Commitment

It's what we all want. It's what we all need. It's what drives achievement and connects the dots to success. Commitment is dedication and in business, without it, you are dead in the water. Three years ago this October, I committed my full time and a fair amount of resources to create FohBoh. My goal was and still is, to connect all industry stakeholders so we can be a stronger, more successful industry. Shared experiences, collaborative thinking, collective intelligence. Powerful stuff. My commitment is to the industry, my employees, shareholders, partners, and the tens of thousands of registered and affiliate FohBoh members. What about you? What are you committed to? More importantly, who are you committed to?

Personal commitment is no different than professional commitment. It’s just as intense, even more so. Personally, I am committed to my wife and kids and good friends. I am committed to my good health, good nutrition and sustained personal growth. I commit to a standard and a belief system that guides me. Whether it's professional or personal, commitment is up to me to define and fulfill. It's my responsibility.

I am truly worried about the lack of commitment I see around me. Maybe it’s just my misperception, but my recent experience is that people I engage with shy away from making commitments or keeping them. This can be as benign as failing to return a call, or blowing off an appointment without notifying anyone. That's just rude. Or, it can be as harmful as giving up on a job search giving up on your business or relationship far, far too early. Life is a challenge. And, this economic environment presents all of us a greater challenge. My intuition tells me that this is a time for taking on greater responsibilities and increasing commitment to family, friends and business not the opposite.

I just returned from Las Vegas where I was told that Nevada has a 14% unemployment rate. 14%! What is Nevada doing to take responsibility? How have they committed to help those without jobs find jobs? Why are the casinos full?

If you aren’t aware, FohBoh is growing and our opportunity is growing faster. As a company we need to finance rapid growth not only for economic reasons but to best serve our community. So to meet our commitment we are seeking investors and taking on meetings for those who have control over the available capital. I just left a venture capital meeting without a follow on meeting. Why? Not because FohBoh isn't interesting. Not because we aren't a hot growing company deserving to be properly funded. It's because venture investing has moved away from its fundamental paradigm of enabling entrepreneurs to execute on their big ideas. Many firms take the fundamental view of finding companies who need money but where other players have absorbed the business and financial risk. Not that there aren’t still folks looking to fund early stage companies—but those companies must fit a strict investment model, a “box” in other words. AND IT ITS NOT ABOUT INNOVATION. Out of the box thinking is essentially gone.

There are two venture investor camps now:

Camp 1 believes in building companies but they are protecting their portfolio by not investing in anything new. It's true. Nearly 1/3 of the venture capital funds are gone or soon will be. It's also true that only about 200 in Silicon Valley are actually investing and they are largely protecting their existing portfolios, or making new investments in teams that have “done it before” regardless of the business model. Reduced risk means reduced returns—the paradigm has shifted. Are they simply protecting their own jobs?

Camp 2 have no interest in building businesses. Their goal is to invest a small amount in smoke, and slightly more when there is fire. They spread $100,000 - $500,000 or so out to dozens of ideas waiting for a fire to start. Then, they flip it to a strategic buyer for a quick profit.

FohBoh is from the VC point of view a "tweenie". Camp 1 is no longer looking and we are too big for Camp 2. Is it because they are not committed to what they should be committed to; helping finance promising small businesses that create the jobs and growth we need to revive our economic engine? China has just become the second largest economy in the world, surpassing Japan and it will—if current trends continue—pass the U.S. within 10-20 years at most. China does more to stimulate the growth of small business than the U.S. Is this shift in economic power and influence surprising? Not at all.

Is the “new VC” investing style a reaction to their investors seeking quicker returns? Or, is it a reaction to the market and market risk and dismal returns over the last 10 years? Personally, I’ve had both great failures and successes in my career. When I fail, I re-commit and start over.

So who's to say which camp has the right approach to investing? Or whether either camp has the right model? My belief is neither. Where is their commitment to building enterprise and fostering economic growth and creating jobs? There are billions of dollars sitting on the sidelines, is it not their commitment to invest and take risk? I’m not advocating irresponsible and unwise investments. But I am advocating that these investors get off their duffs and meet their commitments.

Commitment has degrees. Like - I am committed to my job...until a better one comes along. Commitment has a timeframe. Like - I'll give this until the end of the month before I change strategies, vendors, products, friends, etc. I guess my point here is that I place a higher value on committed relationships. I respond quicker to those who commit to me. My guess is this is a two-way street, or should be. Parity keeps me focused - on task, on track, responsible and committed to my profession, my friends, my partners, my family, to growing and adding value to this community.

Tags: Atkinson, commitment, foodservice, foodservice social media, loyalty, restaurant, restaurant social media, restaurants

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Comment by Erik P. Hanson on September 28, 2010 at 5:42pm: How much are you looking to raise? Email me at ephanson@resercom.com. I did all mine privately, and retained total ownership.

Comment by Josh Hersh on August 18, 2010 at 10:17am: This is really great insight into what's happening in the world of VC (of which I know very little about). Do you think this shift in investing is mostly because of fears from the economic crisis and uncertainty about the future (particularly taxes) or do you see this as a permanent shift away from innovation and funding outside the box ideas? Hopefully it's the former...either way, we push forward!!!

Comment by Richard Heaps on August 18, 2010 at 9:56am: As my partner has so precisely pointed out, FohBoh is at the crossroads, not only as a company but as a symbol of what's right--the desire to innovate and respond to our customers and members in near real time--and wrong with the current small business environment in the United States. The foodservice/restaurant industry is perhaps as well populated with risk takers as anyone and by taking risks--manifesting dreams and hopes--great things emerge.