WEBVTT - Empowering Workers Is Key to Restaurant Success 0:00:21.040 --> 0:00:22.160 Welcome to Chopping It Up. 0:00:22.239 --> 0:00:24.960 I'm your host, Michael Halen, senior restaurant and food service 0:00:25.000 --> 0:00:28.960 analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence Listeners. You're in for a treat today. 0:00:29.000 --> 0:00:33.080 I'll be interviewing Chaos Strategists managing partner and co founder 0:00:33.120 --> 0:00:36.920 of Results Through Strategy, Fred Lafranc. Thanks for doing this, Fred. 0:00:37.040 --> 0:00:38.120 I'm looking forward to it. 0:00:38.440 --> 0:00:41.120 So, in my opinion, chaos Strategist is the best title 0:00:41.159 --> 0:00:43.120 in the business. You know, how'd you come up with 0:00:43.159 --> 0:00:45.360 your title and how does it tie into what you 0:00:45.400 --> 0:00:47.400 and your team do at Results through Strategy. 0:00:47.960 --> 0:00:51.560 Oh, that's an interesting question. I years ago I met 0:00:51.560 --> 0:00:54.480 a woman based in New York at a conscious capitalism 0:00:54.480 --> 0:00:58.240 event and she called herself a performance strategist. So I 0:00:58.280 --> 0:01:00.120 got to talking to her and she described the me 0:01:00.200 --> 0:01:03.400 this concept of a zone of genius where you are 0:01:03.400 --> 0:01:06.240 at your best. It's unique skills that nobody else has. 0:01:06.880 --> 0:01:09.040 And I spent time with her. She went through a 0:01:09.080 --> 0:01:11.120 bunch of question mires as and on emails of people 0:01:11.160 --> 0:01:13.360 asking for feedback about who I am, how I work, 0:01:13.400 --> 0:01:15.880 what do I do, what's good, what's bad? And at 0:01:15.920 --> 0:01:17.920 the end of it, she said, Fred, you bring order 0:01:17.959 --> 0:01:22.200 to disorder and you go from surviving to thriving, and 0:01:22.280 --> 0:01:25.559 you are basically a chaos strategist. And the first I'll 0:01:25.600 --> 0:01:27.360 never forget the first time I hit the button to 0:01:27.400 --> 0:01:29.280 make that a U title. I felt so strange, but 0:01:29.360 --> 0:01:31.160 she said, hey, Fred, there's a lot of CEOs out there, 0:01:31.160 --> 0:01:33.480 but there's only one chaos strategist, and that's how the 0:01:33.560 --> 0:01:34.200 name came about. 0:01:34.400 --> 0:01:39.040 Yeah, very cool and obviously fits really well with running 0:01:39.040 --> 0:01:40.320 in a restaurant for sure. 0:01:42.680 --> 0:01:44.559 So what do you find more rewarding in your work? 0:01:44.720 --> 0:01:45.240 Do you know it? 0:01:45.360 --> 0:01:48.720 Is it helping struggling mature brands turn things around or 0:01:49.200 --> 0:01:52.440 or is it helping small emerging brands supercharge their growth? 0:01:54.360 --> 0:01:57.720 Wow, that's like asking which is your favorite kid? You know, 0:01:57.720 --> 0:02:00.160 they're both fun for different reasons. We've done a lot 0:02:00.200 --> 0:02:03.200 of turnaround work and that's very satisfying because we've saved 0:02:03.240 --> 0:02:05.320 thousands of jobs. You know that that's you know, it 0:02:05.440 --> 0:02:07.600 really comes down. And I'll talk more about letterand it's 0:02:07.600 --> 0:02:09.560 all about the employees. And I spent a lot of 0:02:09.600 --> 0:02:11.320 time on employees. And you see someone that's been in 0:02:11.360 --> 0:02:14.480 a company for twenty twenty five years has no hope, 0:02:14.560 --> 0:02:18.280 low horizons, and you can help give them a methodology 0:02:18.360 --> 0:02:21.080 or performance that changes how they approach their job and 0:02:21.120 --> 0:02:22.760 it works for the benefit of the company and the 0:02:22.800 --> 0:02:25.560 lines that their needs are the company's goals. That's a 0:02:25.600 --> 0:02:28.480 great feeling. At the same time, the emerging brands are 0:02:28.480 --> 0:02:29.760 a lot of fun. They're you know, they're full of 0:02:29.760 --> 0:02:33.320 piss and vinegar. Right, nothing's nothing's impossible, and with them 0:02:33.360 --> 0:02:35.240 you got to sort of give some guardrails for growths. 