VOYAGE TO VICTORY

Unreasonable Hospitality

• “What would you attempt to do if you knew you would not fail?”
• Teams and customers are at the centre of every decision, the goal is to make someone feel good. “How do you make people feel seen and valued?” Is it belonging? Bigger than yourself? The feeling?
• What does it feel like to feel truly welcomed?
• Pg 22 It's about intention. Mapping your days with precision, organizing priorities, and setting non negotiables
• Pg 22 “intention means every decision, from the most obviously significant to the seemingly mundane, matters.”
• Pg 26 what is your crazy big dream and why will people work hard to achieve it?
• How can you systematize moments of delight? For example going out and feeding the parking meter in the middle of somebody's meal
• Enthusiasm
• Each employee should have a sense of ownership
• There is a balance between control and creativity. For example restaurant smart versus corporate smart (i.e. customer satisfaction and financial responsibility)
  o    Pg 46 The 95/5% rule - Manage 95% of the business to the last penny, then spend the last 5% frivolously to create an unbelievable guest experience.
  o    Pg 71 all businesses should have a “pre-meal” – a pre shift 30 minute meeting
  o    Share the consistent knowledge that everyone should know (Consistent standards & why)
  o    How are you inspiring in each meeting?
  o    Use every opportunity to acknowledge success
  o    How are you (fairly) holding them accountable
• Don’t get caught up in trying to showcase your ego in the actions of the business. In every aspect, think of what the customer would want.
• In what situations in the business do you require the “choreography” to be synchronized and precise and when is each person moving independently?
• Pg 88 Find a group that cares about the same things you care about.
• Pg 84 Don’t race to fill roles, bring in a group of staff so they are already feel like part of a cohort.
• Grow by experiencing another perspective.
• Pg 95 Everyone has a different “vantage point” (busser vs Exec Manager) and all details are valuable.
• Create ownership [buy-in] if you combine this with passion magic happens.
  o    When you give responsibility you find that people usually step up event more → empowerment
  o    Called it the “ownership program”
  o    Keep in mind that can’t have a culture of blame or penalization. Learn and move on and sometimes change what people are assigned to based on success/failure and make sure to include training wheels (budget, expectations, standards…)
  o    Pg 110 “Often, the perfect moment to give someone more responsibility is before they are ready.”
• Teaching culture – everyone is involved in training/presentation. Less responsibility for one person and builds passion and excitement.
• Enrichment programs or activities should be mandatory
• At the beginning of employment, how do we “show” new hires the expectations (like empowerment, collaboration, initiative, dedication…) ex. New reservationist at job.
• Pg 120 Can you break things down and make small improvements to each part so when you put it all together it’s a significant change and improvement?
  o    Build excellence into every day
  o    How do you make the knowledge so ingrained that they can focus on service Ex menu?
• Pg 124 “The way you do one thing is the way you do everything…” The way you act sets the tone for the next action.
  o    What elements can you control vs those out of your hands.
• Don’t go to bed angry applied to the work environment.
  o    Sometimes you can help resolve a disagreement or find a compromise if you ‘switch sides’. It helps broaden your perspective and releases ‘stubborn’ views.
• You’re told to ‘match your body language’, but what about tone and volume?
  o    Make sure the team knows feedback is about learning & growing.
• Pg 143 “…no aspect of your business should be off-limits…” to discussion and doing it differently
• Create an environment where colleagues can challenge you to do and be better.
• Space for everyone to be seen and heard.
• New-fashioned traditions → fill a real purpose and satisfy real needs
• Leaders create the conditions that enable others
• Find (continually) ways for the staff to succeed. Ex Deep Breathing Club. Create ways to easily ask for help ex sign language used on the restaurant.
• What ‘view’ are you looking @ work from ex server, manager, cook, chef… This change your perspective and priorities.
• Pg 181 When you reach your goal, don’t loose the special and unique characteristics you have. But you may need to revisit and adjust their application to your new circumstances.
  •    Be fully present – hospitality.
  •    Pg 184 After a setback it’s the leaders job to take their team through their own emotional reckoning – from disappointment to motivation – and chart the course ahead. Everyone has to be aligned on what you’re going to do next.
• Pg 185 If you aren’t brave enough to say your goal out loud, it’s unlikely that you will achieve it.
• Pick a word – unreasonable, transformation… and that becomes the standard of measurement every time you set a goal or apply creativity or problem solve.
• Pg 190 A leader doesn’t have to know the details of every plan when they have faith in the people who work for them.
• Service is about the dialogue, where are you adding moments for compensation.
  o    Hospitality seems like finding ways to be a mind reader.
• Being vulnerable yourself shows others they can be vulnerable.
  o    Ask what people want & don’t like so you have greater information to elevate the experience.
• Pg 198 If you have a problem or challenge “…you ask yourself: What is the hospitality solution? What if you forced yourself to be creative, to develop a solution that worked because of – not in spite of – your dedication to generosity and extraordinary service?”
  o    When you have 1 slip in an otherwise amazing experience, it has a significant effect.
• Dreamweavers – unique, special, give people a story → help people feel seen and heard.
  o    Not only fantastic for guests, but employees too because increases employee excitement and creativity and re-ignites passion every day.
  o    Pg 208 Show every better service to own staff.
  o    Pg 210 Pro-active vs reactive improvisational hospitality “identify moments that recur in your business, and build a toolkit your team can deploy without too much effort.”
  o    Important to keep checking in with systems
  o    Thoughtful and personalized
• Inflection points
• Pg 224 Creativity is an active process – came up with character (imaginary) and builds restaurant around what “he” would want
• Pg 226 “When you consider expanding, in any form, you have to first stop and identify what makes your culture unique and decide in advance to protect whatever that is.”
  o    Pg 238 Don’t be practical (always), have confidence that you will figure it out.
  o    Start with what you want and then work backwards and figure out how you can practically get it.
• Use every opportunity to reflect and consider what you are doing and if/how you want to change or adjust.
• Pg 245 “serve what you want to receive”Distill it down, over and over.