By David Scott Peters
How to communicate your expectations with one small story
I love the story written by Elbert Hubbard in 1899 called “A Message to Garcia.” The story was written after Hubbard had just finished a debate with his son where his son pointed out how a lieutenant named Rowan was a real hero in the Spanish-American War (the War in which Teddy Roosevelt led his Rough Riders up San Juan Hill). His son said Rowan was a hero for carrying a message to Garcia.
Please take the time to read the reprint of the story here. And as you do, I want you to think about your restaurant and if you have a Rowan working for you. If you don’t, or if you’re lucky enough to have one, you need to share this story with everyone on your staff, but especially your managers.
This short story is thought provoking and vividly clear when it comes to eliminating the whining, the stupid questions from your employees. It communicates exactly your expectations of anyone who works for you. You will quickly see what I mean.
When you’re done reading it, take action:
- Find the Rowan on your team – he’s the guy that gets the job done and makes no bones about it.
- Make him an example for others on your team, and soon you might just have a smooth operation of people doing their job.
David Scott Peters is a restaurant expert, speaker, coach and trainer for independent restaurant owners. He is the developer of SMART Systems Pro, an online restaurant management software program helping the independent restaurant owner remain competitive and profitable in an industry boxed in by the big chain restaurants. He is best known as the SMART Systems guy who can walk into any restaurant and find $10,000 in undiscovered cash before he hits the back door… Guaranteed! Learn more at www.therestaurantexpert.com/rdspos.
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