0:02:35.240 --> 0:02:37.799 They don't drive off the cliff because everything's possible. Oh yeah, 0:02:37.880 --> 0:02:40.960 I'm excited, off we go. And so the enthusiasm is wonderful, 0:02:40.960 --> 0:02:43.040 but sometimes like a puppy dog jumping down on your 0:02:43.080 --> 0:02:46.360 leg while it's pin on your shoe. So they have 0:02:46.440 --> 0:02:49.600 different energy and different vibes, you know. So it's a 0:02:49.680 --> 0:02:51.679 it's a different approach it's been, but they're both. They're 0:02:51.680 --> 0:02:54.760 both really really exciting. And what we have found is cyclical. 0:02:54.840 --> 0:02:56.880 Right you go through the era where all of a 0:02:56.919 --> 0:02:59.880 sudden sales get you know, stunted people who's relevant. So 0:03:00.040 --> 0:03:02.480 get it to that downgrade and people say, oh, I 0:03:02.520 --> 0:03:04.239 need some relevance again, and then you get the ones 0:03:04.240 --> 0:03:05.880 that you know, the new and emerging brands are a 0:03:05.880 --> 0:03:07.840 lot of fun in doing it. And there's different generations. 0:03:07.880 --> 0:03:10.760 You know, the older brands are kind of boomer brands, 0:03:11.280 --> 0:03:14.160 and the newer brands and millennial brands, so it's a 0:03:14.200 --> 0:03:17.000 whole different thing. What I find most interesting, to be 0:03:17.000 --> 0:03:19.760 honest with you, is that the founders are very willing 0:03:20.320 --> 0:03:24.799 to ask for help, where the older CEOs aren't. It's 0:03:24.840 --> 0:03:26.639 like they feel they have to have all the answers, 0:03:26.720 --> 0:03:28.720 Like they go, hey, I'm the president, so I should 0:03:28.720 --> 0:03:30.920 know what to do and everything. And I was a 0:03:30.960 --> 0:03:33.400 president too, you know what, I didn't know everything. And 0:03:33.440 --> 0:03:35.520 the advantage that we bring is that we bring an 0:03:35.520 --> 0:03:38.640 outside perspective and we ask the kind of questions that 0:03:38.720 --> 0:03:41.320 sometimes they don't want to ask internally. And it's very 0:03:41.320 --> 0:03:43.800 funny when we come back with conclusions, they're like, my god, 0:03:43.840 --> 0:03:46.080 where did you get this information? And I go, you, 0:03:47.440 --> 0:03:49.920 it was there, but no one ever asked. I'd say. 0:03:49.920 --> 0:03:52.080 What we bring is the thirty percent we bring to 0:03:52.120 --> 0:03:55.280 the seventy percent they offer is an outside perspective and 0:03:55.320 --> 0:03:57.920 said earlier, a new way of looking at it, and 0:03:58.000 --> 0:04:02.400 maybe an opportunity to sort of not get caught up 0:04:02.440 --> 0:04:05.280 in the reality look at the whirlwind of everyday life 0:04:05.280 --> 0:04:08.240 in this business is crazy you know, I blame no 0:04:08.320 --> 0:04:10.680 one for that, and so it's hard to step out 0:04:10.760 --> 0:04:13.000 of that and really try and be really clear headed 0:04:13.000 --> 0:04:14.760 and clear mind and go oh okay, now I see 0:04:14.760 --> 0:04:16.240 a pad And that's really what we try and do. 0:04:16.720 --> 0:04:20.000 Yeah, cool and humility is definitely a good asset to 0:04:20.040 --> 0:04:22.680 have in this business. You know, it's difficult to begin 0:04:22.760 --> 0:04:25.680 with that's constantly changing a lot of variables. 0:04:25.880 --> 0:04:29.000 So I think it's it's very important for a good leader. 0:04:30.920 --> 0:04:33.400 What's your process when you start working with a legacy 0:04:33.440 --> 0:04:34.839 brand that's kind of lost its way? 0:04:36.080 --> 0:04:38.640 Well, you know, it's what I've done is I have 0:04:38.720 --> 0:04:42.320 a concept that I called the tap root. And in 0:04:42.400 --> 0:04:44.320 a plant, if you ever pull up the root ball, 0:04:44.760 --> 0:04:46.719 you can strip away lots of the roots, but there's 0:04:46.760 --> 0:04:49.680 a tap root that keeps that plant alive. And it's 0:04:49.760 --> 0:04:52.520 generally the one that sprouted when it was a scene. 