What corporations can learn from restaurants?

Last weekend I went to the cinema (first time in 10 years!): the plot was built around just one evening of one London restaurant's life, focusing on a busy kitchen: chef, sous-chef and cooks, as busy bees, making sure that every guest gets the best taste on their plate. This story made me wonder - what restaurants could remind corporations about?

What makes a restaurant, and particularly it's kitchen, successful?

These are the key ingredients that in my view serve a fine dish:

Ingredient 1: The Chef

Google suggests that chef's main responsibilities include: studying recipes, setting up menus and preparing high-quality dishes,?overseeing kitchen staff, tasting dishes before going to customers. I would translate that in my corporate language as follows: learning what are the best practices, putting together a strategy to ensure high performance of the organization, leading the team, regular checkpoints to make sure everything is going right direction.

The movie showed a stressful moment when nothing was going as planned:

not all ingredients available

too many orders vs what was originally planned

some staff not knowing what to do

add to that personal stress…

The Chef, the leader in this case, had to manage the situation by giving each of his team members the support they needed...

... coaching a team member on how to better work with the knife so the time is spent most efficiently

... explain how to deal with the absence of an ingredient so that the dish doesn't lose its taste

... in another case he had to roll the sleeves and do the work alongside them.

Good Chefs are not only those that master Consommé or beef Wellington, but those that invest in their teams by coaching them and helping them open up their talents. Manage relationship and dynamics of the team. In a crisis moment be there, and cool headedly accept the fight in current conditions and circumstances.

Ingredient 2: The Team

When we appreciate a fine dinner why we tend to think about the chefs but not so much about the team? A delicious dinner is an effort of several people working seamlessly and using good fresh ingredients.

However, it's fair to assume: if the chef is great but the team is poor (not motivated, not willing to learn and develop), the overall result won't be the best, obviously. and on the opposite, if the team is great while the chef is not, the final dish won't be the best either - lack of motivation, wrong direction and poor leadership… does anyone want his favorite dish to be served seasoned with frustration with a hint of anger and disappointment?

Same with corporate teams: in order to succeed and be sustainable, a strong, motivated and what is even more important a happy team should be there! Different individuals that contribute in different ways to the common goal - the end result is a well prepared delicious dish and a happy customer.

Ingredient 3: The Kitchen

"For the kitchen to be efficient,?the distance between workstations and appliances should be minimized, food preparation should be streamlined, all tools should be available" - Google says. "Then orders are prepared in a faster manner. A well-managed kitchen is one that is well planned and designed for efficiency."

If the kitchen is organized inefficiently, the team will not be able to deliver required outputs in a timely manner and on quality: they will be stepping on each other's toes, pushing elbows, lacking tools, doing manually what can be automated thus wasting time…

Doesn't it remind of organizational processes, systems and tools in a way? Processes that should be meaningful, and systems that should be there to help people do their job, and not the other way round. What would it be if you're trying to cut tomatoes into thin pieces with a blunt tiny knife?..

...And few other ingredients that in my opinion a good kitchen needs to be successful…

• Clear roles & responsibilities

Every team member is responsible for an area that may seem minor and not important, but look at it this way...

... without a proper sauce the salad will not taste as good

... when a particular garnish is missing the main dish will be incomplete

... without ingredients properly premixed the desert will be mediocre.

And, don't forget a raspberry on top of your cake!

• Honesty & Trust

As a team member, tell about what you need to succeed. The knife does not cut? Share your expertise and provide clear reasoning - you've been invited to be part of this team as you're an expert in meats, and among everyone you know best how to deal with it? Share your ideas - an idea how to improve the serving speed? As a leader, listen to your people as chef listens to his team: what goes wrong, what support they need to do their best, how they can further contribute, ask for the feedback, be open. But also ask for help in return - you are still part of the team!

Now, why don't we remind ourselves to combine these ingredients and make our teams, big and small, as big renowned restaurants and small cozy family cafes, a great success??Bon Appétit!

Inspired by: Boiling Point, 2021