All Blog Posts Tagged 'management' (131)

“Low-down -dirty- good for nuthin…”

I still remember the first time I heard my Grandfather

deliver his ultimate displeasure with another human being.  It was his considered opinion that you could

be “good at” something and still be “good for nothing.”  As he saw it there were people who were darn

fine farmers, welders, mechanics, truck drivers, hunters, and so on, but if

your positive-character flag wasn’t flying high, he’d keep his distance.

When it comes right…

What is the profit per dollar in a restaurant? Most owners and managers can't even answer this question right. And they wonder why staff isn't more careful with the business. If everyone understands this in your restaurant you will have a much different operation.

MAKE SURE THEY DO!

A friend just mentioned to me that Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple (as if you don’t know who he is) had hired top business school professors to work up a project they call Apple University. It seems as if they are producing business case studies that review major decisions made by the Apple team over the years in an effort to capture, and make available internally the business magic that polishes the Apple.

Major business schools utilize the business case study as a foundational teaching…

Currently, I'm working FOH in a busy restaurant with a small service staff. We had about 7 full time servers and the servers really own the floor. Management is helpful but the pooled house selects servers as the top of the food chain.

My question / concern is with staff morale. This past Saturday night, management seemed to be on a warpath with the waitstaff. Forgive my bias, but I don't think we do a bad job. We were nominated best new restaurant in the NE b James Beard…

Not all companies want their managers to be great leaders—it depends on the

leadership of the company.

Truthfully, many companies would be more agreeable to producing better

followers than better leaders for a myriad of reasons. It could be the small

mindedness of the people in the top-jobs who feel threatened when a

subordinate outshines them and realistically there is a startling lack of rewards for

mentors involved with mentoring relationships.

There is…

Over the years, I have been hounded by tribemates looking for a raise in pay (not unwarranted, but alas, still pervasive). If you want a pay increase to materialize at a faster pace, you must do some homework in addition to your work duties. What follows is the hospitality- manager response I have given to those on the money hunt: Whenever you are being evaluated for hiring, a promotion, or a raise, start with the most significant accomplishments you can cite from your recent…

At the risk of repeating myself, I’ll say it again, as I’ve said it many times in the past to clients ... It’s not about the money, or at least it’s not only about the money.

Let me explain.…

A few weeks ago, The Economist contained a piece entitled “The Pivotal Moment: Bet on a boss who can twirl on his toes” (Dec. 4-10, 2010 edition, P. 84).  The piece was about the surprising discovery (?) of some seasoned venture capitalists that it was perhaps more valuable to invest in managers with the ability -- and agility -- to quickly shift their budding business’ focus, given the rapid rate of change in the world, rather than back a…

If you're vacationing in a tropical paradise, there is a lot to see: sandy beaches, gorgeous vegetation, and the crystal clear ocean. But none compare to the real reason people love beaches: the phenomenal sunsets.

Shawna and Geoffrey Simpson, vacationing in Waikiki, missed that sunset when they found themselves having to stay within 250 feet of a restaurant in order for their buzzer to go off. Through this and a series of frustrating events, the couple came up with a way to…

Cultural diversity is everywhere you look in the restaurant service business and has to be discussed with employees immediately whenever problems are beginning to mount. The "employee tension factor" must always be gauged judiciously over the course of time during the running of daily operations. This concept must be taught in every restaurant management training program. Anticipation and forethought of this type will keep a pressure cooker atmosphere from exploding, so it won't be too late…

We thought it appropriate to take a close look at the 2010 chain restaurant same store sales year over year gains. This year on Seeking Alpha, we published about restaurant same store sales “pops”, that magical moment where the sales trend materially moved. In our opinion, a 1000 basis points improvement from trend is a real indicator…

This is Part 2 in a series.  We will look at the traditional sales cycle as it relates to restaurant marketing and examine a full-scale plan to fill all the points on the cycle.  In this part we talk more

about Establishing Relationships - creating awareness of your business

and starting a new customer's cycle.

In we talked about examining your current and desired customer base.  As I said, this is key to determining how you need to move forward - not

just who…

Somewhere recently (I believe it was in the Southwest Airlines in-flight magazine, but I’m sorry to say that I’m really not sure) I read one person’s wish that a commemorative stone be carved with “audi partem alteram” rather than his name.  He went on to explain that the Latin expression meant “hear the other side”.…

Hi, all -- last year I filled this space with some predictable, and some less predictable, reasons to be thankful we’re connected with the restaurant and food industry. Some of you responded on the web site, and more in emails, with supporting, or additional, thoughts, and for that I’m most appreciative.…