“Manage Your Business on Purpose”
If your business isn't as profitable as it should be, URGENT ACTION is needed!
Businesses all too often “just run”. Their management simply goes from situation to situation merely reacting to immediate need and/or opportunity. That is why we see so many mediocre businesses that never quite achieve their goals and after a few years fail or sell out.
“Managing a business on purpose,” means just that. Establishing and communicating sound and measurable goals, recruiting, training, motivating and consistently holding the right people (for the job) accountable for achieving those goals. It requires consistent planning and forecasting results. If a business, in this day of horrendous competition and economic pressures, is to have a chance to succeed it must forecast its sales, plan (know) how they will be achieved, anticipate problems and be prepared to overcome them. Management must constantly measure results and take immediate actions when it appears that current performance levels will not obtain the planned objectives.
In business today, “change is mandatory”. If a business is to be successful it must be constantly evolving. There is no option. We can not allow our business to manage us (being reactive). We have to manage our business (being proactive). If you need help I would look forward to being part of developing a proactive management team in your establishment. I can guarantee you, from experience, “managing your business on purpose”, is far more fun and tremendously more profitable than “letting your business manage you”. With that in mind let’s begin a new chapter in your success story.
Urgent Actions are Needed
In order to make a significant and immediate impact on your bottom line you will need to initiate the following changes at once. There may very well be significant resistance but you understand that you can no longer live with unacceptable performance. At the end of the next five days you should commit to having a well defined action plan for turning your operation around. Following the documentation and implementation of the action plan, you will have to move quickly and resolutely to establish control of your business. You must always keep in mind, once you have fixed your immediate problems, any efforts you put into making your now improved restaurant better, will yield a far greater return on effort than was achieved in transitioning your marginal unit into merely “an acceptable” operation. You must aggressively pursue both challenges. First, correcting the marginal results and then moving quickly to achieve “outstanding performance”. Both challenges will require managing your business by careful planning, constant follow through and consistently holding yourself accountable for achieving the results you planned.
There is no choice. This is an urgent matter. You have to improve your financial performance now. The alternative is not acceptable. Success or failure is going to happen. You must make certain that your team knows that while you understand that a particular situation might exist you will (can) not tolerate excuses for any nonperformance of the action items.
Every effort possible must be made to recruit and maintain an active reserve of screened applicants. You need to begin this vital task immediately. This will be an ongoing job responsibility (requirement).
Actions to begin immediately:
ü Gather unit control factors i.e. current marketing area demographics,
ü Where does the customer base go to eat out and why
ü Document target objectives for: sales per guest, daily average sales by category, customers per labor hour, recruiting/training goals, food cost controls, take out and catering sales, controlled incremental sales objectives and etc. (Many of these controls may already exist but typically are not being used to “manage your business”. You appear to be simply “reacting” to the results not managing them).
ü Document a clear statement of your restaurant’s strengths and weaknesses and document an action plans dealing with both.
ü Establish a fixed routine for A- evaluating and recording, weekly, results as measured against the action plan and B- taking swift actions as appropriate.
ü Run a hard copy of your POS system printout for every sales item in the system and perform an analysis of its accuracy (performed by both you and a team leader).
ü Establish a system for each of your team leaders to document all specials, new and/or test items, cost them out and establishing a selling price that meets your food cost and menu mix objectives (no exceptions here)
ü Conduct monthly staff meetings. Include one department, each month, to present an in-depth (with supporting documentation) review of their results as measured against original budget and compared to their specific action plan. Each team leader should come prepared to make his or her own department presentation. Only one department however, should be selected (at random) to make the presentation. At the conclusion of their presentation there must be an open Q&A period. They must know their facts and be able to answer any questions. There can be no room for “I think or I hope or I’m not sure” They must be managing their department “on purpose”.
Your strong support and commitment to this urgently needed “turn around plan” is absolutely vital to its success. It sounds like a lot of work, and it will be while you are establishing the parameters and initiating the plan. Once it is in practice you will be pleased, personally and professionally with the results. The financial impact of “managing your business on purpose will make every ones job more secure. Operating in this manner will assure your business will grow profitably. You will be highly competitive and successful. Your managers will (could) enjoy receiving larger bonuses.
Think about it: The alternative to not achieving success is obvious.
If you are seeking professional assistance, please see our web page at Marshall & Associates - e-mail us at marsconsul@aol.com or by using the no obligation contact form.
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