Be Real or the authentic and unapologetic you - talent revolution

Be Real or the authentic and unapologetic you - talent revolution

Shared via AddThis

Values Based Leadership

I got the chance a couple of weeks ago to attend the CHART Regional meeting in Louisville, KY at the enormous and expansive Papa John’s Corporate Campus. What a great opportunity to network and I got to meet some “internet” faces. It is always so cool to come face to face with people you blog and twitter with daily. No pun intended but people are so much larger than life in person!

I got to meet Jeff McLanahan, and Terry Mayhem from Papa John’s. Also one of my favorite e-learning gurus from DiscoverLink, Jeff Tenut. Then to top it off, in walks John Schnatter, Papa John himself and he looks just like he does on his commercials. Right behind him is Jude Thompson, COO/President at Papa John's. Now I gotta be honest, I didn’t expect a ton from these two…..small room, no real big wigs in site besides them so I expected the courteous welcome and exit stage right. But what came next was a lesson in leadership centered on VALUES and developing people. Yep, values and people. I love those two things more than anything and I was fixin’ to get inspired. I couldn’t stop my pencil from writing! Let me share just a few of the quotes that came out of his stories and there were a lot of them!

“To get from the #3 pizza sales to #2 it is going to take our people”

“My job is to get 1000 people pulling on the same rope”

“If everyone wins they get excited about themselves and produce more”

“Anxiety is contagious and that’s not something you want to catch”

“If people get isolated they stop communicating”

“It’s good to be on a winning team”

“We are partners”

“We can double team things when we work together”

“I don’t know how business went from 2+2=4 to equaling 8 but you can bet that math caused our current economy”

“If you don’t take care of the peasant farmers they will rise up and burn down the castle you live in”

“I haven’t laid anyone off, it was expensive, but I haven’t laid anyone off.”

Did you hear what I heard?
1. It’s the people stupid
2. It’s not about you
3. If you are confused about what to do, refer to number one!

And while you are it, tell them the truth….

Better Ingredients, Better Pizza

John Schnatter and his team believe it and it is self-evident in his team’s body language and engagement. The next time I need a quick pizza, I am going to give his product a try. Mission accomplished John and thanks for reinforcing my belief that values and a focus on people can happen in a major corporation while you make a ton of cash!

Walk with a Purpose

So, I have been on a restaurant binge lately also known as my own version of a personal stimulus package. I’ve hit every restaurant that I enjoy both chain and independent. I’ve gone to each one of them alone, blackberry on fire, and watching how the leadership in those restaurants has chosen to lead their team. If the managers and the owners of these establishments knew they were being watched like a professional quarterback in a two minute warning down by 1 point they would be careful of how they might be perceived but then hey, I digress…on to my point.

What I have seen is a sad display of “walking about” accomplishing nothing, waiting for something to actually happen like maybe a fire will start and they might be able to douse it with their own brand of restaurant management.

Here is what it looks like…host, bar, disappear, bar, host, disappear…disappear, bar, bar, host, and disappear. Who the heck knows what they are doing when they disappear? Are there cash registers or guests in the back of some restaurants I don’t know about?

Why not follow some kind of path that improves the business? I’ve heard it called…

15 Minute Rotation
The Critical Path
The Moments of Truth
The Guest Path

Call it what you want but why not touch every aspect of the business while you are walking through your business? I mean, we’re fighting for every guest and subsequently their return visit, why wouldn’t you check every potential opportunity your guest might experience in your business in an attempt to exceed their expectations?

Try this….

Host – make sure they are smiling and presenting themselves the way you would present yourself – thank guests and staff
Servers – dressed sharp, engaging the guest, selling, refilling, bussing, hit the table tops and check with guests to make sure a return visit is all but inevitable – thank guests and staff
Bar – fast drinks, clean glasses, friendly face, building business, cost control – thank guests and staff
Restrooms – clean, smell great, fully stocked with supplies
Outside – lights on, first impression great, thanking guests coming and going
Back of the House – awesome product, clean environment, food safety, thank staff

Repeat, and then repeat again, then again, again, again….you get the idea.