0:04:52.960 --> 0:04:55.320 And brands are very much that same way. So let's 0:04:55.320 --> 0:04:57.400 go back to some of those great boomer brands, you know, 0:04:57.480 --> 0:05:00.120 the Teacher Fridays or Chili's of the World, or that 0:05:00.279 --> 0:05:04.520 work with Boston Market or Friendlies and Steak and Shake, 0:05:04.640 --> 0:05:07.800 you know, old old brands. And so the question that 0:05:07.880 --> 0:05:11.560 I asked was when that brand first started. Who was 0:05:11.600 --> 0:05:13.919 the audience who came in and supported that brand and 0:05:13.960 --> 0:05:16.720 resonated with the brand? And let's just say doesn't really 0:05:16.800 --> 0:05:20.520 matter as an example, it's a thirty something. It might 0:05:20.560 --> 0:05:23.279 even be someone a little bit younger that's single. And 0:05:23.360 --> 0:05:25.880 you say, okay, what was it about the brand at 0:05:25.920 --> 0:05:29.360 that point in time nineteen eighty two, nineteen seventy six, 0:05:29.400 --> 0:05:33.000 whatever that really click with that demographic, you know, and 0:05:33.000 --> 0:05:36.080 what were the aspects of it? And then to say, god, 0:05:36.120 --> 0:05:38.640 we think we have it. Now, let's ask the question 0:05:38.720 --> 0:05:42.520 for today, if I target that age consumer, what would 0:05:42.920 --> 0:05:45.920 click with them now? And it's very, very different, you know. 0:05:46.080 --> 0:05:49.440 So you know, a millennial that's in this twenty he 0:05:49.600 --> 0:05:51.880 or she's in the twenties through thirties versus a boomer 0:05:51.880 --> 0:05:55.159 in twenties and thirties. Whole different worldview, you know. Just 0:05:55.200 --> 0:05:57.920 the biggest one is technology, of course, you know, that's 0:05:57.920 --> 0:06:00.159 been a big thing. And then other social values that 0:06:00.160 --> 0:06:01.880 have shifted. You know, there's much more concerned about the 0:06:01.960 --> 0:06:04.359 planet and health and nutrition and stuff like that. I 0:06:04.360 --> 0:06:06.640 mean boomers, you know, they were still smoking. It was 0:06:07.560 --> 0:06:10.240 a different thing. And so that so we come back 0:06:10.279 --> 0:06:14.359 with a contemporary interpretation of the brand, and you know, 0:06:14.200 --> 0:06:16.240 and a good example was Boston Market. We did that 0:06:16.240 --> 0:06:18.680 about ten years ago. You know, you walk into a 0:06:18.680 --> 0:06:22.520 Boston Market looked like a nineteen eighty school cafeteria. And 0:06:22.600 --> 0:06:25.400 what we did was take that potcase and turn it 0:06:25.440 --> 0:06:28.279 into a chef's cook top, you know, so it looked 0:06:28.279 --> 0:06:30.599 like someone had been preparing this food for hours, which 0:06:30.640 --> 0:06:34.560 is true, and presented you in a very very attractive way. 0:06:35.000 --> 0:06:37.400 And that just changed the whole relationship they had with 0:06:37.400 --> 0:06:40.320 the brand. We took the cashiers. They were wearing T 0:06:40.440 --> 0:06:43.200 shirts that said Boston a BOST. It was an old 0:06:43.240 --> 0:06:45.560 ticker symbol and they had been a public company for years, 0:06:45.600 --> 0:06:48.120 and I go, really, you're still wearing a T shirt 0:06:48.160 --> 0:06:50.120 that has the old ticker symbol and it sort of 0:06:50.120 --> 0:06:51.680 looked like you couldn't afford the O in the end 0:06:51.680 --> 0:06:54.680 because it was BOST. And we put them at that 0:06:54.800 --> 0:06:56.880 time in you know, kind of a you know, white 0:06:56.920 --> 0:07:00.120 button down shirts, some nice pan slacks and april. And 0:07:00.560 --> 0:07:03.760 instead of the guests carrying the tray with their food, 0:07:03.839 --> 0:07:06.760 like again I got nineteen eighties cafeteria, we brought it 0:07:06.800 --> 0:07:09.479 to your table, and we use melamine and real silverware 0:07:09.600 --> 0:07:12.160 to elevate the plan. So you know, so that was 0:07:12.280 --> 0:07:13.920 the kind of thing we try to do and it 0:07:13.960 --> 0:07:15.840 really worked very very well. I mean, it was an 0:07:15.840 --> 0:07:19.040 incredible turnaround, and we've