Why there is no “Sarah Brightman’s Breakfast Buffet”

The Case Against Direction, Purpose and Structure

I’d really like to believe everything I was taught about management but I’m getting shaky. If human beings wanted structure, direction, and purpose in their lives they’d take their vacations on a military base or a monastery, - but they don’t. They go to an all inclusive in Cancun, preferably with a swim up bar, round the clock buffets, and the last thing on their mind is structure, purpose or direction.

They may leave the beach long enough to drink some more at a Jimmy Buffet Margaritaville restaurant, but that’s about as structured as serious vacationer’s will get. Nobody ever approached Yo-Yo Ma with a restaurant franchise idea. Other restaurant theme ideas that were trashed include Josh Groban’s Grill, Sarah Brightman’s Breakfast Buffet, and Il Divo’s Dance and Dine. You know they would never get off the ground.

Jimmy Buffet turns out to be the concept guy. How do you beat a value proposition that features, “I blew out my flip flop.” Let’s go eat.

This is my management point. Mature adults value direction, purpose, structure and discipline because they know it represents long term benefit, but they don’t prefer it. It’s why we eat greens and not deep fried, out of long term self interest. To quote Jamie Oliver, “french fries are not a vegetable.”

The management point is that structure has a mixed role. We don’t gravitate to it automatically, but we value it. Structure does not motivate on a day to day basis, but it does appeal to an employee’s long term faith in the company. Although employees have faith in workplaces with structure, they don’t confuse it with a source of fun and good times. Structure is also demanding.

At a macro level, we need structure. At a micro level, we don’t like structure. Remember the line, “you can tell them what mountain to climb, but you can’t tell them how to climb it.” The result is higher productivity, less sick days, less grumbling, less turnover and above all, your management life will become very simple.

Just remind yourself of your own holiday choices. When was the last time you looked into a monastery retreat in Utah for your family? On the other hand, you may have toyed with the idea, wondering if you couldn’t all benefit from it. In the end, Jimmy Buffet won. To heck with structure, hello Cancun!

See you for breakfast,
Wolfgang

a.) Recruiting. Go back stage, go behind the presented person. June 16th, heavy focus on selection. Everyone knows how to recruit, but very few people know how to select properly. Selection is almost entirely about character, integrity, mind clarity, maturity, and all those qualities which neither the interview or the resume tend to reveal. We’ll show you new and different ways to get behind the person in front of you. Go back stage, go behind the presented person. It’s the real person, the hidden person, you will ultimately have to manage. There will be 120 managers in attendance. Each event has been sold out for the last five years. Book early.

b.) The economy. Most of our clients are not running at full speed yet. At the same time we don’t have as many candidates, for all position, as we’d like. Our staff did some thinking. They discovered that this week, over 700 job openings were posted ever single day on Craigslist Vancouver. Certainly for all positions. When companies are hiring it means better times for everyone! Things are changing!

c.) Always love euphemisms. “Our numbers are merely retracing,” in response to falling sales. Another one about Vancouver’s rainy days, “today is only a weather sampler.”