Good Morning, Friends! Here are 5 things I’m up to…
What I’m working on – As a follow up to last week’s question, “How do you describe your company culture?, this week we’re digging into “How does one thrive and succeed in our company culture? I like this set of questions because it allows us to think in two very different ways about the central point of culture; the “idea of” and the “process of”. Last week we talked about how culture is how we live out our Mission, Vision and Values DAILY. Today we dive into actual examples “what we’redoing daily to make that happen? Being present, participating, remembering you’re on a team, looking for ways to improve a system no matter what it is or how long it’s been in place, asking questions, looking for the next challenge and taking advantage of facetime with your leadership when it’s offered. These and probably 20 more I’m not thinking of are all great ways to succeed and thrive in our company culture. Do you have an example of a great way to succeed and thrive with us? Reply and let me know!
Something I’m pondering – “A company that’s not growing is in slow motion liquidation mode”. I heard this quote during an interview with the CEO of Delta Airlines, Ed Bastian, on an episode of NPR’s Marketplace the other day and I’ve been thinking about it all weekend. I suppose it’s just another way of saying, “if you’re not growing, you’re dying”, but it seems a little…realer. Growth is a subjective word when it comes to restaurants. On the surface it means adding locations (external growth), but to me it’s just as important, if not more important to equally focus on internal growth. Making sure our systems and processes are good. Making sure our technology is up to current trends and working well for our Piesans and leadership. Developing our next class of shop leadership. Taking time to focus on company culture and our Piesan and customer experiences are all way we grow internally. Growth for us is about a balance between internal and external growth. We can’t have too much of either or something suffers. Build too many locations (grow too fast) and the culture suffers. Focus on internal growth too much, and we deny opportunities to our team members. The Perfect balance of amazing company culture and steady growth opportunities are what we strive for every day.
What I’m reading – Something reminded me recently about “The Saltshaker Theory”, from Danny Meyer’s legendary book on the restaurant industry, Setting the Table. If you haven’t read it, I HIGHTLY recommend it. The excerpt from the book is below. Danny is sitting down with his mentor, Pat Cetta. Meyer “bemoaned the fact that he was failing to get any kind of consistent message across to his staff members regarding standards of excellence.” Cetta proceeded to give Meyer an invaluable lesson in management.
Pat pointed to the set table next to us. “First,” he said, “I want you to take everything off that table except for the saltshaker. Go ahead! Get rid of the plates, the silverware, the napkins, even the pepper mill. I just want you to leave the saltshaker by itself in the middle.” I did as he said, and he asked, “Where is the saltshaker now?” “Right where you told me, in the center of the table.” “Are you sure that’s where you want it?” I looked closely. The shaker was actually about a quarter of an inch off center. “Go ahead. Put it where you really want,” he said. I moved it very slightly to what looked to be smack-dab in the center. As soon as I removed my hand, Pat pushed the saltshaker three inches off of center. “Now put it back where you want it,” he said. I returned it to dead center. This time he moved the shaker another six inches off center, again asking, “Now where do you want it?” I slid it back. Then he explained his point. “Listen, luvah. Your staff and your guests are always moving your saltshaker off center. That’s their job. It is the job of life. It’s the law of entropy! Until you understand that, you’re going to get pissed off every time someone moves the saltshaker off center. It is not your job to get upset. You just need to understand: that’s what they do. Your job is just to move the shaker back each time and let them know exactly what you stand for. Let them know what excellence looks like to you. And if you’re ever willing to let them decide where the center is, then I want you to give them the keys to the store. Just give away the fuckin’ restaurant!”
Danny continues… “Our job at Union Square Hospitality Group is to apply gentle, consistent pressure to get it back to the center. If I can create a culture where everyone holds everyone accountable, applying constant, gentle pressure, where they are honest and respectful, then the salt shaker is always in the center of the table and things go the way they’re supposed to.”
What I’m watching or listening to – Rachael and I just started the HBO series “Chernobyl”. Whoa! It’s a “historical docudrama” that is more of a horror story then anything. On April 26, 1986, a nuclear reactor exploded at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant outside of Pripyat in what was then the Soviet Union. The resultant fire in the reactor’s graphite moderator led to massive amounts of radiation carrying across the local radius through smoke. The incident is regarded by many as the most catastrophic nuclear accident in history.
Little Mikey Update – He’s the size of a banana.
GM’s, Remember your homework was to identify two examples of awesome customer service, one in the “Wild” and one in your own shop, and tell someone about it. We’ll be talking about this Tuesday!
Have a wonderful week, all!
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