done that repeatedly. The other thing, 0:07:19.360 --> 0:07:21.640 to be frank with you, and I said this earlier, 0:07:21.640 --> 0:07:24.480 it's really the employees to turn around these brands. You know. 0:07:24.600 --> 0:07:26.920 It's like, I mean, you think about it, we learned 0:07:26.960 --> 0:07:29.840 something really some hard lessons in COVID. There is no 0:07:29.880 --> 0:07:32.400 safety that in the restaurant business for employees. That's why 0:07:32.400 --> 0:07:35.120 we're so struggling with the deficit of employees because I 0:07:35.200 --> 0:07:38.600 realized I have no real benefits, no four one K, 0:07:38.840 --> 0:07:41.360 no fallback, and so what do I do. I'm going 0:07:41.400 --> 0:07:43.120 to go drive for Aneuver, or I'm going to go 0:07:43.200 --> 0:07:45.880 do something different. I'll go work for Amazon, and they 0:07:45.920 --> 0:07:47.840 have those things available in some way, shape or form. 0:07:47.840 --> 0:07:50.720 Over's got flexibility of schedule, Amazon has benefits, right. Those 0:07:50.800 --> 0:07:53.480 those are things that occur and we spend a lot 0:07:53.480 --> 0:07:55.440 of time with employees and asking them what they need 0:07:55.480 --> 0:07:56.800 to do. Because if you think about it, if you've 0:07:56.800 --> 0:07:58.960 got kind of a you got a oh, I don't know, 0:07:59.240 --> 0:08:02.840 survival age because it's not they call it living wage, 0:08:02.880 --> 0:08:05.160 but it's not living wage, it's survival wage. Eighteen bucks 0:08:05.200 --> 0:08:06.840 an hour. Who can raise a family in eighteen bucks 0:08:06.840 --> 0:08:08.160 an hour? And a lot of people this is a 0:08:08.240 --> 0:08:10.920 permanent job and live well. They can't live well. They 0:08:10.960 --> 0:08:13.600 just survive. And then you say, oh, we want you 0:08:13.640 --> 0:08:15.240 to smile more, we want you to get engaged with 0:08:15.240 --> 0:08:16.960 the gas, we want you to really care. It's like, 0:08:17.360 --> 0:08:19.800 are you kidding me? How does that work? And so 0:08:19.880 --> 0:08:22.760 what we try and also do culturally is to give 0:08:22.800 --> 0:08:25.400 people hope, give them some dignity, to give them sense 0:08:25.440 --> 0:08:27.960 of pride, and let them know that they can make 0:08:27.960 --> 0:08:31.080 a difference. I ran a Burger King franchise for several years. 0:08:31.160 --> 0:08:32.880 It was one hundred and ten unit burg kinchain that 0:08:32.960 --> 0:08:36.720 was just doing terribly, and we implemented an incentive plan 0:08:36.800 --> 0:08:39.040 for all employees to make an extra fifty bucks a month, 0:08:39.120 --> 0:08:41.320 which was a day's wage because they're all minimum wage. 0:08:42.160 --> 0:08:44.720 And it wasn't just that, it was also clean the 0:08:44.720 --> 0:08:47.400 restaurants up, give resources, things like that, and that business 0:08:47.400 --> 0:08:49.720 turned around once we implemented all the changes we did. 0:08:49.800 --> 0:08:52.000 Within two three month sales had reversed and they had 0:08:52.040 --> 0:08:54.960 three years of double digit sales growth, but the employees 0:08:55.000 --> 0:08:57.679 did that. Management sets the conditions and allows them and 0:08:57.800 --> 0:09:00.559 rewards then, but really get out of the way. Let 0:09:00.600 --> 0:09:02.520 the employee be the best that they can try and 0:09:02.559 --> 0:09:03.720 be cole. 0:09:04.040 --> 0:09:06.800 Yeah, you know, in my experience, it seems like restaurant 0:09:06.880 --> 0:09:12.040 level execution, you know, correlates very strongly with sales and margins. 