Best Restaurants are Measured by their Menu

What are some of the factors that attract you to a restaurant? A strong reputation may pique ones curiosity - or perhaps an advertised promotion, a striking exterior, or even the scents from the kitchen. But, besides a variety in marketing messages to persuade a future customer, the most concise outline of a restaurant's marketing plan is... the menu. Industry experts have defined four key elements in a restaurant: the menu, the employees, point-of-purchase promotions, and knowing your customer. Of these four elements, the menu is the place to begin, as the menu is the purest form of a restaurants strategic marketing plan.

An effectively designed menu entices customers to buy the items you want.  This is achieved by strategically engineering the menus layout, design, format, graphics and price points to stimulate the selection of highly profitable items.

The most powerful menus are those that can successfully weave important factors into a presentation that drives home a restaurant's message in a matter of minutes.

 PRINCIPLES OF FOCUS:

·         Pricing for Power

·         Spreads that Sell

·         Signaling Specials

·         Delectable Descriptions

·         Importance of Image

·         Grand Design of Good Communication

A restaurant's success is largely based on the strength of their menu. An IT organization's success can be based on the same concept, but surprisingly - many IT organizations fail to establish a menu that sells the value IT can bring to an organization, or in other words, an IT Service Catalogue.

Learn from restaurants. They communicate 'what they have' in a way that really attracts people. Do you?

Noreen.is.Snoring...: The Power of the Six Sigma

Noreen.is.Snoring...: The Power of the Six Sigma: "Sitting on the bookshelf, this book has always caught my eye. I always wondered what the 'Six Sigma' was all about, but I thought, 'It's pro..."

What really triggers motivation?

I was chatting with my nephew last night about the usual - the latest movies, video games, and well, school. I am proud that he has taken up the challenging IB program- the poor guy gets up at 4:30 AM, sits on a bus for two hours to get to school, comes home after a 2 hour bus ride, works on a pile of homework and is lucky to be in bed by 11:00 - certainly not enough sleep for a 15 year old.

In any case, I wonder where all that motivation goes after we start our careers. I think back to when I was in school - what triggered me to make sure I made it to school every day (besides the parent dragging me) - and that I strived to make it to the top of my class at all costs - be it sleep or tv time?   Certainly not pay. 

Perhaps the idea that we could be going to the best universities?  Being socially accepted (so that if someone didn't make it to university they were a social outcast)?   Fear?  Or, maybe it’s just down to the environment one is surrounded with. 

One of the toughest things to deal with at work - is when mediocrity becomes accepted.    Being motivated to stay late at the office, go above and beyond at a project, even perhaps state an extra opinion or present passion about something in a meeting is hard to do when one's colleagues are not faced with consequences or the same expectations.  I wonder how much motivation really has to do with the 'reward' factor versus being surrounded by people who are held to the same standard and are driven by the same set of goals.

It worked for me at school - we were all enrolled in the IB program, we all had the same goals - and well, if you were not capable of producing results - then off to regular high school curriculum you went.   

What motivational triggers are organizations lacking that so many of us in our youth already had?

Managing the demand for tricks & treats!

The jack-o-lanterns are carved, the ghosts and goblins are looming, the witches are stewing their brew and the kids are busy finalizing their costume and hunting down the biggest pillow case for their candy. And the parents? Well, I know my mom is probably excitedly shopping at the local store for the coolest stock of Halloween candy to give out - only to be disappointed when all of 5 kids will show up at the door screaming "Trick or Treat!!"

It never ceases to amaze me, how excited my neighborhood still gets for Halloween. Neighbors that saw me grow up continue to decorate and get into the Halloween spirit, which in my opinion is fine, but they also continue to have extremely large stocks of candy to distribute - despite the fact that hardly any kids come to trick or treat in the area anymore. "Well you never know when a bunch of children might just show up, its always good to be prepared." says Mom. (Prepared for "how things always have been" or "how things are changing?")

Let's examine the trends.

Of course I know! 15 years ago, this neighborhood was relatively new; plenty of kids and young families.  The average family spends about 10 years in their home, before either they move into smaller dwellings or their kids grow up and move on to universities. This neighborhood has simply aged. The children have grown up and out of the trick or treating phase.   There is simply no demand left for the treats. Yet we expend our time and resources on Halloween extravaganzas, buying loads of candies only to have a personal collection of candy leftover - resulting in your own higher blood sugar and extra indulgences. 

