Dave Smalley, Founder & CEO of Spectrum Catering, Concessions and Events, is a highly-regarded food services and hospitality leader. He regularly publishes advice from his vast experience in building and leading teams with his company’s newsletter. The most recent entry, about investing, is particularly useful when it comes to leadership among restaurant business teams.
“Of course, as business-minded people, talking generally about investments leads to thoughts about returns; and while this is a prudent way of thinking about money and building business, it’s not so far off when it comes to working with people either. Any good businessperson knows that the people who are a part of the business are the greatest asset. At first glance, maybe it feels cold to talk about people in the same way we talk about money; but it’s important to consider what it really means to invest and nurture assets.
When it comes to money-managing, it’s likely that your investments are well-researched; that you pore over the details of both your accounts and the current events that impact them; that you check-in regularly and determine what can be improved upon, what requires patience, and what is asking for immediate attention and drastic change. This is the attention that you give something you value, something you know is inherent to your current worth and your future success.
Unselfishly, working with people requires the same kind of attention to detail, and careful nurturing yields desirable results. As Smalley says, “Valuing others, and providing them with unconditional support, allows others to see value in you. Be it emotionally investing in their lives, being interested in who they are, sharing meaningful feedback, both praise and redirection, those are all part of our daily lives. Creating and supporting an atmosphere where someone feels they belong, that their contributions matter, that they have a clear understanding of expectations and where we are collectively heading, what our targets and goals are, are all fundamental elements of investing in people.”
Because the hospitality industry, as we always say, is about people at its core. It isn’t just the paying customers, though those are people who are worth investing in; but the people who work for the business and make it what it is. Those people, the team who catches the vision of the business, are integral to a restaurant’s current and future success. They require the care and attention to detail that is necessary to grow and develop any smart investment. Checking-in, understanding backgrounds, offering patience, and being open to change—these are traits of great leadership that are essential to an investment mindset when it comes to your greatest asset: people.
Written out like this, Smalley says, it suddenly seems so simple because it is a truth required in managing all relationships in our lives. “It is simple component of investing in others in all aspects of our lives. Our significant others, our children, our friends. We can invest in any and all of these relationships and build others up. Take every opportunity to meaningfully share direction and encouragement with others.
I am hopeful that your financial investments will grow, but I am certain that your investments in people will grow exponentially and bring you more pleasure and satisfaction than money will,” he says.
Richard Weil, owner and principal of National Restaurant Consultants, adds to Dave Smalley’s words: “Leadership is the double magnet when it comes to attracting and retaining great staff as well as attracting and retaining guests and clients. There is no coincidence that the investments in people are most often what creates successful companies and sustains their success over time.”