7 Lessons from Kitchen Nightmares [The 4-Hour Workweek Journal]
I really enjoy the television show Kitchen Nightmares. The show features acclaimed chef Gordon Ramsay:
In each episode, Ramsay visits a failing restaurant and acts as a troubleshooter to help improve the establishment in just one week. Ramsay revisits the restaurant a few months later to see how business has fared in his absence.
Source: Wikipedia.
I have suggested that I would love to see a show developed called Productivity Nightmares. In such a show, a productivity guru would visit failing businesses, or managers at a larger company, and help them make a dramatic impact in productivity and effectiveness. In the meantime, it occurred to me that there are recurring themes (lessons, best practices, or whatever you want to call them) that keep recurring in Kitchen Nightmares. I figure these lessons could be applied to almost any type of business or work:
1. It’s a Business
First and foremost, what you are doing represents a business, whether you own your company, or are an employee (in which case you are actually in the business of selling your time/effort, albeit to a single client at a time, namely your employer). You cannot afford to get too emotionally attached to the work itself, a specific product, or way of doing things. The bottom line rules: you have to make money to keep the whole thing viable.
2. Simple, Honest
"Simple, honest food, made from locally grown ingredients." I think Gordon Ramsay says this at some point in every episode. outside of the restaurant, I think this means keeping the basics in mind and getting them right. Perhaps at times we try to be too fancy, or provide a product or level of service that is not consistent with our means or resources. Providing simple and honest work (or a simple and honest product) often works remarkably well.
3. Customers
It’s all about getting customers in the door, coming back, and saying good things about what you do or produce.
4. Balls
You have to have balls. Everything at work is not going to be easy. You have to say what you want and stand up to anything or anyone that gets in the way. This isn’t about being mean or ruthless, but to have a clear vision of what needs to be done, no matter what, to move the enterprise forward, for the ultimate betterment of all. Which leads to the next lesson:
5. Confront and Eliminate Problems
How many times are we afraid to confront problems or a problem person? It can be extremely uncomfortable, and as a result, we often tend to avoid dealing with these things, somehow wishing they will fix themselves or just go away. When you are treading water, you cannot afford not to confront problems, and if necessary, eliminate them (yes, sometimes that means firing people).
6. Simple, Thoughtful Marketing
If you’ve ever watched the show, chef Ramsay usually goes out into the neighborhood to draw new customers into the restaurant. The approach is usually extremely straightforward, and thoughtful - maybe with an interesting twist - but always very simple. He’ll take a tray of sample food to the local train station, or parade through the town with a big banner proclaiming "Where’s the gravy?". We need to market ourselves and/or our businesses to get the word out that we exist and get customers in the door. Sometimes you simply need to parade yourself in front of your target market more than you need to spend time and money on things like fancy SEO strategies and glossy brochures.
7. Mentor
There is no denying that the simple fact of Gordon Ramsey being present may be the catalyst to turning a restaurant around. In the same way, we can find a mentor to help us turn our own businesses around. Don’t be afraid to seek out an expert and ask for help.
Here’s another best practice: subscribe to the Life Sutra!
Original post here: Brick
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