ELECTRONIC HOUSE CALL - April 21, 2006

Well, the annual corporate meeting is officially underway. As is my custom, I will be posting a daily diary of the trip as we go along -- including photos and some brief comments. The focus is not as much on what we did and what we saw. That will be in there, of course, but the exercise for me is about what I learned from it all.

You know that my Perpetual Question is "What did you learn from your staff today?" Let's take it deeper for a moment. What if at the end of each day you had to put down what you learned from your LIFE today? It is truly an challenging exercise. Try it if you dare.

AND SO IT BEGINS
As you read this, we are battling our jet lag ... on the French Riviera! Yesterday (and all last night) we flew from Seattle to Paris via San Francisco. Then we caught a connecting flight to Nice, finally arriving about 3 in the afternoon (10am Eastern time).

As frequent travelers, we have learned to stay close to the airport on the first night of an overseas trip. First, we need time to rest up from the long flight and get acclimated to the time change. (It surely makes no sense to jump right into a car and try to drive for several hours.) Perhaps equally as important, though, it gives us a chance to re-unite with any luggage that might have taken a longer route to get here. It seems to happen about 50% of the time.

So we will spend the night in the little town of Villefranche sur Mer about half an hour from the Nice airport ... overlooking the Mediterranean from the balcony in our room. Tomorrow morning we drive six hours to meet our friends and take up residence in Italy for a week.

It doesn't give us time today for much more than a shower, a quick stroll around town, a decent meal and some serious shut-eye -- probably in about that order. However, we will be back in this same hotel in a week and will explore the area then. What did YOU do today? Follow along with the daily diary.

LOVE ‘EM OR LOSE ‘EM
What if you knew that the guest at Table 17 was here tonight to make a decision that would affect your future? They were trying to decide whether to continue to patronize your establishment or take their business to a competitor, and the experience they have tonight will determine what they decide.

How would you treat them?

Before you start thinking of this as a special case, here is a blinding flash of the obvious. To one extent or another, every guest in the place is in this very same situation ... making that very same decision based on what happens during this particular meal.

There are too many other choices. You can spend ten years building a relationship with a guest ... and it can be destroyed in ten seconds by an uncaring server, a harried greeter or a distracted manager. It may not take anything more than a sloppy plate from the kitchen or a bartender with dirty hands. Perhaps you will be done in by a trashed restroom or a coffee stain on your menu.

But sooner or later, something proves to be the final straw. It will almost always be one of the little things, not the big things, that causes someone to shift their loyalties and go elsewhere. For a list of over a thousand of these monumental trivialities, see my book Restaurant Basics.

If you have someone dining with you for the first time it is because another restaurant wasn't paying attention. What are you going to do to capitalize on that? The safest path you can take is to treat every guest like you were about to lose them.

CREATING THE EFFORTLESS ORGANIZATION
If you missed the Super Summit programs last year, you are about to get another chance. The program is now called "Leadership From the Inside Out" or LIO Program for short -- the first step in the Project to Create the Effortless Organization. It will be offered only once this year -- in Nashville, Tennessee on June 12-13. But rather than give you a long sales pitch, I will let another one of last year's attendees tell you how it affected him.

My understanding of the core concepts has deepened. It has been an affirmation for me about some of the things I’ve been doing about my life. I think I’m on the right path. I am thirsty for slowing down, listening and doing the things that have the most impact. I now understand more clearly. This program is a good step toward an effortless organization.

When people are happy, doing what they want to do, and feeling fulfilled, there is a positive energy that sucks in guests. People want to be part of it and be there. Employees stay and good people are knocking on the door to become part of it. That is how this understanding leads to increased sales and more efficient operations. -- Michael Hawkins, Green Street Restaurant, Pasadena, CA

Note: Michael and his partners attended the first Super Summit in April. He has been a regular attendee at every Super Summit since 2002.

This June, 36 operators will uncover their own secrets to creating an effortless organization and regaining control of their lives. Will you be among them?

The LIO Program is not at all like school ... or any other conference you have attended. The learning comes from your own insights rather than a canned curriculum. As your thinking starts to shift and your understanding deepens, you will become aware of more and more exciting new possibilities.

You certainly want to find out more about this unique program.

Not everyone is ready for this program, but if you think you might be, I urge you to submit an application. We will set up an interview to discuss the program and see if it is a good fit. If so, your life -- both professionally and personally -- will change in some very exciting ways.

PS: If you apply before April 30th you can still qualify for a $500 early registration scholarship! Get the whole story on LIO 2006.

THE APRIL SURVEY
Somebody once observed that if you hooked up average independent operators to a lie detector, they would all confess that the only thing they are really interested in is building sales. Whether that is a fair assessment or not, my experience is that operators will always show up for a spirited discussion about marketing. Obviously it is a top of mind issue.

This month the EHC Survey looks at marketing best practices -- what is working for you, what isn't ... and what you are doing about it. I expect a LOT of great ideas.

As usual, I will provide a compilation of all the responses to everyone who contributes to this project. Add your thoughts to the April survey.

You can download copies of all past EHC surveys at http://www.restaurantdoctor.com/surveys.html ... including last summer’s massive WOW Ideas collection.

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

I learned that keeping them informed brings great feedback and suggestions that can help me in my job. We are being faced with a major kitchen construction problem and have to figure out how to still serve our patients while not having a kitchen to work from.

When I brought the scenerio to my staff they jumped at the opportunity to give me insight on how things could work. I get so caught up in thinking that I have to do everything on my own. It is nice to know that I have help from a very qualified staff. – name withheld by request

Managers burn out because they feel that if they want something done right, they must do it themselves ... because they think that asking their staff for ideas (and really listening to what they hear) is somehow a sign of weakness.

The real enemy here is ego, folks.

Savvy coaches understand that it is not about them. The talent resides in the players and the coach's job is to nurture it, develop it and direct it. You certainly made some real blunders as you were learning the ropes, didn't you? Where would you be today if a manager somewhere along the line hadn't believed in you?

Your job is not to HAVE the answers ... just to be able to FIND the answers. The farther down in the organization you find those answers, the more likely they are to "stick." The better you can listen (and the more open you are to what you hear), the more your staff will feel connected to the restaurant.

This is not about letting the inmates run the asylum -- they still need (and want) direction. But no matter what your skills, the person doing a particular job today knows more about what is going on in that job than you do. Why waste that insight ... and that person ... by thinking you "know better?"

Never doubt that the most critical -- and perhaps profitable -- management skill you can develop is your ability to get over yourself and truly listen.

What's going on out there, folks? I haven't had any new answers to my Perpetual Question for weeks. Are you asleep? Are you waiting for someone else to step up? Or are you just not listening? Without new material from you to use in this section, we all lose out.

I will continue to collect your answers to this important question ... and you can add comments as often as you want. Just click on the link below and contribute your insights for the common good (and your own as well!)

What did YOU learn from YOUR staff today?

WHERE’S WALDO?
Since people often ask, here are some upcoming public events where you can attend a seminar or an event with the Doc:

Contact me for more details.

© 2006 Restaurant Doctor