0:09:12.080 --> 0:09:14.760 You know, chains like Darden, Texas Roadhouse or two to 0:09:14.800 --> 0:09:18.760 come to mind, and you know, how are chains like 0:09:18.800 --> 0:09:21.840 that getting their employees to buy in? 0:09:23.240 --> 0:09:26.000 Well, I'll tell you what Darden does. I mean Darden, 0:09:26.800 --> 0:09:30.160 they learned their lesson. There were several you may remember 0:09:30.240 --> 0:09:32.160 better because I know you follow them. There was an 0:09:32.200 --> 0:09:34.800 announcement that they made they were changing I think hours 0:09:34.880 --> 0:09:36.600 or something like that so that people would get over 0:09:36.640 --> 0:09:38.960 time or they'll get less pay or whatever, and there 0:09:39.040 --> 0:09:41.600 was like a big backlash. Guests count just dropped. It's 0:09:41.640 --> 0:09:43.920 like people said, no way, you're mistreating the employees are 0:09:43.960 --> 0:09:46.880 not coming in to see you. And they pivoted very rapidly, 0:09:46.960 --> 0:09:50.160 and during COVID they doubled down on employee engagement and 0:09:50.280 --> 0:09:53.560 education and they in fact they added labor. And I'll 0:09:53.559 --> 0:09:55.160 never forget I was that. I think it was the 0:09:55.360 --> 0:09:59.280 ICR conference. You were probably there as well, where I'm 0:09:59.280 --> 0:10:00.440 not going to name the brain, and there was a 0:10:00.440 --> 0:10:02.959 CEO of a company that said, we're eliminating busters and 0:10:03.000 --> 0:10:05.560 we're liminating hostesses because we'll save labor. And I was like, 0:10:05.600 --> 0:10:08.080 oh my god, that is a slippery slope. And for 0:10:08.160 --> 0:10:10.640 one quarter they save labor and in the second quarter 0:10:10.640 --> 0:10:13.680 they lost gas. Because it's you just your remove service. 0:10:14.360 --> 0:10:18.000 Darden didn't do that. They made their station size smaller. 0:10:18.040 --> 0:10:19.840 They really made sure that people were getting the best 0:10:19.880 --> 0:10:21.280 kind of service, and it paid off for them. Look 0:10:21.320 --> 0:10:23.440 at the results. It's been incredible and they've got so 0:10:23.480 --> 0:10:25.040 many change you can talk about, well, this one's up, 0:10:25.080 --> 0:10:28.000 this one's not, but on average they really do a 0:10:28.040 --> 0:10:32.200 wonderful job. And that's what it's sort of magical about it. 0:10:32.280 --> 0:10:35.000 This is a people business. But we can't talk out 0:10:35.000 --> 0:10:36.520 of both sides of their mouth and say people are 0:10:36.600 --> 0:10:38.719 most important asset and then not treat them well, not 0:10:39.080 --> 0:10:41.439 give them something that they can allow them to live 0:10:41.480 --> 0:10:44.280 and support your families or have dignity as well. And 0:10:44.320 --> 0:10:46.720 I think that's the key the difference that I really see. 0:10:46.920 --> 0:10:49.400 In fact, i'd say that during COVID, the companies with 0:10:49.440 --> 0:10:52.760 the most toxic cultures did not do well. The companies 0:10:52.760 --> 0:10:56.120 that had a healthy culture have thrived because people knew 0:10:56.160 --> 0:10:57.960 that they care. They still went through the layoffs, they 0:10:58.000 --> 0:11:00.240 went through all the furloughs and so for in all, 0:11:00.240 --> 0:11:02.240 but they might have offered them the ability to come 0:11:02.240 --> 0:11:04.760 into the restaurant and buy food at cost. They might 0:11:04.800 --> 0:11:08.520 have given them food. They organized among the employees and 0:11:08.559 --> 0:11:11.240 they encourage that ways of supporting each other. I mean, 0:11:11.360 --> 0:11:15.479 it shows you care when you when everything's taken away materially, 0:11:16.080 --> 0:11:19.360 what's left is your humanity. And that's the difference that 0:11:19.400 --> 0:11:21.360 we can try and do with our people. Nobody pays 0:11:21.400 --> 0:11:23.760 anyone else generally that much more than the guy down 0:11:23.800 --> 0:11:26.080 the street, But it's what you invest into them that 0:11:26.120 --> 0:11:26.840 makes a difference. 0:11:27.480 --> 0:11:32.079 Yeah, it's cool, you know. To that point, culture's culture 0:11:32.160 --> 0:11:34.960 is critical, right and so so how do you how 0:11:34.960 --> 0:11:37.800 do you rebuild culture in a chain that's in the cline? 