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EFFORTLESS, INC.
PO Box 280
Gig Harbor, WA 98335 USA
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(253) 858-9255
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| EHC #570 Insights for the Professionally Curious | January 2, 2009 |
Good Morning!
Given the serious economic pressure that everyone is under these days, I had planned to start this first issue of the new year with some hard-hitting ideas of things you should be doing to keep your head above water during what is likely be a very rough first quarter.
But very often I find that the EHC actually writes itself and when that happens, it ends up going in a different direction than what I first thought. Today is one of those days. It was triggered by an email I received this morning and just went from there.
In his play, Richard III, Shakespeare had the line, "Now is the winter of our discontent." Do you think he is saying that winter is upon us and we aren't pleased about what is happening? If so, you would be wrong. In fact, the reference means just the opposite -- that the time of unhappiness has almost passed.
Why that might be so and what you can do to bring it about is the underlying theme of today's EHC. Because I think the message is so important, I am sending the same info to everyone rather than reserving most of the good stuff for subscribers to the Special Edition.
Next week I will return to the long and short versions of the EHC but for now ... Happy New Year!
Bill Marvin
The Restaurant Doctor
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 Do The Work!
Putting It Into Perspective
I was pleased to receive a note from subscriber Dan Dwyer this morning ... and even more pleased when he referred me to this video presentation by my long-time friend, Barbara Glanz. Perhaps you have seen it before, but even if you have, it is worth re-visiting.
While it is true that there are things you should be doing right now to solidify your hold on the market (and I will talk about those more in future issues), the most important are not clever marketing ploys but rather a return to the rightful role of your restaurant as a place of restoration, an oasis of sanity in the midst of fear and uncertainty.
So while your competitors are busily printing coupons and forever destroying their credibility, please pause long enough to watch this short presentation. It should remind you of what causes people to want to do business with you in the first place. Reflect on what this message might mean in your business ... then get busy and do something about it.
If you profess to be in the restaurant business, then do the work that is required to really be IN the restaurant business. If you hold yourself out to be a place of hospitality, then do the work that it takes to really BE hospitable! Sure it will take a little more effort ... but you know that your competitors are not willing to do it.
Do the work and you will own the market. Fail to do the work ... and somebody else will own you! |
 The Only Thing We Have To Fear
Learning Lessons From History
On January 20, 1933 in his first inaugural address, FDR famously said:
"So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself -- nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance."
He was referring to the economic conditions of the time -- in other words, The Great Depression. He was essentially saying, "if we can't shake our pessimistic economic outlook, it will be tough to turn things around." President Roosevelt was calling for a little irrational exuberance ... and that might be just what your business (and your staff) needs right now.
It may also be just what your guests are looking for as well -- a little irrational exuberance to get them thinking more positively about the future. Our new president will take office in just a matter of weeks and with that will come the possibility of change for the better.
Latch on to that feeling and amplify it. You know that eventually things will improve so why not show it right now? Make positive changes in the operation. Have a plan and share it with your staff. Place renewed importance on a positive environment. Smile ... a lot.
FDR had it exactly right. Nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror paralyzed the efforts that are needed to convert retreat into advance.
|  Becoming A Place of Hospitality™
Rethinking Restaurants
Leaders are always looking for ways to increase employee productivity and quality. Most have tried approaches like motivational speakers, behavior modification, rewards/consequences, teaming, and values training. For most, the results are short-lived, leaving leaders still in search of the illusive "silver bullet."
Those leaders who do gain lasting value from some traditional programs do so for reasons that seem puzzling or mysterious. The "mysterious" variable in human performance is the level of mental well-being. It's mental toughness, mental health, and "getting your mind right."
We call this variable "state of mind" - the quality of thinking that is available to someone at any given moment. In organizations, we call the collective states of mind the "climate" or the "tone." When you permanently improve your level of performance - whether from a book, tape, program or personal insight - it is the result of a shift in your state of mind.
(more next week)
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Copyright ©2008 William Marvin. All rights reserved.
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