When we first started our businesses we did most everything. We cooked, we cleaned, we delivered orders, we answered the phone, and after all of that was accomplished we completed the day’s paperwork. As our companies grew, we were able to hire employees and delegate some responsibilities.
Today you are probably somewhere along a delegation continuum that either keeps you immersed with the daily needs of your business, or you have managed to sufficiently train your staff and you can actually remove yourself from your operation for a day or two. This could allow you to attend an industry-related event that will both inspire you with new ideas and comfort you with the knowledge that other business owners face the same problems and challenges you do.
Coincidentally, I am speaking at the annual Catersource Convention in Las Vegas, which you can register to attend on this website.
“I can’t leave”
It is hard to let go. It is difficult, for example, to trust your first cold call success to a new cook and a new driver. The old half-full or half-empty glass paradigm applied well to one of my clients who had started his business from zero sales and grew it to over $1 million. When he had one of those days when deliveries were late and the wrong food went to the wrong place he would say, “If these bad things happen when I am here, who knows what disasters would occur if I’m gone? There is no way I can leave my business for a day.”
You’ll stay where you are
This thinking is actually counter-productive. As enlightened owners and managers we need to give our employees the room to make mistakes and subsequently find ways to correct them. If we can’t learn to do that, we will eventually stop our businesses from growing.
Lifelong learning
We also need to recharge our collective vision and learn to see things from a different perspective. If you are lucky enough to have recently taken a vacation, isn’t it interesting how things seem slower and more relaxed the day you get back to work? I always felt that I could see things more clearly right after returning.
CSES2016 will afford you the opportunity not only to relax a little, but also to learn from great presenters while networking with those who have the same concerns as you. You will also realize that the world doesn’t revolve around you and your business, and that is a healthy concept.
When you get back—armed with fresh ideas—and you realize that your business did OK without you, you’ll be in a great position to make some serious progress.
Michael Rosman is a member of the Catersource consulting team. If you would like information about him coming to your business to address your specific needs, please email Carl Sacks at [email protected]. His book, Lessons Learned From Our Mistakes – and other war stories from the catering battlefield is available through the Catersource store.
You can visit Michael’s website at www.TheCorporateCaterer.com email [email protected].
