A short YouTube motivational clip by Donald Burns encouraging restaurant owners/managers to adopt a "burn the boats" mindset—total commitment modeled on Hernán Cortés' 1519 order to burn his ships—and to build an outstanding culture so the restaurant serves the owner's goals rather than running them. The speaker stresses eliminating excuses and fully committing to achieving restaurant success.
And you have to have this mindset, what I like to call burn the boats mindset. And you know where burn the boats came from? 1519. Fernand Cortez, Spanish explorer and conquistador, decides that he wants to go to the Yucatan. He wants to go and conquer the Aztecs. While Cortez tries to take over these Aztecs, he ordered him to sink the boat, burn the boat. We either conquer as heroes or we die in the process. If you want to move your restaurant to that level, have this attitude that you are basically, I'm not going to take it anymore. No excuses. You are basically going to go forward, making sure you get the restaurant and the life you want and that your restaurant does not run you. And that starts with having an outstanding culture.
If your restaurant only works because you work 80 hours a week, it doesn't work.