Didn't anybody notice that things have changed?!

I guess if we indulge in Halloween treats, it shouldn't come as a surprise when we indulge on our resources within our organizations.  We continuously fail to understand true business demand and define proactive behavior by purchasing extra disk space or extra PC's just because "we never know when a bunch of requirements might just show up." Also, by the way, resulting in higher blood sugar and plenty of unnecessary indulgences. Happy Trick or Treat'n!

The Battle between Generations: Efficiency & Effectiveness driven by Experience

Effectiveness:  Producing output that conforms to consumer requirements, or in essence, ‘doing the right thing’...

Efficiency: Producing the right output at the lowest possible cost, or ‘Doing things right’...

The Challenge?  The assumption that experience equates itself to being effective and efficient.

The reality?  We have entered an era in which consumer expectations are at an all-time high and we are all competing for the same group of customers – making market differentiation a massive priority.   What all this surmounts to for many organizations is a requirement to develop products  that not only of quality, but that are produced quicker, better, faster, cheaper and that places a demand on efficiency of resources, whether financial, technological, or people.  We have seen businesses move through patterns of evolution over time, and progressing through the introduction of new brands and services with new features.   But if you look at most industries today, the automobile, the electronic, even the fast food – the same type of products are readily available everywhere.   Differentiation is the only way companies are going to capture a majority market.  Organizations have to completely transform their business models in order to do so. 

The difference?  The era in which we reside brings a mix of generations and thoughts.  Doing things because that’s the way they’ve always been done is like investing in the ‘Money Market Fund’ – safe, conservative, and barely yields any growth, which simply won’t suffice if you’re looking to make significant strides in building wealth.  On the other hand, like the driver entering a race car for the first time – if he hits the gas and looks for speed on the first round, chances are he will miss his lines and spin out. 

So what?  Organizations are infiltrated with Money Market Fund investors who need to win the Formula 1 race in order to stay up top.   Only, the drivers are entering the races for the first time, which is uncomforting for many.   

We accept that we need to transform, for example, through process improvement initiatives.  At the same time, it’s difficult for most organizations to embrace the change and consequently, they are plagued with fear of moving too fast or upsetting the norm.   We want to do what is comfortable, and that has been “tried, tested and true”.   Implementation takes longer because we worry about every single finite detail and need to ensure that everyone is comfortable before we move on.

The result?  The race car drivers are moved to the front seat and told to watch the experienced Money Market Fund investors drive and thus, we race, we avoid accidents, we do well, but we don’t make it to the top.

The race car drivers have all the elements necessary to move their team to the top of the race.  They are agile, quick thinkers, and motivated to be the best.  They have to be innovative, and are constantly searching for ways to move quickly and shave off a couple of seconds on their lap time.  One could say, they are driven by efficiencies. 

The Money Market Fund investors are aware of their surroundings.  They take their time to understand the environment.  They understand what needs to be developed and gather requirements.  They move towards their goal, and may have to make a few attempts before they actually get there.   One could say, they are driven by effectiveness. 

The problem?  The face of business today is completely different.  We constantly fear the new drivers, so we throw the investors in the driver seat and just because they’re experienced at something, assume they will be successful.  The drivers become observers, and then attuned to doing things just because that’s the way they were always done.   As a result, organizations remain stagnant and do just enough to make it through.

The need?  The practices, experiences and lessons developed by the Money Market Fund investors need to be passed onto the race car drivers because we are doing business by racing today, not by investing.  The race car drivers can then apply the lessons to their existing skill sets and enter the races.  Now we have enabled the drivers to become experienced race car drivers.  Essentially, we start achieving a true balance between effectiveness and efficiency that is driven by the exchange of knowledge as opposed to the enforcement of “experience says you must”...

The same can be said for our organizations.  Generation “Y” has been brought up in the same world that demands greater efficiencies.  By leveraging those skills, and integrating traditional elements to their thought processes, organizations can still safely move through the ranks in the races, but can still come out on top.  

As Mario Andretti states, “If you think you have it under control, you are not going fast enough”...