What what big business can learn from table-side guacamole

I’m working in the USA for the next few weeks. Driving along at the weekend, I heard popular Los Angeles radio presenter, Ryan Seacrest, enthusiastically interviewing the owner-manager of the El Paseo Inn, in LA’s Downtown, recently awarded ‘the best table-side guacamole in California’ accolade, and not for the first time.?Yes, it’s quite a thing here.

The secret ingredient

Seacrest asked what it is that makes this offering the best. Could it be the variety of lime they use, the local avocados, an age-old family recipe or some mystery ingredient? No.

The owner said that of course they use great ingredients, though the one factor that gives his restaurant the edge over all the many, many other Mexican eateries in California is… the team. He went on to explain that it’s all about people being clear about “what we are and how we do things here” and it’s about “creating a team where kindness and respect shine through every day".?It’s about building a workplace where people want to be and want to stay, in this case many of them for 10+ years. Listening to this filled my heart - The El Paseo Inn is clearly a place where the leadership puts people first, running things with common sense and humanity - so reflective of ?Purple Cubed's recommended approach.

What big business can learn

It's not unusual for small businesses to start out well, with a distinct owner-led culture permeating throughout. Then, as they grow, the good stuff becomes diluted and eventually lost. How many great businesses have gone down this same route? ?

This got me thinking about how larger, perhaps multi-site, businesses can achieve what most small ones seem naturally able to. My conclusion is that success and consistency cannot be achieved by a) indoctrination b) training c) directives and/or micro-management. In this digital age, it can, and will only, be achieved by investing in the right technology to enable absolute clarity around what’s expected, to empower everyone so they know exactly where to go when they need to find support or information and, most importantly to drive their own individual feedback, learning and progression, whenever they need to. ?Small business scan do this easily, larger businesses simply cannot keep ahead of change, communication and the creativity needed for constant evolution.

It's not uncommon, even in tough times for business to continue to invest in bricks and mortar, fixtures and fittings and time saving equipment. It’s less common for them to invest in what’s arguably the priority right now, their people.

?Will I be venturing Downtown to check out The El Paseo Inn? Of course I will, though I’d also love to be able to experience the same level of care and service in some of the larger businesses around here…