Donald Burns (speaker) frames restaurant culture as a necessary dynamic but warns it can become a "monster" if neglected. In this opening segment he asks whether a restaurant owner’s culture has grown out of control, uses the monster/Godzilla metaphor to stress risk to the brand, and recommends addressing cultural problems early while they are still small.
When you started your restaurant, you brought an idea to life. And along with that idea came the dynamic every business and society needs to successfully have to survive. You need culture. Is your culture a monster? So maybe your focus was on building sales, and you really didn't pay a lot of attention to how your culture was growing. Is there something not quite right about your culture in your restaurant? Does it feel like your culture has grown into a little monster that's difficult to control? It's better to deal with that monster when it's small, before it grows into Godzilla and consumes your entire brand.
If your restaurant only works because you work 80 hours a week, it doesn't work.