0:11:38.520 --> 0:11:41.959 Uh? Well, one, you have to be honest about what 0:11:42.080 --> 0:11:45.240 the culture is like. Cultures are either conscious or unconscious, 0:11:45.880 --> 0:11:49.000 you know, but they always exist. You know, when you 0:11:49.200 --> 0:11:52.160 work in a company where the leadership doesn't even go 0:11:52.160 --> 0:11:54.800 in their restaurants because it's not sort of the level 0:11:54.840 --> 0:11:58.200 of dining that they prefer, and that happens sadly in 0:11:58.240 --> 0:12:02.000 many brands. There's a problem. It's a big disconnect when 0:12:02.000 --> 0:12:04.120 you walk in. I'll never forget it was one brand 0:12:04.120 --> 0:12:07.440 that we took i think three executives to a restaurant 0:12:07.480 --> 0:12:09.200 close to their headquarters and they walked in and know 0:12:09.240 --> 0:12:12.040 even knew who they were, and they didn't know any employees' 0:12:12.120 --> 0:12:14.599 names because they just hadn't gone there, you know. And 0:12:14.679 --> 0:12:17.680 yet there's other brands that you walk in and it's like, 0:12:18.040 --> 0:12:20.640 you know, bees are on honey going, oh my god, 0:12:20.679 --> 0:12:22.480 look who's here, and they're all happy in the street. 0:12:22.520 --> 0:12:25.360 Like norm Breaker was that way. Norm Breaker walked into 0:12:25.360 --> 0:12:27.640 the restaurant. Everyone knew who he was and he knew 0:12:27.640 --> 0:12:30.360 who they were. And so that's the starting part of culture. 0:12:30.360 --> 0:12:32.760 And my metaphor for culture is pretty straightforward. I'd say 0:12:32.760 --> 0:12:35.480 it's like we're all standing in a swimming pool and 0:12:35.520 --> 0:12:38.520 it's everyone's job to keep the water clean. There is 0:12:38.559 --> 0:12:42.280 no pen section in a swimming pool, and some cultures 0:12:42.280 --> 0:12:46.040 are pretty damn bad. So it's like flossom and you 0:12:46.080 --> 0:12:48.040 got to clean it up. And that's the message you 0:12:48.040 --> 0:12:50.400 have to deliver to leadership is to help them understand 0:12:50.400 --> 0:12:53.120 that and look at it's not about nin or nin 0:12:53.200 --> 0:12:55.920 or niner. Again, I ran restaurant companies, half a dozen 0:12:56.000 --> 0:12:58.199 of them, and there were things that I didn't know, 0:12:58.240 --> 0:12:59.920 I wasn't aware of. I was ignorant to them. So 0:13:00.040 --> 0:13:01.800 it doesn't make me a bad person. Doesn't make these 0:13:01.800 --> 0:13:05.199 people bad, but it does. They're just ignorant or unaware. 0:13:05.440 --> 0:13:07.080 And we hold a mirror up and say, look at 0:13:07.080 --> 0:13:10.120 what this what we see and so and this is 0:13:10.120 --> 0:13:11.720 a reflection of what you can but you can do 0:13:11.760 --> 0:13:15.200 something about it. Right with the leadership team. We generally 0:13:15.240 --> 0:13:18.320 work with a tool from Patrick Lincioni, who wrote that 0:13:18.360 --> 0:13:20.880 great book to five this Functions of a team, and 0:13:20.920 --> 0:13:23.559 we use that tool to sort of, you know, quantify 0:13:23.679 --> 0:13:26.920 culture based on the answers that people give. And we've 0:13:26.920 --> 0:13:29.240 done it where we can slice and dize different levels 0:13:29.280 --> 0:13:33.439 of the organization, different regions, and it's amazing. The cultures 0:13:33.440 --> 0:13:36.160 that are really strong and powerful, they score very well 0:13:36.160 --> 0:13:38.400 as red, yellow, or green, and we use it as 0:13:38.400 --> 0:13:40.079 a benchmark and then take it a year later, take 0:13:40.080 --> 0:13:42.199 it a year after that, and you see these improvements 0:13:43.240 --> 0:13:46.280 and this beautiful. The day you see a score that 0:13:46.480 --> 0:13:48.960 everyone is green. You know, we just did one for 0:13:48.960 --> 0:13:51.320 another company out in California or recently, and I haven't 0:13:51.360 --> 0:13:52.800 even shared the results of me as we're not going 0:13:52.840 --> 0:13:55.480 to name them. But it was mediums all yellow was good. 0:13:55.520 --> 0:13:57.560 It was a great starting point. I mean that gives 0:13:57.600 --> 0:14:00.120 you hope. Now if it's bad, you don't go and 0:14:00.160 --> 0:14:02.800 yell at them. You just say, Okay, this is reality. 