ELECTRONIC HOUSE CALL - April 20, 2007

I am back from a very successful couple of days in Montana and ready to attack the accumulated pile. We leave for Europe on the 30th, so there is also the need to get ahead on anything that will require my attention during the first three weeks of May.

Along this line, if there are any books or materials you need, get me the order in the next couple of days or be prepared to wait until the end of May. I will be able to get orders for my Best Free Offer Ever shipped out while I am gone, but books, CDs, and the like are only stocked in Gig Harbor.

We travel often enough that packing for three weeks across the pond is not exactly a new project, but it always seems to get hectic about now as we discover the odds and ends that we still need and scramble to get them before the plane leaves!

WHO’S RUNNING YOUR BUSINESS?
No matter what you think, you have exactly the staff you deserve ... and you are doing precisely the level of sales that you should be doing. Why? Because both of these critical factors are entirely up to you.

Your Staff
Before you start complaining about your crew, ask yourself a few tough questions:
* Who hired them?
* Who trained them?
* Who coaches them?
* Who supervises their work?
* Who keeps them around?

Don't complain about the labor market -- if you need a dozen people, I guarantee there are a dozen good ones out there. Why they would want to work for you as opposed to the other options they have? Do you know who they are and where they are? Do you have a system in place to recognize a good one when you see one? Do the Work!

Your Sales
The same thinking applies to your sales. I don't want to hear stories about why your volume is less than you want it to be. You either have reasons or you have the results ... and the results are the only thing you can put in the bank!

You can't do business today the same way you did five years ago, so don't whine when today's business conditions are not what they were five years ago. Your job is to do what you have to do TODAY to be successful TODAY under the business conditions you face TODAY.

Look at it this way: if your life depended on doubling your sales in the next year, could you do it? Wouldn't you stop screwing around, get busy and start making some real changes in how you are running the business? Of course you would ... and it would change everything. As we speak, the members of my Mastermind Group are doing just that ... and they are all starting to see significant increases in sales. Do the Work!

(Note: We have two openings in our Mastermind Marketing Group. If you are ready to give up excuses and start making the money you always said you wanted, check out the program.)

CREATING THE EFFORTLESS ORGANIZATION
CEO Foundation Program

If you are ready to quiet your mind, relieve stress, restore balance in your life and discover how to tap your full potential, you owe it to yourself to take a look at the 2007 Foundation Program.

I am not going to beat you over the head with hard sell sales letters -- you get enough of that from others. The Foundation Program is totally different from any other educational opportunity you have ever attended, so it should be presented differently as well.

Rather than try to describe the program to you, I will just let past graduates tell you what attending this session has meant to them. Either you will be drawn to the results they describe or you won't. If you sense they may have discovered something that you would like to have for yourself, go to the CEO Project website to find out more. If not ... well, it is your life, your business and your choice.

THE 2007 WOW SURVEY
The world does not need another place to eat! To keep from becoming lost in the crowd, you have to stand out from all the other dining choices.

This month we once again look at the WOW factor and how you are creating it in your restaurant. This is the survey that has traditionally received the biggest response, probably because everyone wants to get a look at the results for free!

As usual I will send a compilation of the responses to all who participate. In the meantime, you can download copies of all past EHC surveys -- including the first massive WOW Ideas collection from June 2005.

Add your thoughts to the monthly survey.

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

Hiring talented individuals is easier said than done in a resort community. We are at the mercy of those who transplant for the season, so I understand the frustration of the owner who felt their employees are lazy and would steal.

This year I am delighted with the talent and abundance of applications. I believe I have explained in the interviewing process and the training period what we require from our staff. In the initial days of a new hire, they are going to test you to see what is the minimum expected of them. Then they will live up to that expectation.

I learned a big lesson when one of our new hires said to me that I should be more positve. After having a lot of disappointment in previous employees, I guess I was expecting everyone to be a slacker. Sometimes you don't even know how negative you are until some tells you. Believe me I didn't know I was negative ... I just thought I was a realist! -- Joe Guarise, Panini Beach Trattoria, St. John, US Virgin Islands

Two points in Joe's message: The first is that people will give you information to the extent that they feel you are listening to it. When your listening skills improve, it always seems like there is more "bad news" than ever, but it is only that you are finally hearing what others have been unwilling to tell you before.

The second point relates to his comment that he thought he was being a realist. In one sense, he was right -- the situation he described is the situation as he saw it. But that was not the way things really WERE ... it was just the way it looked to him.

What he didn't realize is that what you see is what you get. The situation he saw was only a reflection of his own thinking. When he saw his staff as crooks and slackers, he wasn't disappointed. When he started to listen, he realized they were really eager to do a good job if he supported them. The people didn't change ... he did.

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

So what did YOU learn from YOUR staff today?

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 above and contribute your insights for the common good (and your own as well!)

© 2007 Restaurant Doctor