Electronic House Call - August 25, 2006

ELECTRONIC HOUSE CALL - August 25, 2006

Almost all business owners get up every morning thinking about "income" and "increasing income." Very few get up every morning thinking about "equity" and "increasing equity."

Income is short term. Equity is long term. This tells you what you ought to be thinking about.

RESTAURANT BASICS
There's nothing like a trip out of town to new restaurants to give me plenty to write about. Here are a few observations from a lunch in Cleveland last week:

* When one person at the table asks for water, bring it to everyone. They will all want a glass anyway and you might as well save yourself the extra trip.

* Leaning NEVER looks good. If you need a break, take a break ... but leaning on anything -- particularly in sight of the guests -- is decidedly unprofessional. (It is also unappetizing as evidenced by my photo in last week's EHC.)

* Never put anything on a table that you wouldn't eat. (Remember this line when you see your staff sitting on a counter.)

IN PRAISE OF OLDER WORKERS
Where did we get the idea that 19-year old girls had the maturity to manage the front door of a busy restaurant? They may work cheaper than someone with more experience, but are they really the people you want representing you to the public?

I much prefer to see a woman in her mid-30's who takes care of herself, knows how to dress and has some life experience. She will be able to handle herself with anyone, keep her wits about her when the wheels come off and eliminate most of your worries at the front desk. You will pay her more ... and she will be a bargain.

While you are pondering this, give some consideration to those jobs that you have automatically filled with young workers. Couldn't some of them be done as well ... or better ... by someone with a few more miles on them?

This may be a real stretch, but the baby boomers are getting older. Many are retiring but want to stay active, productive and keep in social contact with others. Before you dismiss this idea as unworkable, think about it -- workers with a good work ethic, developed people skills, a stable personal life. What's not to like?

Sure, they won't want to work a 60-hour week or put up with any BS from management, but if you can stay loose with your scheduling and get your ego out of the way, you might just find a solution to some of your staffing woes.

SUPER SUMMIT RE-SCHEDULED
Two things happened last week that changed my thinking about the Super Summit. The first was several potent ideas I got at a conference in Cleveland. The second was learning that my good friend, Aussie marketing guru Max Hitchins, might be in the US early next year.

Since I always want the Super Summit to be the most powerful program possible, the combination of these two factors has caused me to re-schedule the event to February 5-7, 2007.

It is still too early to know if the changes I have in mind will raise the tuition for the event, but I will promise you that if you register before midnight on Thursday, August 31st, you will still qualify for the $100 scholarship and you will be locked in at the "old" price. Register Now while you can still take advantage of this offer. See the preview of Super Summit 2007.

STAFF MEALS SURVEY
This is the last week for the August survey.

If you have anything to offer, now would be the time ... As long as you have employees, you will have to feed them. The issue of how to do that and at what price is an on-going topic of concern, so this month we are looking at best practices for staff meals.

As usual, I will provide a compilation of all the responses to everyone who contributes to this project. Just click on the link below to participate.

You can download copies of all past EHC surveys ... including the massive WOW Ideas collection.

Add your thoughts to the August survey.

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

I became immediately offended when a staff member asked for a week off. We are so short-staffed right now and I am pulling two floor manager shifts myself every week due to this shortage which backs up my week in the office tremendously. (No one does MY work when I don't!)

I first did two minutes of my normal "you can't be off now because" rant. Then I caught myself and backed up. I said "You haven't been on vacation in a long time. If you can figure out how to cover the five days you want off, you can go. I will work whatever I have to as long as I can pull a dayshift so I can double-team my office work with my floor duty."

In no more than fifteen minutes she returned with a schedule all worked out and me on no more than the two days I was already working; just different days. Amazing!!!! Bill, you're starting to have an enormous effect on me! -- Ann Reichle, Angelina's Pizza, North Olmstead, OH

Ann was in my leadership session at the Pizza Insight SuperConference in June, so we have had the time to go more deeply into some of the principles I teach these days. It is personally gratifying to see how she is "getting it" -- on her own terms, in her own way -- and how some of the "impossible" situations she was dealing with have become much more manageable.

The lesson in Ann's comments this time is that it's not your job to HAVE all the answers, just to be able to FIND the answers ... and the deeper in the organization you find the answers, the more likely they are to "stick."

Being take-charge people, many entrepreneurs seem to think that all problems that arise are theirs to solve. When you define yourself as a problem-solver, guess what you get? That's right -- problems! Rather than continue in that thankless role, ask yourself two questions the next time a problem comes up:

* Whose performance is most affected by the problem?
* Whose performance has to change for the situation to be resolved?

The answers to those questions will tell you who should be working on the problem ... and the odds are that you are not on that list!

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

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!)

NOTE: Enhancing your listening ability is just one of the skills you will develop at the annual Foundations Program of the CEO Project. The 2007 program is scheduled for June 11-13. Mark your calendar.

We are also offering a no-cost year-long intern program to those who sign up early ... along with the ability to lock in tuition at the 2006 level and spread the payments over ten months. Those options will go away as the months pass. Get the story on the CEO Project.

What did YOU learn from YOUR staff today?