Note to Self
Posted by estiator at 11 June, at 10 : 16 AM Print
MANAGING FOR SUCCESS By CONSTANTINE N. KOLITSAS Business Coach
Dear Me,
You are a dinosaur. You’re almost 60, working in an industry where most of the managers under you are two decades younger. Your staff is for the most part less than half your age. These are people who don’t share any of your experiences that you had growing up; experiences that shaped who you are, how you think, how you work, and how you respond to the world around you. For all that you have in common, they may as well be alien beings from another planet.
It would be a great thing if you could wave a magic wand and say an incantation that would make them understand all that you have accumulated in your nearly five decades of working. But that’s not the real world, and all the wishing won’t bring enlightenment. Besides, has it ever occurred to you that you are the one who’s got it all wrong? Never mind, that’s straying from the point. For argument’s sake, let’s say that you know it all, because, truthfully, it makes no difference. The reality is, THIS IS YOUR WORKFORCE. You don’t have another to pull from. It is, as the saying goes, what it is.
So, then, how do you manage these 20- and 30-somethings, individuals from a generation that places greater value on all-night gaming than sleep? On spending a summer chasing jam bands over building a nest egg for the future?
You can try to create loyalty, but after Covid, loyalty lasts only as long as someone whispers that there’s another restaurant down the road where the money was better last night.
You can make new rules, but who really cares about rules when you can walk out the door and find five more jobs before you reach the end of the block? “What? You want me to keep my phone in my locker or in my car? I’m out of here.” (The phone has become a human append-age. I’m waiting for the day when the hand and the phone become one.)
No, you need to understand that it’s YOU who has to change; it’s YOU who has to adopt, adapt, and evolve.
It would be a great thing if you could wave a magic wand and say an incantation that would make your staff understand all that you have accumulated in your nearly five decades of working.
To start, you need to understand what it is that will get your staff to do what you need them to do. Meal policies that make sense and protect the assets of the business are important. But to a “kid” who wants to eat something after the end of a shift, it’s punitive (in their mind) to tell them that the policy doesn’t allow for staff to order food to take home, especially when they are paying, even if it’s at a discount. In fact, in their mind, they should be able to order and take food home for their boyfriend, girlfriend, or non-bi-nary partner. At a discount. From a business standpoint that makes no sense. But from the perspective of someone who has never been told “no” by their parents, of someone who has a shelf full of “participatory” trophies, and of someone who has been led to believe that communism is a viable alternative to our economic system, it is a God-Given Right.
The same with shift drinks. Forget that you have always forbidden them in the past because they never lead to a good outcome (soon managers start drinking with the staff, staff gets amorous or, worse, belligerent with one another, etc). A shift drink can also help to build a sense of team. And, again, these damned millennials think it’s their right. So maybe you should just allow them to have a shift drink.
And, think back to when you were a 20-something working as a server somewhere… The shift drink was a ritual. At the time, did you consider that the beer that you were drinking was dipping into the profits of the restaurant? And if it did, did it bother you? Oh no—maybe these “aliens” really aren’t as alien as you thought. Maybe they’re just younger versions of your worst self? And maybe you weren’t as perfect as your memory has romanticized… Now that you think about it, it wasn’t unusual for the bartender to slip you a second drink, even though one drink on the house was the rule.
The Serenity Prayer, first written by a German theologian in 1932 and adopted by Alcoholics Anonymous says, “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” Maybe you’d better start saying this prayer in the morning before this business drives you to drink. (Wink, smiley face.)
Constantine Kolitsas is the president of CNK Consulting, a restaurant consultant and coaching business. He can be reached at 203-947-6234 or at ckolitsas@gmail.com.
