Embrace The Suck Blog

What is going on with you? Seriously. Why haven’t you started taking action on those big goals for this year yet?

• Still, waiting for a couple of key elements to fall into place?
• The position of the moon not favorable for this grand venture?
• Do you need to hire that one person who will allow you the time? 

Here are four words to write down: bullshit, bullshit, and bullshit. 

You say you want a lot of new and big changes to happen and then there you are stuck on the big hamster wheel of life running as fast as you can every single day...and getting nowhere.

Would you like to stop that? Since I can’t see your face, I’m going to go out on a limb and imagine you’re nodding your head yes.

To get this journey started, you’ll need to go back to a step many forget in their quest for a budding restaurant and bar empire...you gotta know what you stand for. Oh yes, we’re talking about that main ingredient to all culture recipes: Core Values.

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I was very honored to be interviewed by Tony Chapman at the recent Restaurants Canada Leadership Conference in Toronto.

Tony is a super dynamic speaker and host across mainstream media. His knapsack is filled with thirty years of experience, as an entrepreneur whose agencies developed award winning go to market and branding strategies across all industry sectors. This combined with his curious mind to stay current, and a work ethic to create customized talks packed with actionable insights and strategies for each audience is what earns him the recommendations and reputation you will find on the internet.

Tony: With me is Donald Burns, The Restaurant Coach™, named one of The Top 50 Restaurant Experts to Follow and one of 23 Inspiring Hospitality Experts to Follow on Twitter. You have worked across the restaurant industry - including as an Executive Chef with Wolfgang Puck, a restauranteur, a consultant today to multibillion dollar company, and if that...

My girlfriend is a badass scientist (I mean a real badass). What lights her up is when she is talking about her passion. If you listen to passionate people talk about what they love, it’s contagious and inspiring. Great conversations get that one pound piece of grey matter sitting on top of your head fired up with ideas. Then it hit me: Newton! No, not fig newtons you food freak, Newton the scientist.

Way back in 1686, Sir Isaac Newton developed three laws of motion. The first law is often referred to as the Law of Inertia. The law states that every object will remain at rest or continue in a straight line unless compelled to change its state by the action of an external force.

In other words, things stay the way they are unless something comes along to disrupt them. This law has the power to make us or break us. And it is at work in your restaurant (and life) all day, every day whether you are conscious of it or not.

When we kick a ball down the field, it heads in a specific...

Let me share with you what I know for a fact from working with restaurants around the globe. Business problems are people problems no matter where you are in the world! On a recent trip to Bogota, Colombia where I was speaking at a conference called Expo La Barra, I had the great opportunity to meet with three different restaurant owners.

The outcomes of each one of these restaurants can be seen in restaurants everywhere. Human behavior is pretty predictable. All humans have the same range of emotions (happiness, sadness, pleasure, pain, confidence, fear, etc.). It’s those emotions that dictate how people run their business.

Let’s call this A Tale of Three Restaurants

Restaurant One - The Local Legend

This is a family owned restaurant that has been in business over 40 years. They have multiple concepts and are well known in the market. Lately their upscale Asian Sushi concept that marries together the flavors of Japan and Colombia is suffering from declining sales.

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Step into the office and have a seat on the couch. Let’s talk about what is going on in your restaurant. Actually, let’s talk about what’s going on within your own mind.

The precipice of all business problems (at their foundation) are people problems. Those people problems are generally self inflicted from the perceptions we carry around. We can at times be our own worst enemy.

Don’t feel bad about this. You’re human and part of that is understanding all the flaws that make us human. Every New Year we make a long list of “resolutions” that we vow “this year” we are going to do! Then by the end of January we’ve fallen back into old routines and excuses why we couldn’t make it happen. If you want to stop that madness, then pay attention to the following 5 psychological principles that get in your way from getting the restaurant and life you truly desire.

1. The Habit Loop

Problem: You are a product of your habits. Most...

Bruce Wayne has Batman. Clark Kent has Superman. Bruce Banner has The Hulk. Kobe Bryant has the Black Mamba. How about you? Do you have an alter ego you can channel to elevate your leadership to the elite level?

You should. 

To find it, we’re going to need to take a trip to your dark side. Don’t think you have a dark side? Let me assure you that everybody has one. Think about the things you crave, the things you lust after, the secrets you keep hidden deep, deep inside. That energy comes from your dark side. The problem is that your entire life you’ve been told those feelings are bad, so you locked them away and hid them from the world.

That’s a mistake: they’re the key to leadership success. It’s time to tap into that power and harness it so you can become the badass leader you are.

Your Dark Side Doesn’t Have to Be Bad

Just because it’s called your dark side doesn’t mean it has to be dark, per se. Batman fought...

We’re all looking for the things we should be doing but what about the things you need to stop doing that are truly hurting your business?

Sabotage is subversive. It’s under the radar. It can come from your unconscious mind.

Restaurant, nightclub and bar success and failure comes down to the habits we have...both good and bad. The trick is being aware of the bad habits that aren’t serving you and taking radical action to change them.

That’s bullshit—it’s who you choose to be. Now, if these bad habits are working for you then by all means, lace up those shoes and wear ‘em.

However, if you seem to be stuck, if you don’t seem to be reaching your goals, if you seem to drive people away more than you attract them, then take note and make a commitment to make some changes.

1. Talking Smack about Others

You might say that...