Donald Burns tells restaurant owners that culture comes from what you tolerate, not what you say. He describes firing a toxic cook who was driving staff away, then explains how to pick one unacceptable behavior, make it explicit, and enforce it every time.
Hey, wake up. If you're an independent restaurant owner, let me remind you that your culture isn't built on your BS mission statement. It's built on what you tolerate. Now, culture is not what you preach. It's what you permit. And every time you ignore a team member showing up late, being disrespectful, or cutting corners, what you're actually doing is you're saying that this is acceptable here. And guess what? Everyone else in the team is watching. One toxic employee can destroy months and months of team building. I once coached this restaurant in LA where the owner just couldn't figure out why good employees kept quitting. Turns out there was one cook who was making everybody miserable. And here's the thing. The leadership team wouldn't deal with it. And the result? You guessed it. A revolving door of talent. So what's the fix? The fix is start with one behavior you are no longer willing to tolerate. Maybe it's lateness, maybe it's back. Talk. And then make it a standard, make it known, and most importantly, enforce it every single time. Culture shifts when consistency shows up. And if you want to stop being a babysitter and start being an owner, reach out to me and let's talk.
If your restaurant only works because you work 80 hours a week, it doesn't work.
