Are Your Efficiencies Killing Your Creativity?
Years ago I was introduced to the people at the Cameron Mitchell Restaurant group. They have over 50 restaurants in fifteen states, most notably the chain Ocean Prime. As they introduced their company and catering division, they told a story that shaped their approach to hospitality and their motto: “Yes is the answer, what is the question?”
The founder, Cameron Mitchell, was at a restaurant with his family and one of his children wanted a chocolate milkshake. The waiter replied: “We can’t do that, we don’t have milkshakes on the menu.” After some back and forth, they asked for the manager, who reiterated a similar sentiment. Noticing that they had ice cream on the menu with chocolate syrup and a blender behind the bar, Cameron suggested that it wouldn’t be that hard to make a milkshake. The back and forth and hearing “no” multiple times prompted him to make sure that people would always be able to get a chocolate milkshake at one of his restaurants. To hear the story through the lens of employees, check out this video.
Having policies, procedures, guidelines, and systems are critical for businesses. They provide structure, clear expectations, and makes things more efficient - and I love things that are efficient! Setting up a system to optimize performance is an awesome goal and something I think our team does really well at Footers. I wonder sometimes though if too many efficiencies start to limit creativity. As in the chocolate milkshake example, when we confine ourselves with too many restrictions and rules, do we lose our flexibility? Do we get stuck in the nice little box we’ve created for ourselves and miss opportunities because it doesn’t fit in the confines of what we anticipated.
Having a clear focus on what you do well and how you do it is essential. Contrary to Cameron’ Mitchell’s motto, I do think there are times when “no” is the appropriate answer. The challenge is in teaching team members where that line is. It’s not about the things that are way off track, those are easy to teach. It’s the things that still make sense under certain circumstances. The things that are exceptions to the rules, still align with company values, and can make a tremendous difference when it comes to customer and employee loyalty.
That is why it’s important to carve out and protect exceptions to rules that are put in place. You can’t predict every scenario, but you can coach people in how decisions should be made, and questions to ask when faced with a situation that is out of the box. During these times, the team has to know when it makes sense to do something different.
I’ve seen and heard from a number of people across the country that are putting significant priority on standard operating procedures. The work they are doing is strengthening many areas of their organizations. As you do the same in your company, don’t forget to allow some room for flexibility and creativity. Cultures built on this do what it takes to turn indifferent customers into raving fans. And as a huge fan of milkshakes, I know from personal experience that you can in fact get a chocolate milkshake at Ocean Prime, even though it’s not on the menu.
— Anthony
