Electronic House Call

ELECTRONIC HOUSE CALL - May 4, 2007

Ah, the familiar frenzy of packing! Actually, the packing part is relatively easy at this point, it is just the struggle to predict everything that is likely to come up while I am gone and trying to get that covered before I leave that wears out the brain cells. I have come to accept that no matter what I do, there are a few things that will fall through the cracks. I hope a project of yours is not among them!

While this is technically a working trip, I try to slow down to the speed of life while we are gone. The EHC will continue to go out more or less on schedule, the variable being Internet access. The same warning applies to any e-mails you might send.

I will certainly share the insights that strike me as the trip unfolds, but this is also a time when I try to recycle some of the more interesting (to me, at least) articles from past years. I first started the EHC in 1997 and very few of you have been with me for the full ten years. Good ideas are good ideas, no matter when they were originally discovered and I will share some of my favorites over the next three weeks.

ARRIVEDERCI
Time to Recharge the Batteries

Our annual three-week corporate meeting and planning session (in Italy and Greece this year) starts next week. As is my custom, I will be posting a daily diary of our travels on the website. Use the link below or look for "Trip Reports" under "About the Doc" on my website.

The diary is more than just a travelogue. It is a bit of that, of course, but I find that I notice things in other cultures that I often miss in my own. So the diary is really more about answering the question of "What did I learn from my life today?" (Try documenting THAT on a daily basis!)

Margene and I leave Seattle around noon on Monday and arrive Rome on Tuesday afternoon (via Detroit and Paris). It makes for a VERY long day, even in business class ... but you gotta love those frequent flyer miles!

We will spend the first ten days in Italy, starting in the classic Tuscan hill town of Montepulciano ... which is also the home of Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, one of my favorite wines on the planet! A coincidence? I think not!

After that, we meet four of our neighbors on the Greek island of Santorini where we have rented a villa for a week. A few days in Athens and we will be back in our own bed around midnight on the 22nd. (It's a good thing we are still young and resilient!)

Follow along on the daily odyssey ... but don't expect much to be posted until at least mid-week. Ciao for now!

WHAT ARE YOU PRETENDING NOT TO KNOW?

I was late in getting it compiled, but the March on how people are planning to respond to the impending increase in minimum wage is now available for download at http://www.restaurantdoctor.com/surveys.html.

I was interested to see that several of the respondents felt that because they were already paying more than the new minimum, the hike wouldn't have any effect on them. If you share the same idea, a word of caution if I may:

In my experience, it is not what people are being paid as much as it is what they are being paid relative to what everyone else is making. When the bottom level goes up, everyone wants to maintain the same pay premium above it. Expect some pressure (or at least some discontent) if some of your people end up being paid closer to the new minimum than they are now.

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, find out more about the program. If not ... well, it is your life and your choice.

PS: As of this writing, seven of the 40 available seats have already been claimed.

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 survey has traditionally received the biggest response, probably because everyone wants to get a look at the results for free!

This is extremely valuable information to have (and I will be out of the country for the next three weeks), so I am extending this particular survey through May. Now you have no excuse not to add your best ideas.

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?"

I was listening to one of my managers who informed me she was going to apply for her dream job. She said she was sure that she wasn't going to get the position, but she would kick herself if she didn't try. She claimed that she was happy with her job here, but this was a dream for her.

After listening (and talking), we worked out an exit strategy that would allow her time to accomplish her dreams and acquire the position she always wanted. While I am sad to see her leave, I am happier to see her succesful and happy.

Because my mentality and listening skills have changed, she was able to come to me to help talk this out and not worry about my reaction, and rather than feeling like a trusted employee had hurt me or the business, I am genuinely thrilled to have been an instrumental part of her development. I don't know what you've done to me Bill, but thank you! -- Ken Hanson, Pelican Pub & Brewery, Cloverdale, OR

In case you find his last line confusing, Ken attended the CEO Foundation Program in Nashville last year. Comments like his are gratifying ... and only underscore the reason why this program is so important. There truly is nothing like it anywhere else in the industry.

While I appreciate Ken's giving me credit, I didn't do anything to him. Robert Kausen and I just pointed him toward an understanding of life in general and human behavior in particular that was larger and more powerful than his old way of thinking. Once he saw what we were getting at, he did all the rest himself. The shift was permanent, painless ... and obviously productive.

The important thing to note is how Ken viewed a situation that would thrown most managers for a loop. There were no "techniques" involved. He respected the importance of the dream in her eyes and approached the situation with openness and optimism.

His ability to see things from her point of view and NOT to react opened lines of communication that would have otherwise not existed. This allowed not only an amicable solution, but one that everyone felt good about.

Put yourself in Ken's spot. How would you have felt if one of your key managers said she was leaving? How might you have reacted? Be truly honest with yourself.

If you feel the adrenaline start to flow and your anger level rising, perhaps like Ken, you might discover how to regain your own peace of mind at the CEO Foundation Program. It is only offered once this year (July 16-18, 2007) and only 40 people will be able to attend. At the least you owe it to yourself, your business ... and your family ... to check it out.

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!)