Leading With Aspirational Choices
Turn of the 20th century philosopher-psychologist William James observed “When you have to make a choice and don’t make it, that is in itself a choice”. This weekly Total Food Service column first appeared April 6, 2020, the purpose and intent to first offer crisis management guidance but to then pivot to the more critical next stages of operating stability to regeneration.
Easier said than done—especially because Covid-19 continues to dominate everything in our lives as do tenuous economic conditions—yet the fact is perpetual crisis management and accompanying uncertain management will only prolong these unseemly circumstances, most likely to create more dire consequences. Hospitality professionals still waiting for clear signals, refraining from taking planned control over a business future until an absolutely better public health and economic environment emerges are, in fact, making the type of choice William James warned about.
At this most critical juncture, foodservice professionals should turn their fullest attention and efforts to answering one essential question: Who do we aspire to be?
Establishing this clear sense of purpose, having all stakeholders rally around an aspirational mission, galvanizes an organization in most constructive and long-lasting ways. Riveting everyone’s attention and concerted efforts to ambitious objectives will also reduce anxieties of living on a roller coaster propelled by events beyond your direct control. While everyone might cheer Governor Cuomo’s announced plans to reopen NYC indoor dining later this week, this comes at a time coronavirus cases are 64% greater than when he announced indoor dining would be suspended in December. With his state showing more favorable case trends, NJ Governor Murphy will increase indoor dining to 35% capacity but everyone is legitimately cautious about a turn in the wrong coronavirus direction reversing this latest executive order. The same goes for Connecticut where indoor diners can now stay out until 11 PM at 50% capacity. Welcome news all, but as precarious as the ability to contain covid-19 and all mutated strains is. Meaningful business aspirations will always be bigger than even the most massive problems, committing resources and focusing staff for executing against high ambitions converts objectives to realities.
Given its principal commercial HVAC, Refrigeration, Cooking and Plumbing installation, maintenance and repair business, most certainly the Day & Nite family of companies has ridden the covid-19 propelled roller coaster alongside hospitality this past year. But instead of looking downward or inward, company leadership put far more ambitious and active wheels in motion. Led by the company’s unique Client Concierge team—a diverse group of professionals practicing the art of customer intimacy to perfection—during the 4th quarter 2020, Day & Nite/All Service/Popular Plumbing conducted roughly 100 in-depth client review sessions. Highly engaged cross-functional customer reviews not only further aligned all strategic and transactional interests, clear leading indicators and marketplace patterns compelled considerable action. In short, invaluable insights gained from formal client reviews and subsequent smaller group meetings, more subject-specific discussions presented Day & Nite with many important choices to make on an accelerated timeframe for the express purposes of delivering greater value to the market.