A few days ago I was with my family in one of my favorite casual dining restaurants. This day the place was packed and there were no tables to sit; I said to myself: “This business has a good strategy and an excellent operating system that supports it”. Although many restaurants have closed or reduced their operation hours, this restaurant in particular continues to reflect profits. I am delighted when I see successful businesses, especially when I consider the financial tsunami that our nation has experienced in the last years. Although the economy shows signs of improvement, is still submerge in a depression with more than 100 banks declared in bankruptcy, a registered record number after 1992. Some leaders will wonder, then, what is the secret in order to survive and succeed under these circumstances, how do some leaders do it? I decided to look closely at the restaurant and do a little research to know what the secret behind their success is, and finally confirmed what I have learned during my career: The leader of this restaurant has vision, is focusing on its business strategy, and is doing it in an exemplary way.
Is your business making the decisions and taking the actions needed to succeed? Have you ever asked yourself what makes a business or organization successful? This restaurant doesn’t have the best food in the world, neither the prettiest facilities; is a restaurant within the reach of most pockets. So what makes this business successful? Some believe that business success depends on its employees, others claim that depends on it product and their customers, others say that marketing and advertising. Despite different opinions, there is one thing in that everyone agrees; the success of a business does not depend on a single element. As I mentioned in a previous article, is not enough to have a good product or service, there are some supporting elements that are essential to achieve a successful business. Let’s discuss it.
We start from the premise that every organization or business has a defined strategy and a roadmap to achieve it. To work on a plan, it is essential to know the dimensions that embrace a business; this will avoid overlooking key elements that are necessary for success. The organizations are projected in three dimensions: PEOPLE, PROCESSES and FACILITIES, and behind each one of these dimensions there are elements which must not be overlooked.
PEOPLE-When I said people I refer to human resources and how they impact business results. Businesses need knowledgeable, can attitude and willpower people who feel passion for their jobs and help them to accomplishing their goals. They need people with skills, knowledge and abilities. They need people who CAN; trained people with the necessary resources, using the correct tools (FACILITIES) and standardize processes (PROCESS), to perform their jobs efficiently. They need people who WANT to do their jobs, people who feel motivated. Management (PEOPLE) plays a major role in creating a healthy work environment that promotes collaboration, teamwork, continuous learning, and an atmosphere of mutual respect to achieves that.
PROCESS- When I said processes I refer to policies, procedures and guidelines that dictate how, when and where PEOPLE carried out their tasks. The processes are essential to keep uniformity and a continuous flow in order organization can delivers its products and services, and to facilitate the process of training and preparing PEOPLE to execute them. The processes are also essential for an organization to ensure compliance with necessary regulations, required by law for the business operation. The processes go hand in hand with facilities; can you imagine high volumes salesman using just one telephone (FACILITIES) to conduct their business? Will be impossible to communicate with prospect customers in a timely manner and increase sales. Imagine, on the other hand, five employees in a small company with a high content of facsimile transmission to go out, with a single fax machine (FACILITIES); they would have to wait too long to carry out their work and the waiting time is waste. When employees are waiting, they are not producing and companies are losing opportunity to attract customers and increase profits.
FACILITIES- Facilities mean physical structure, work areas, the surroundings and working tools, among others. We can have the best processes, but unless we have the appropriate physical facilities can hardly carry them out. Here is an example: If you have visited a hamburger restaurant, and I am sure you do, and look at the kitchen area noticed that the workstations, ovens and stoves are in a specific order: is strategically put together in the order the product is to be assembly. There is a first station where the bread is placed, the next station where mayonnaise and ketchup is added, then meat station, and so on. The stations are pre-arranged in that order to reduce the time of preparation of the product, which will in turn reduce costs, promote better employment conditions (PEOPLE), and meet customer expectation and needs: fast food and well prepared. An extraordinary example of facilities is Disney; the attractions have been designed so customers waiting in line know in advance how long they have to wait before enjoying the attraction. Isn’t that amazing? Achieving that requires a lot of strategic planning, engineers, brilliant mathematicians and a full staff of passionate employees (PEOPLE) willing to make things happen.
Unfortunately, many organizations overlook or do not understand how important it is to have adequate facilities. In many organizations, departments who must work hand to hand and need to communicate constantly are distant from each other; which delay the communication process and prevent important processes to flow smoothly and efficiently. As I explained before, all dimensions are meant to complement each other in order for good things to happen. An intelligent strategic planning considers every dimension in the organization to achieve business goals.
So back to my favorite casual dining restaurant, what I have found is:
- The bar is strategically placed between the area that go to the dining room and the sitting area at the bar (FACILITIES); reducing the distance the waiters and servers have to walk to serve its customers and decreasing the delivery time of the food and drinks.
- The drinks are made with exact measurements to avoid waste (PROCESS); too much increase cost and too little compromise quality. That is the reason behind why beverages at this restaurant always taste the same.
- Many ingredients are share in different plates, reducing food storage area and in turn providing more space for customers (PROCESS, FACILITIES).
- Employees (PEOPLE) receive customers always in the same manner and with the same protocol (PROCESS) – This restaurant training program is intensive and aggressive which emphasizes in consistency and uniformity when carrying out the tasks (PROCESS). If customers know in advance what they will receive, and they like it, will likely returning to the establishment again and again.
A successful business depends on the leader’s ability to have a broad vision and his/her ability to understand that when it comes to decision making all dimensions must be considered. What good is having modern or luxurious facilities if there are not the necessary processes and/or the right people to deliver the product? Without appropriate process employees will not be able to provide customers in an excellent and consistent manner. What good is having managers whom fail in providing their people the motivation needed to feel passion and be proud of their company and their roles? A good leader thinks of everything and everyone; in their people, in processes, and facilities. Organizations are not flat, are dimensional and the leader who understands it this way will have a better chance to increase profits and achieves goals. Leaders who think that their product or service alone is sufficient to be successful will encounter sooner or later organizational issues that will impact the end on the chain: the customer.
Be smart: think dimensional!
[...] Organizations are Not Flat [...]