Now you can expand your stopping points, add bullet points to check on, set anticipated time frames, you name it. If you have a deficiency in your business and want to improve it, put your restaurant leadership on it, over and over again.

So you’re open…say ten hours a day, it takes 30 minutes to complete one of these rotations, you can complete 20 of these rotations a day. For sake of conversation let’s say things come up and you can only get 15 rotations actually done through your restaurant. You have decided that fast drinks delivered under 3 minutes is your focus and you put your leadership on it by checking it 15 times a day with either positive reinforcement or coaching to improve….how long could it possibly take to accomplish your focus?

You get results where you put focus….
Walk with a purpose…..
Make your restaurant better tomorrow, by engaging it today….

Your Stock is way down!

There is a ton of stock on the market right now that is worth a lot less than it was just a few short months ago and it still have a strong long term value. There is also stock on the market worth a lot less than a few months ago and it should be worth a lot less. It never was worth anything to begin with, it was overinflated in value, and never should have had the value it earned.

Now what kind of person are you?
-A stock with a current low value because of market condition waiting to climb again?
-A stock with a current low value because of market condition and you will never gain value again because you weren’t worth anything to begin with?

Here is what I know….

Over 3 million jobs have been lost in the last six months and unemployment rates are expected to top 10% in some areas. There are more than a few employees to chose from just like your broker knows there is quite a bit of stock out there that can be bought cheaply that will eventually rise above it’s current purchase price.

Now if you are a pessimist you are thinking, great I have to do whatever my boss tells me to do because he can just replace me with someone else tomorrow, right? Well, no, replacements have cost and your boss doesn’t want to incur additional cost right now because it will take unnecessary dollars from the coffers that are better left earning interest. However if the cost of replacing you produces more ROI in the long term, the boss may be willing to make the investment in a different stock….is the picture getting clearer now?

If you are the optimist, you understand that the best undervalued stock you can own is your own stock…and that’s where you come in! You are already employed, you already have value, and you can increase your own value by understanding how to produce the best ROI.

Do you produce additional sales with your skills?
Do you produce additional profit because of your systems and leadership?
Do you improve the productivity of your team by your presence?
Do your guests come back more often because of your presence in the business?
Do your ideas and improvements create value for the business environment?
Are you helping those around you to get better because you care more about their success than your own?

The good news is that if you invest in your own value now and even diversify your skills by doing more, when this thing turns around, your stock price will be go up again, and then you will be in the driver’s seat for best value. Now that you have had that paradigm shift…..

When all is said and done isn’t it really about just being great no matter what the economic conditions? I mean let’s face it; if you had no value to begin with you probably aren’t reading this blog anyway? If you base the level and/or quality of work you do on how tough the economy is then you probably should find a job in government where you are less likely to be whacked!

There is no better time than now to give everything you have….

Old School Ways

Today on FOHBOH I read Jerry Heilpern’s post, To Survive We Must Think Differently, and the reason behind my blog is not to agree or disagree with Jerry. I respect Jerry’s opinion and his professional background and accomplishments. His isn’t the first blog post I have read to tell me that based on the current state of the union that we have to do things differently or we are dead in the water. He says that we will have to get rid of mozzarella sticks and marinara in exchange for trendy dishes and interiors and ambiences are going to have to be new, inventive, and inviting.

This past week in another blog discussion by James Kohn, Today's Rant: Deciding which new technology is right for you, Michael Atkinson stated that, “Doing the basics and just "running a restaurant" isn't enough.” Again my quote here is not to discount Michael’s opinion as his professional resume and accomplishments are at the very least impressive, it is only to challenge what I believe is a current trend in thinking.

Now if you know anything about me, I run a bunch of those “chain” restaurants that are the brunt of “independent” jokes and rhetoric about conveyor belt and microwave delivery systems, but here is my concern that I can’t seem to get my head around.

The Hamburger has been a staple of the restaurant business for quite some time now, followed by French fries, salad, chicken sandwiches, tall draft beer, chicken wings, chicken tenders, and the that ole stand by for kids, Macaroni and Cheese.

