G'day Reader

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Why did you come into hospitality?

How did you 'join' this club?

For some, it's an accident.

For others, it's a short-term thing that lasts a little longer!

For a few, it's a planned career from the start.

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For me, I did the owner of a local pub a favour and covered a shift.

That shift turned into 2-3 shifts a week.

Then their marriage hit a difficult moment.

They asked me to manage the pub while they went away for a week.

I was 17. That was 43 years ago.

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In 1987 I was lucky to join Bass (UK's biggest brewer & pub operator)

They had a graduate entry route as part of what was called "the Milk Round"

I'd forgotten about the interview.

I'd just flown in from New Orleans! 😎

I was president of my students union and I'd been doing a travel license deal.

Had gone straight to the office. Hadn't showered. Wearing my flight clothes.

Got a call from the Uni admin team (who I new well) on our landline!

"David, did you forget about your interview with Bass?"

"Yes. Damn. Is he still there? Ok, I'll be over in 5 minutes"

In his long career recruiting graduates, he'd never had a 'me' before!

I got the job.

13 yrs later I was headhunted from London to Melbourne as CEO of a group

Then for 12 years, I built my own multi-site group. What a joy.

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I learnt a lot during my 43 year apprenticeship.

I share as much as I can these days.

Through this Future of Hospitality newsletter and the free events I run.

And more intensely and personally for my coaching clients.

My mission is wider, but starts with helping people thrive:

• balance life
• avoid burnout
• get better results 'today'
• build a strategy for better results 'tomorrow'
• make a difference through developing meaning & purpose

We don't need to have a "burn & churn" reputation in our industry.

We don't need to have record burnout of our people.

We don't need to have record business failures.

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Burnout & Results

Burnout creeps up on us.

We get stressed, more stressed, even more stressed, exhausted

We can't sleep because we are worried about everything.

Overwhelm takes over and we can't make clear decisions.

It's just our survival system wanting to focus on staying alive

Not necessarily thinking through a more complex business decision.

We're pushed by our own nervous system into thinking short-term

I describe it as not being able to see past the end of our own nose.

When we don't make good decisions, that can produce bad results

Bad results increase stress.

Can you see where this goes?

Swirling downwards into the proverbial sink drain hole.

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So, I can help you make more money, very easily.

Helping you make more time, get more balance and enjoy life

Even when tough times are going on around us.

Well, that's a lot harder.

No point in you making more money and having a heart attack, right?

There are a lot of dead millionaires.

I was almost one of them.

I want you to thrive in your business or career AND your life.

This picture describes it possibly better than words can:

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Nobody is coming to save you.

I write a lot in daily LinkedIn posts about the government and industry associations doing very little to nothing to save our industry. It's appalling.

The only way to move your career forward, build your business and find greater balance in life, is to take action yourself. Ideally, with guidance.

Don't get stuck like a rabbit in car headlights. You know the outcome.

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Take action now

Pick low-hanging fruit - quick win strategies to boost results fast

• adjust trading days & hours
• work on margins - yield, cogs, prices, theft, waste
• improve labour effectiveness & efficiency - training / costed rosters
• increase average sales per current customer - gently does it
• increase the frequency of visit for current customers
• communicate with lapsed customers

(none of the above requires a focus on new customers - that comes later)

Develop a 3-12 months strategy that repositions you:

• in your local market
• in relation to your competitors
• as better value for money with your customers

Work on improving wellbeing - yours and your team

Work on improving life-balance - your and your team

Keep training your people. It's an investment not a cost

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Get my free guide to improve wellbeing & balance

Every day you have the opportunity to create a better future for yourself and those around you. It's harder to do that when you're:

• stressed
• exhausted
• overwhelmed

and possibly heading to burnout. Whether that's you or your team.

Let's not accept these record levels of burnout and change that outcome.

Please feel free, as ever, to reply with your thoughts, messages, and ideas.

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Let's create a thriving future of hospitality together.

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David

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David Carruthers
Founder, Future of Hospitality

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