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Twice a year restaurant professionals have gathered in Las Vegas for my four-day restaurant operations workshop, Running a Profitable Restaurant: From Soup to Nuts. The room is filled with restaurant owners, managers, consultants and sometimes a celebrity chef. They come from all over the country; from Pennsylvania to California along with international attendees from Canada and Australia.
I like to call my workshop a brain dump (and I mean that in a good way). I deliver so much information and so many systems that it’s virtually impossible not to come away with an idea or two that will more than pay for the investment of attending. So much information that past attendees have told me they felt overwhelmed at the completion of the workshop.
That’s why I made a powerful change some time ago by adding what I called the “Ah-ha Workbook & Management Plan.” This workbook/journal is used for making note of the ideas that you want to explore to make a difference in your restaurant operation. In the past some attendees approach as many as 200 Ah-has in addition to more than 80 pages of notes.
In the Management Plan section, attendees answer very specific questions about their operation and then are asked to write the short- and long-term goals they wanted to accomplish when they returned to their restaurants.
That means that everyone walks away with a powerful action plan. New ideas have very little value unless they are put into action. The custom management plan everyone creates is unique to fit their own operations and is a tool which translates ideas into action. The plan helps to solidify their commitment to turning their restaurant into a profitable and smooth running operation.
At the end of days two and three, I asked the group to share with each other some of their more powerful Ah-has. We spend almost an hour each day because there are so many. And as each person shares, others are adding to their own lists and action plans.
Here is a short list of some Ah-has that every restaurant operator can benefit from:
1. The power of the pencil and calculator – While many restaurant owners have spreadsheets and software programs that spit out numbers for us, we often have managers who really have no idea what they mean. The way to change this is to teach each manager how to come up with the numbers by hand. This way they understand not only what the numbers mean, but where they came from. And once they understand that, they can make changes in your operations that will make a difference.
2. Teach managers and line employees the value of one point – Many of us get upset with an assistant manager when they brush off the fact that they only missed their target cost of goods sold by one point. If we teach them that in an operation that does $100,000 a month, that’s $1,000, they may have a greater appreciation for why you are so upset and will work harder at achieving the correct number.
3. Honor your vision – You are doing yourself, your staff and your guests a disservice if you don’t take the time to put your vision on paper. And most importantly, share that vision with everyone that works with you, for you and comes in contact with you. Giving life to your vision starts with “painting the picture” every chance you get.
4. Systems take the personalities out of running the restaurant – This is a point that I really drive home and it came up several times when we were sharing ideas. All too often and without systems in place, we let personalities dictate how we run our business and deal with people. With systems in place for every aspect of your business, you no longer are held over a barrel—your staff is either executing your systems your way or they are not. And if they are properly using your systems, their unique personalities now become an asset to your business.
5. You set the tone – This is an eye opener. When was the last time you looked in the mirror or at your management team? How you and your team walk the circle, interact with staff, employees and vendors has a direct effect on how your restaurant runs. If you are always on edge or upset, your staff will be too and so will your guests. If you are happy, upbeat, positive, calm and cool… well, you know the rest.
6. “Discipline” means to teach – Even the dictionary shows this as a definition that is labeled obsolete (meaning no one uses the word this way any more). We have to realize that people learn differently and if they are not doing a job to our standard, we need to take the time to train them again—not send them out to pasture. When you see someone doing something wrong, look at it as an opportunity to teach.
And of course there were plenty of Ah-has that were specific to making or saving money in your restaurant, such as:
• The power of using a Purchase Order
• How using a Perpetual Inventory Form can reduce theft and help control inventory
• The most expensive item in your operation: an empty chair
• How to use your inventory effectively and most importantly put more cold hard cash into your bank account
• The importance of making someone’s day, both employees and customers
• How to make a dramatic impact in your food cost by analyzing your descending dollar report
• How discounting should be left to birthdays. Bundling food items together allows you to keep the ring at the register high and provides a wow to your guest
• And the list goes on…
I hope that some of these ideas have ignited a spark for you to take action in your restaurant operation. The power of implementing one little idea can be life changing. Just imagine what it can do for your restaurant operation.
In closing, I want to share with you a saying I use all the time that best describes what it takes to be successful in the restaurant business and that is, “Ideas are cheap. It’s the people who put them into action that are priceless.” Are you priceless?