Can’t I just focus on delivering those items really well?

If my restaurant is clean, my prices are fair, my service is strong, and I give my guests what they want, can’t I be successful in this challenging environment also?

Even in a tough market Buffalo Wild Wings earnings increased 23% in the fourth quarter and McDonald’s comps grew over 5% and their food, service, and ambience aren’t exactly what I would call trendy or cutting edge?

Go ahead, burst my bubble and tell me that I have to change the way I do business. I think the only thing I have to change is making sure I deliver what the guest expects and value IS a strong position.

Today, isn't value defined by our guests and not by us?

They are Freakin’ Out!

Some of the most important lessons I have learned in leadership, management, and organizational development have come from the people that I work with every day. Just yesterday I was having a conversation with one of my chief “feelers” on the team. (Mind you being a “feeler” is a good thing. If you don’t have one or aren’t one you are leaving a lot of people behind in your team) He told me that combined with the latest company announcement about an internal struggle, my continued demand for higher, faster, quicker results, and the push to put every dollar on the bottom line, as well as perfect delivery for the guest, I may have pushed some overboard.

Initially, I thought, crap this is one of the things I always fear! Did I lose them and they have now labeled me as just another corporate hack or is this just their reaction to another “bar raising” and they will be ok.

High expectation and demand for results
--------------------------------
Can you help me complete my resume?

Note the fine line between these two issues. Here is where the rubber meets the road and you can set yourself apart in your leadership and continue to develop your credibility and long term effectiveness in the eyes of your team.

First - Identify everyone that is spending time on this fine line
Second – Stop what you are doing and go face to face with each one of them
Third – Explain that you know you have pushed them to this level and that they may be struggling to understand or even angry about it
Fourth – Tell them why you are asking for so much and the importance to the overall mission and their long term success and most importantly, you believe in them
Fifth – Ask them where they see the obstacles in overcoming the expectation and actually help them to remove at least one of those obstacles
Sixth – thank them for being honest, thank them for taking on the challenge, and make sure they understand you couldn’t do what you are doing with out them

Engage them and don’t be afraid of their pushback. If your team isn’t pushing back on you, you aren’t pushing forward on them.

Your view may not always be the best…..another leadership road hazard!

This leadership hazard can be best described in the story of the happy beach swimmer. If you are on one of those crowded Southern California beaches with your friend soaking up the rays you have a limited view of things going on around you. The people next to you, the kids playing in the surf….the immediate dangers seem well within your control.

Down the beach a way their sits a lifeguard tower….Now the lifeguard has a much different view of the beach. Not only can they see you, the people next to you, and the kids playing in the surf, they can also see people swimming in the water, surfboards coming in fast, cars coming down the beach. They definitely have a “bigger” picture of the dangers you could be facing. They can even see people nearing danger and be in the water quickly to protect you from strong tides and undertows.

Now look out a little farther in the water up higher and you will see the Beach Patrol helicopter. Think about their view for a minute. They see you, the people next to you, the kids playing in the surf, surfboards, cars, sharks, and boats and their picture gets even “bigger” than you and the lifeguard combined. More advanced warning of impending doom to keep you safe.

So to avoid this leadership hazard in your business you need only to know that your view of the business hazards aren’t only what you can see but what those around and above you can see as well. In most cases just recognizing who has a better view of the business and accepting help can be a very successful leadership tactic.

If you are a server, in most cases, your view is limited to the scope of your tables.
If you are a department manager, your view is that of your shift or team
If you are a General Manager, you can see the whole business across all departments
If you are an Owner an even bigger perspective
If you are a Multi-Unit operator or Consultant you have numerous businesses to see and your view grows even larger
If you are a CEO, you see sometimes 100’s of operations giving you a clear view of different operating styles, results, and approaches.

If you are looking to avoid the dangers of the beach, sometimes you just have to find the highest vantage point. Don’t be afraid to look up and ask those above you what they see. Better safe than sorry!