Donald Burns (speaker) frames the restaurant industry as a competitive game analogous to chess. He argues that knowing rules and strategies lets restaurateurs outmaneuver many competitors and cites The Queen's Gambit as inspiration, suggesting chess strategies can be applied to win customers (guests) as the prize.
The restaurant industry is a game. It's a game where you are the player and your guests are the prize. The restaurant game is a lot like chess. You have to know the rules to play, and you have to know the strategies if you want to win. The difference is that in chess, you're only playing against one person, and in the restaurant game, you're playing against a lot of people. That's your competition. I was watching that series on Netflix called the Queen's Gambit, and I realized she was so good because she studied the strategies that would give her an advantage over her competition. The good news is, is that you can use these same strategies that the best chess players in the world use to outmaneuver their opponents.
If your restaurant only works because you work 80 hours a week, it doesn't work.