0:14:02.880 --> 0:14:04.400 This is what you said, and we're not going to 0:14:04.480 --> 0:14:06.600 try and figure out who answered it what way. It's 0:14:06.679 --> 0:14:08.720 less addressed what those things are because it talks about 0:14:08.800 --> 0:14:12.480 you know, accountability, communication and results, orientation, so far and 0:14:12.559 --> 0:14:14.240 so on, and then we go through the things that 0:14:14.280 --> 0:14:15.920 you have to try and do to achieve it. But 0:14:15.960 --> 0:14:17.720 it can be where we want it to be. An 0:14:17.760 --> 0:14:22.040 intentional culture. Now. Part of that is recognizing that your 0:14:22.360 --> 0:14:24.160 people are the ones who take care of your guests, 0:14:24.440 --> 0:14:26.880 and if you have unhappy people, you're gonna have unhappy guests. 0:14:27.200 --> 0:14:29.920 And we work a lot on guest journeys and employee 0:14:29.960 --> 0:14:32.400 journeys and at the end of the day, and Danny 0:14:32.400 --> 0:14:34.440 Meyer is the one who really did the best job 0:14:34.480 --> 0:14:37.400 of defining that in his book, you know, Setting the Table, 0:14:37.720 --> 0:14:40.200 where he talks about the hospitality being fifty one and 0:14:40.280 --> 0:14:43.440 the service being forty nine. Services mechanics. Hospitality is the 0:14:43.480 --> 0:14:46.240 emotion people experience as a result of that service and 0:14:46.520 --> 0:14:49.440 the engage with the employees. And so we really create 0:14:49.840 --> 0:14:52.280 a guest journey that's based on the emotional outcome of 0:14:52.320 --> 0:14:55.320 the guests. You know, it's not like the quep last questions. 0:14:55.520 --> 0:14:58.880 You know, would you prefer to return? Well, that's kind 0:14:58.880 --> 0:15:02.640 of flat. How about a desire to return an emotional reason. 0:15:02.680 --> 0:15:05.240 You know, I've got I love the team members that 0:15:05.280 --> 0:15:08.200 take care of me, they know my name, the treating respects, 0:15:08.200 --> 0:15:11.320 the old Cheers song, and so you can actually define 0:15:11.360 --> 0:15:14.000 the emotional outcome and the behaviors attached to it. The 0:15:14.040 --> 0:15:17.560 best example is Chick fil A. Chick fil A understands 0:15:17.560 --> 0:15:20.080 the emotional outcome of a guest experience and trains their 0:15:20.080 --> 0:15:23.720 people to create that. And once you give them that understanding, 0:15:23.760 --> 0:15:25.440 when you do this guest journey, and what we do 0:15:25.480 --> 0:15:27.240 is you going to social media. We take the best 0:15:27.400 --> 0:15:30.200 comments of all along the path of the guest experience, 0:15:30.240 --> 0:15:32.520 We take the worst comments of all and say, here's 0:15:32.520 --> 0:15:35.280 the worst experience that people have actually had in your restaurants, 0:15:35.440 --> 0:15:38.200 and here's the best, you know, So they're both possible. 0:15:38.440 --> 0:15:40.880 What's interesting is most is a mixture of both. And 0:15:41.000 --> 0:15:43.000 once you make people aware that, they're like, oh my god. 0:15:43.120 --> 0:15:44.560 So we can make a difference. So we say, what 0:15:44.600 --> 0:15:47.240 are those critical touch points to create for that point 0:15:47.280 --> 0:15:49.960 in time. If it's a sit down restaurant, how you're greeted. 0:15:50.240 --> 0:15:51.640 You know how many times you walk at the front 0:15:51.640 --> 0:15:53.520 desk and the coasts are talking to each other looking 0:15:53.560 --> 0:15:55.560 down at their open table screen. They don't even look 0:15:55.600 --> 0:15:57.160 at you to acknowledge that you're in front of them. 0:15:57.200 --> 0:15:59.360 You know, things like that, And so what's the feeling 0:15:59.440 --> 0:16:01.160 you have out of that? I feel ignored? So therefore 0:16:01.160 --> 0:16:05.440 I feel discussed. Right, I've scorned versus a really warm, 0:16:05.480 --> 0:16:07.800 friendly green How are you today? It's a beautiful day, 0:16:07.960 --> 0:16:10.160 So glad you're here. I hope you hunger Our food's great? 