continue to collect your answers to this important question. Just click on the link below and contribute your answer for the common good.

What did YOU learn from YOUR staff today?
Let us know.

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