Category Archives: Consulting

June 10, 2020 · 3:48 pm

The Out Of Office Message

I can’t even imagine what it must be like to be leading a team during this chaotic interlude. I mean, I had a small taste of it years ago when my team was forced to work remotely during 9/11 and an NYC blackout. Even though the remote working tools were not nearly as good as they are now, it was hard.

Those were brief periods of disruption. This one has gone on for a quarter and might continue for quite some time. So here are a few thoughts based on some things I learned during those brief disruptive times.

First, those periods reinforced the notion that I work for the team and not the other way around. My job is to make their jobs happen. Even folks who are good at what they do and can handle things when you’re all physically connected in the office often need some special attention when they’re out on the home-office island. You can’t look at their needs as interruptions to your day – they actually are your day.

Next, remember that you need to delegate even more but you also need to be extra careful in choosing what to delegate to whom. Because the level of supervision will be reduced, you need to be choosier about who you give what. Don’t take that to mean that you have to take on more yourself because you don’t. Just choose wisely. This isn’t the time to let a junior person get their feet wet because they won’t have a support team around them.

That last thought goes for you as well. with your support team less available, you’re going to admit to yourself what you don’t know and find some resources that can help you.

Finally, change the routine to incorporate more touchpoints between the team. I had a boss once who loved reminding us that meetings were for people who had nothing else to do. I agree with that to a point, but when the team is scattered, a daily meeting, even if ut’s 10 minutes just for everyone to see how everyone else is doing, isn’t a bad idea.

Those are my thoughts, along with this one: it’s going to be exciting to see what changes come out of this experience. This is an important, formative moment. What do you think?

 

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May 29, 2020 · 3:29 pm

That Tonnato Sauce

This Foodie Friday, I want to write about one of my favorite summer dishes, vitello tonnato. When I first had it at some fancy lunch many years ago, I thought it was something thought up by a clever chef. As it turns out, it isn’t a new dish at all. One can find it in the 130-year-old Italian cookbook Science In The Kitchen and the Art Of Eating by Pellegrino Artusi (it’s on page 271 of my edition).

The dish is veal, generally a shoulder or rump portion, that’s been boiled and thinly sliced. It’s topped by a sauce that’s basically a tuna and caper-infused mayonnaise. Trust me – it tastes a lot better than it sounds. The veal is really just a canvas for the sauce in my book.

I was pleasantly surprised when one of my friends emailed my a recipe for a vegetable plate of crudites that was served with a sauce that wasn’t called tonnato sauce but absolutely was the same as what one would put on the veal down to the capers and anchovies in the sauce. The chef described it as a “garlicky aioli bolstered with oil-packed tuna.” Uh, yes, please.

It got me thinking about special sauces since the tonnato sauce is clearly special to me. Every business needs a special sauce if it’s not going to be a commodity. If you’ve not done a competitive set analysis, that’s a great place to start to see how you’re different. Then ask yourself why you exist. What’s the problem you’re solving and why is your solution unique/better? Check your assumptions against what your customers and employees think. 

Is your sauce really yours? Can it be duplicated or is it unique and defensible? Back in the day, we used to call something that you marketed around a USP – Unique Selling Proposition but I think your secret sauce is more than that. It gets to the heart of what your business is, including the culture. It’s what makes you you!

You can put tonnato on sliced pork tenderloin, vegetables, and of course veal. I suspect it’s great on grilled foods – veggies and proteins. As I’m thinking about it, it’s not far from a Caesar Salad dressing but with tuna. You see? Once you have a secret sauce, you can’t really tell how far it will take you!

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May 15, 2020 · 4:06 pm

Top Shelf

It’s Foodie Friday, and if we weren’t in the midst of a pandemic, I’d be heading to my favorite local watering hole late this afternoon to celebrate the end of another work week. Since that’s not possible at the moment with all the bars and restaurants closed, I’ll do my celebrating here. I’m not going to lie either – I generally don’t pour myself an end of day beverage only on Fridays. From what I can glean from many of my friends’ posts on social media, I’m not drinking alone either.

One of the local establishments – a high-end cocktail lounge – has been selling their house-made mixers and syrups to have some income during this time. Of course, we bought some, mostly to support them but also because if ever there was a time to upgrade the cocktail game, this would be it. The other day, we made a beverage using one of the syrups and it was delicious, so much better than our usual drink. It got me thinking about what we did differently and, as I thought about it, there was a business point as well.

First, we used a really good vodka as well as the syrup. There was a top-shelf liqueur called for and we didn’t try to get a less-expensive brand. The lemon juice was fresh too. Unlike many times, we actually measured the ingredients and put them in a shaker with lots of ice to get a proper chill. I don’t know about you, but most of the time, I’m not measuring my drink proportions. Yes, I know that a typical highball (liquor plus mixer) is supposed to be a 3 to 2 mixer to booze ratio. Once in awhile, I’m sure my concoctions achieve that but those times are probably the exception.

The business point? Only the best ingredients, better known as your team. It’s worth spending more on the best you can get. Second, measuring, better known as data. If you’re not measuring how do you know how you’re doing? How do you know what’s working? It’s not enough that the cash register rings (and worse when it doesn’t). What’s causing it to ring? Can it ring louder and more often? Measuring is how we know.

Finally, putting the best ingredients in an environment where they’ll shine – the stainless shaker filled with ice, a chilled glass – made a big difference. You need to do the same with your team. Give them the best chance to be their best. Is it harder now with people working remotely? Of course, but finding a way to build that environment is your job, isn’t it? I’ve always said that a manager’s job is to help his team to do their jobs, first and foremost.

Try this: make your usual beverage next time but get the best ingredients you can afford and measure them carefully. Freshly squeezed juice, ginger beer with real ginger, whatever. Put them in a nice, well-chilled glass. Let me know if it doesn’t taste a whole lot better, ok?

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