May 2009 Fundamentals E-Newsletter from Sullivision

The ABCs of Succeeding in a Downturn Economy

26 Ways to Fly Right in Tough Times

By Jim Sullivan Copyright 2009 Sullivision.com

A is for Action. Address changes in the marketplace with appropriate activity and adjustments in your markets. If you're standing still you're walking backwards.

B is for Basics. Get brilliant at them now while your competitors are distracted.

C is for Cash. It's hard to make and easy to spend so make what you can and hang on to it in these challenging times.

D is for Developing your people. None of us is smart as all of us.

E is for Execution. What we know means little. What we do with what we know means everything.

F is for Focus. There was a time when focusing on the fundamentals really mattered. That time is called now.

G is for Gross Margin. Measuring success via top line sales is misguided. You don't take "top line sales" to the bank.

H is for Habitual Consistency. Success in our business is predicated on doing a thousand little things right every day.

I is for Innovation. It's easier to get new ideas into our head than it is to get old and irrelevant ones out.

J is for Junior Managers. At least sixty-percent of all shifts are run by assistant managers. Transform them from technicians to leaders.

K is for Key Result Areas. Measure what matters (marketing, labor, service, sales, retention, quality, culture and financial results) and stop focusing on the extraneous things.

L is for Leadership. In good times or bad the formula goes thusly: Leadership, first. Team second. Customer third.

M is for Management. Being a restaurant manager is like wearing a Speedo at the beach. Anyone can but not everyone should. Invest in making them better every day.

N is for saying NO now to the things that don't move your business forward today.

O is for Overhead. The lower you keep it, coupled with higher sales, the better your gross margin. (See "G").

P is for Performance. Establish standards where low performance is simply not an option.

Q is for Quality. If we would elevate quality in hiring and training to the level of food safety no one could stop our company.

R is for Reality. Face it. Stop the "woe-is-me" mentality and focus on improving the things you can control not the things you can't control.

S is for The Shift: How to Plan It, Lead It, and Make It Pay. If you or your managers don't know what to do before, during and after a Shift to maximize service, sales and retention, then click HERE and let our best-selling DVD show you how.

T is for Talent Scaffold. Successful companies have infrastructures that continually find, groom and replicate talented teams across both regions and franchisees.

U is for Upturn. Take time today to do the things that will make you stronger when the upturn comes: improve yields, training, service, throughput, labor costs, and leadership.

V is for Video games. Running a restaurant is like playing a video game. Fun to do but boring to watch.

W is for Worrying about the things you can control, not the things you can't. You can't control the economy, Wall Street, or oil, gas, and commodity prices. You can control who you hire, what you stand for and how you treat the guest.

X and Y are for the chromosomes that define gender. Studies indicate that over 55% of our front-of-the-house hourly teams are female. Here's hoping that the industry will seek similar parity in our executive leadership ranks as well.

Z is for Zodiac. Defined as "a set of things or a sequence of events that repeats itself cyclically," the astrological chart is an appropriate metaphor for these times. In a downturn cycle focus your management efforts on the word "cycle" instead of obsessing on "downturn."

Jim Sullivan is the founder and CEO of Sullivision.com