I’ve been working on this one for a while and decided the time is right. I enjoy watching the Food Network. One of my favorite chefs/personalities is Robert Irvine. Chef Irvine is a Brit and has a no nonsense approach to doing things. He used to be on the show titled Dinner Impossible; where he’d be placed in some ridiculous situations. He and his crew had to prepare wonderful gourmet meals under difficult situations. Sometimes it would the location, the food quality, the menu, the facilities, the size of the group or the weather. He failed a couple, but he completed hundreds more.
Now he’s got another show titled, Restaurant Impossible. LOVE IT. Here’s the set-up, he goes to a failing restaurant and tries to make it profitable. The truly genius part of the show, and the part that gets me going (the performance improvement geek in me) is the problem analysis. Irvine comes in and observes the current situation; the décor, the menu, the service, the prices, the food quality, management and the ownership. After that, he devises a plan and goes to work. Sometimes the problem is singular but more times than not it’s multifaceted.
Chef Irvine stirs the pot; he does not show any mercy. Especially when he’s in problem identification mode, he shows compassion but only after the owner stops making excuses for their failures. Irvine’s passion for food comes through. That gives me a jolt. People who are fortunate enough to have restaurants but they don’t take care or clean the kitchen and food preparation areas, really ticks him off. (I can relate, I get miffed at HR slackers) Sometimes it gets personal, as you can imagine some of the owners are not professional restaurateurs and when an outsider comes in pointing fingers, calling them lazy, exposing their weaknesses, they get emotional.
The truth hurts.
I love the show because Robert tackles problem much like I do and many other process improvers out there. You have to first observe. You got to know where you are currently. This can take you many different directions. You may find you have the wrong leader, team, product, service, price point, goals or technology.
You have to address those issues head on; you can’t pussy-foot around it. Sparing feelings will not get you anywhere. There is a difference in being cruel and being critical and sometimes it’s hard to see it. You’ve got to plan your improvement strategy; many times Robert will call a team meeting with the restaurant staff and outline the problems and his solutions. He allows them to get a visual of the task at hand in black & white. I like this because it ensures everyone is on the same page.
Every so often he will ask the wait staff and cooks, questions that the manager haven’t e.g. what’s the best sellers, what do customer like or dislike, what are things that need to be improved? That’s workforce analytics, 360 feedback folks! The employees can make meaningful contributions if you ASK them.
There’s more human resource goodness like marketing, rebranding, advertising and training. Hey check it out, you’ll learn all that and how to cook a tasty dish.
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