0:16:10.320 --> 0:16:13.520 Oh my god. The same amount of time transpired, but 0:16:13.600 --> 0:16:15.960 the outcome is very different. And you go along that line. 0:16:16.000 --> 0:16:18.840 And once we finish the guest journey, we then look 0:16:18.840 --> 0:16:21.320 at their training material and we point out to them 0:16:21.680 --> 0:16:24.640 that in ninety percent of the case is maybe higher. 0:16:25.280 --> 0:16:28.240 The training material talks about nothing in regards to the 0:16:28.280 --> 0:16:31.040 emotional outcome of the guest. All it is to the mechanics, 0:16:31.040 --> 0:16:33.600 it's just the service. And so then we weave that 0:16:33.760 --> 0:16:37.240 in and we talk about that emotional outcome, and then 0:16:37.280 --> 0:16:40.240 we create the employee journey, because employees are people too, 0:16:40.800 --> 0:16:44.080 and they have to have an emotional outcome. How are 0:16:44.160 --> 0:16:46.000 they recruited, how are they treated when they come in 0:16:46.000 --> 0:16:48.320 for an interview, what's their schedule so for and so on, 0:16:48.600 --> 0:16:50.880 And we go through the whole process of the employee journey, 0:16:50.920 --> 0:16:53.240 including the legacy, the ones that I've worked there before 0:16:53.240 --> 0:16:55.000 no longer work there, the private that they have for 0:16:55.120 --> 0:16:59.200 haven't been there, And off we go and that becomes transformative, 0:16:59.480 --> 0:17:01.480 you know, in everyone gets engaged in it. Before you know, 0:17:01.680 --> 0:17:03.840 everyone's talking about the same thing. Oh, we're here to 0:17:03.880 --> 0:17:06.280 make people feel special and have a desire to return, 0:17:06.640 --> 0:17:08.720 and we're special. Look what they're doing for us. And 0:17:08.760 --> 0:17:12.320 it's not about money. It costs you less money. It's 0:17:12.359 --> 0:17:15.639 about intent and care and empathy. It's really the biggest 0:17:15.640 --> 0:17:17.720 piece of this. And that's where I think Danny Meyer 0:17:17.800 --> 0:17:21.000 Chick fil A great examples and fine dining and casual 0:17:21.160 --> 0:17:24.680 or not casual you qsr that deliver that consistently time 0:17:24.680 --> 0:17:27.600 and time again. It's no mystery why Chick fil A 0:17:27.680 --> 0:17:31.120 is probably the most valuable private company on the planet, 0:17:31.560 --> 0:17:33.000 you know, because we don't know what they really do. 0:17:33.040 --> 0:17:34.960 We know they're average eight million dollars in six days 0:17:35.000 --> 0:17:37.040 a week, but god knows what the profitability is and 0:17:37.119 --> 0:17:39.080 you probably know better than I would. But it's got 0:17:39.119 --> 0:17:40.760 to be amazing with that number of restaurants. 0:17:42.119 --> 0:17:43.200 Yeah, in those AUVs. 0:17:43.280 --> 0:17:46.520 Man, it's I don't have that data, but I'm sure 0:17:46.560 --> 0:17:48.560 they have excellent store level margins. 0:17:48.640 --> 0:17:53.760 But you know what, your points were so great. I think. 0:17:55.080 --> 0:17:57.400 You do a great job of explaining what you're doing, 0:17:57.440 --> 0:18:00.680 and it's really giving your employees a per purpose, right, 0:18:00.720 --> 0:18:05.080 and that purposes help help the customer feel good about 0:18:05.080 --> 0:18:07.560 their experience, have a nice night night out with their 0:18:07.600 --> 0:18:09.639 spouse or their kids, or whoever it might be. 0:18:09.720 --> 0:18:09.880 Right. 0:18:09.920 --> 0:18:14.000 It's like it's so simple, but it's not. I don't 0:18:14.000 --> 0:18:17.399 think it's easy, right, So I guess who who does this? 0:18:17.560 --> 0:18:20.000 Who outside of Chick fil A, who else does a 0:18:20.000 --> 0:18:24.280 good job of this of you know, getting their staff 0:18:24.359 --> 0:18:28.200 to activate the emotions and all five senses of their customers. 0:18:28.520 --> 0:18:31.320 I think let us entertain your restaurants do a good job. 0:18:32.320 --> 0:18:35.800 Houston's kind of the gold standard, and Houston does it 0:18:35.840 --> 0:18:38.359