It may be tempting to start using a complex app that offers great promise. However, remember that computers don’t run kitchens. A simple and organized system executed consistently and without fail is as good as any app.
For now, ensure you have finalized your choices for the notes app, calendar app and cloud storage software you will use. Make sure you can access these on your smartphone.
We won’t discuss the deeper levels of strategic planning here. Instead, we will use the principles to create the calendars and an annual plan summary sheet.
For an overview of strategic planning, see the end of this post.
If you do not use a digital calendar, this could be a great time to start. Invest some time watching calendar productivity videos. Save them in your read-it-later app if you do not have the time now. Whether you use a paper or a digital calendar, the end results will be the same. We will end up with a document that summarizes our year.
Everything that happens in our kitchens for the next year will be tied back to the calendars. We will have five color-coded calendars: EOM / Payday, Maintenance, Events, Self, and Staff. We will utilize our digital calendar app and color code each calendar. If you are like me, you may choose to work with a current paper calendar at the same time.
For this set-up work, I suggest you block out some 90-minute non-negotiable time blocks every other day.
Why 90-minutes? Here are a few reasons:
- It can easily be broken down into three distinct tasks.
- It works well with the Pomodoro Technique (25 minutes of focused work, then a 5-minute break).
- If it’s a one-hour meeting, it allows for travel or overrun time.
- If it’s exercise, it will enable a warm-up and cool-down time.
- It helps us not overload our calendars.
- It gives us enough time for the inevitable disruption.
We are creating all-day events for the following calendars. If you would like to get set up quickly, fill out a quarterly calendar the first time through.
The first and easiest calendar we will set up in our system will include Paydays and End-of-Month inventory days. Get with your bookkeeper and lay out the inventory and paydays in a new blank digital calendar. We will code it green and name it EOM / Payday. Print a single-page copy and have it posted where you can reference it quickly.
Your second calendar will include routine maintenance, cleaning, and inspection schedules. These include everything from water and air filter changes to equipment deep cleaning. It should also include approximate fire, health, and in-house inspection dates. We will only add quarterly and annual tasks for a quick start. We can reevaluate later to bring in more details.
These tasks do not have to be set on precise days. If you change water filters quarterly, put that in March, June, September, and December. Set it as a recurring event in your calendar. Later, when we do our weekly calendars, we will assign a specific date.
If you have a maintenance person, you should correspond with them. With your oversight, this whole task could be assigned to them. Code this calendar red and name it Maintenance.
Note: An in-house inspection is a facility evaluation. It would involve a mock health inspection, process evaluation, and a review of the facility’s state. After these inspections, you will create an action plan, including the problems and solutions.
The third calendar will be our event planning calendar. It should include holidays and events you will participate in. This calendar will require the most research and will have the most significant effect on your operation. Code this calendar blue and title it Events. If you want to or need to, you could add another blue and split these into two calendars.
If you have an event coordinator on staff, that is fantastic! Get together with them and build this calendar.
You should obtain calendars from the city tourism board, convention calendars from nearby hotels, sporting events from local teams, events from local schools and colleges, graduation dates, and schedules from local groups that will affect your business.
Things to include:
- Holidays
- Sporting Events
- City Events – Festivals / Conventions
- School Events – Graduations / Breaks
- Annual Review Dates
- Seasonal Menu Change Dates
- Staff Meeting Dates
- Company Events – Holiday Parties, Picnics, etc.
- Restaurant Closure Dates
- Any events you participate in or promote
Note: We tried to capture and capitalize on most events at the breweries. We did do something for many events early on. We learned what worked for our businesses and what good faith participation was.
What does that look like? First, several considerations must be made when reinventing your concept and restaurant for an event.
Pick battles that you can win with little effort and significant results. I don’t want to discourage you from testing the water for these events. It is essential to see what hits and misses, especially in your first few years of business.
- Costs: One-time fees, special permits, equipment, staffing, décor, ad spend, pre- and post-planning, and excess left over.
- Quality: Are you qualified or studying how to cook a schnitzel a week before Octoberfest?
- Execution: Can you operate a buffet for Mother’s Day when you usually don’t serve breakfast? If you can’t pull it off nearly flawlessly, you shouldn’t try.
- Guest expectations: Do they want your French Bistro to turn into a taco restaurant every May 5th, or would they prefer a Bastille Day Brunch? A margarita special can suffice in this example.
Eventually, many events will hit the cutting room floor or become limited participation. You cannot and should not attempt to participate in every holiday and every hallmark event created. You must look at your calendars and start cutting out the senseless. Some of these events are simply chasing lousy money.
When you see all the events laid out, you may feel a bit overwhelmed. Take a long look at your calendar and walk away for a few days. Come back and start cutting and trimming. You should say no if you cannot execute an event at the highest level with sensible costs and revenue expectations.
A strategic plan is a document that outlines long-term goals and the actions needed to achieve them. Strategic planning is a broad subject that covers many aspects of a business. You should find some familiar components even if you haven’t worked with a strategic plan.
The strategic plans often contain the following:
- Mission and Vision Statements: An organization’s purpose, long-term aspirations, and goals.
- Core Values: Principles that drive decisions, behaviors, and actions.
- SWOT Analysis: Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.
- Market Analysis: Understanding the competition, trends, and market needs.
- Goals and Objectives: Specific and measurable targets to guide us.
- Resource Allocation: Financial, personnel, and technology to support objectives.
- Risk Management Plan: Assessing potential risks and developing a plan to prevent, diffuse, or mitigate them.
- Strategies and Tactics: Strategies are wide-moat, high-level plans and approaches. Tactics are specific actions to reach goals.
- Implementation Plans: The who, what, how, and when.
- Evaluation and Monitoring: Methods for tracking and adjusting.
- Communication Plan: Ensure clear communication of the strategic objectives, progress updates, and roles/responsibilities to all stakeholders in the organization.
- Review and Revision Process: An established process for regular review and adjustments based on changes in internal and external environments.
These components collectively are your roadmap for your long-term objectives and a guide to navigating challenges.
Establishing a complete strategic plan will likely take several months. Depending on the size and complexity of your operation, an annual revisit and refresh can be done in a few weeks. Several books and articles on strategic planning can give you better insights. I’d suggest researching more about strategic planning when you have time.
I also recommend three quick-read books to help get motivated, organized, and started. At the very least, read a summary of these books and watch some videos featuring the authors themselves:
- For motivation, read “Atomic Habits” by James Clear
- For a simple digital organization plan, read “Building a Second Brain” by Tiago Forte
- For time management and calendar organization, read “Your Time, Your Way” by Carl Pullein
I am not compensated by endorsing any of these Authors.
Next time, we will review the final calendars and how we make an annual summarized plan that we can use and eventually rely on.
Have a pleasant day, lead a balanced life.
Matthew Moyer – The Kitchen System Blog @ kitchensystem.org
