Values Series: Focus 🎯

Published almost 2 years ago • 10 min read

10.2023 Edition

Powered by 7shifts​

Editor: Justin Khanna​

Hey Reader,

This week, considering we’re in the middle of a series on your business’s values (catch up on previous newsletters here), I’m excited to announce the second one we’re all about: Focus.

Now, this might seem like a contradiction to what I mentioned previously in regards to being able to invert the value. You might be asking, “who doesn’t value Focus?”

To illustrate this, I’d like to dig into the mental model called “Explore vs Exploit”. To tie this back to the value, swap out the word “exploit” with “focus” anytime I mention it.

The blog conceptually.org gives this example when explaining the framework:

”Your small movie production business has had a few hits over the years and you’re trying to work out what your next project should be. You know that if you did a sequel of an old classic (Exploit/Focus) it would have mediocre returns. Alternatively, you could try a hot new idea (Explore) which is highly unpredictable: it could nosedive, meaning you don’t recover what it cost you to make it, or it could be the next blockbuster series.”

Believe it or not, many businesses value this observable lack of focus in their operations and leverage it into phenomenal returns. See: the tech company that pours tons of resources into R&D, the band that is willing to play at any venue that calls to book them, or the content creator that’s just trying new formats for what they’re publishing.

Of course, focus in the “micro” is necessary to get anything meaningful done, but this big-picture, capital-F-style “Focus” is also incredibly helpful for me as an entrepreneur. Because I'm not perfect by any stretch of the imagination.

I love saying yes. It’s in my optimistic nature to want to help people, learn new things, be involved in a contribution to the community, or hop on a new trend. Having this value in place allows me to consistently bounce asks of me off of "FOCUS", and it’s been incredibly helpful for me.

If the goal is to give millions of hospitality professionals access to resources that help them build, impact and profit, that needs to be the focus, even at the expense of other projects.

I’m also incredibly good at “twisting” opportunities and convincing myself that I’m somehow contributing towards the focus, when in reality they’re just a distraction.

“Oh well, I could just say yes to this dinner, and take the profits from it and re-invest into a new tool to help run Total Station Domination”

“Yeah, I could make this TikTok and get more followers, thereby giving me more exposure and helping to get more members of the Repertoire Pro Community”

“I should definitely review this new piece of gear, because it’ll add another diversified income stream every month”

I’m reminded of this quote: “Mark Zuckerberg didn’t have a ‘side hustle’. He built Facebook”

I’m beyond the “figuring out what Repertoire is” stage. I’m confident in what I want it to look like, who it’s for, and I’m clear on the value it can provide. If I was more in the “discovery” stage, the value might be “Experimentation” over really drilling into what I know I want to do (focus).

So that’s the “why” behind Focus, what about the “how”?

I believe focus comes from confidence and clarity.

The opposite of this might look like an under-resourced, chaotic, amateur effort with an endless time-horizon or a tight deadline. Some of us have definitely been in that kind of a work environment 🙋 Said differently, you don’t have what you need, you’re unsure what’s happening, and you don’t know how to determine success. How’s anyone supposed to focus?

I’m reminded of another helpful framework related to delegation. It says every delegated task should be accompanied by 3 details: Resources, Strategy, and a Definition of Done.

We cover this in TSD, so students will be familiar with this, but keeping this top-of-mind dictates how we do things ourselves, not just how we give advice in for working in the kitchen.

Spoiler alert: focus is by-far the most challenging value for me, and it’s absolutely a case of “our work works on us as much as we work on it".

It’s important that I make these decisions now because it directly impacts how I’ll prioritize for the future:

  • If I want my team to value focus, this means that when I hire my first full-time employee, I need to be able to pay them enough so that they can give 100% when they’re working. Everyone who’s ever worked for free or for under-market rates knows the feeling of having to juggle additional income sources
  • If roles can be done remotely and that lifestyle allows for more focus, why wouldn’t we offer those positions to folks?
  • If the team is constantly feeling micromanaged or don’t feel like communication is clear, there are systems I can put in place to help mitigate that, leading to more focus for them and less stress for me 😅
  • If we get pitched an opportunity, get a request for a new product/feature or need to manage growth, I’ll be filtering those through the question: “does this help us focus?”

As I said, this value is more aspirational to me than non-negotiable. I don’t think I’m the best example of it yet.

However, I see it in some of the best organizations and teams in the world, which clearly means that I value it. And considering it directly impacts my decision making in the moment, I see it as a pretty useful tool so far.

What’s next for me is creating an undeniable stack of proof that I truly do value focus, and then I’ll be able to confidently flex a bit harder on this and speak from experience 😉

Don’t miss next week’s newsletter where I’ll continue to #BuildInPublic, reveal the last value, and attempt to tie all of this together with a bow that can help you do this for your own team.

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Top Hits 💥

​How the Other NRA Funds Efforts to Keep Industry Pay Low​

If you’re a close observer of the food world, you might already know the National Restaurant Association (a trade group that is often called “the other NRA”) or that the organization is criticized by labor advocates for its efforts to maintain the industry standard of low pay. Now the New York Times’ Talmon Joseph Smith and David A. Fahrenthold have published a bombshell report about how the NRA uses fees from mandatory food-safety courses to fundraise this lobbying. Read the full article to know more...

Our Take: We aren't the ones to break this news, a lot of the push back on this is what we agree with. What we want to share is the fact that we'll be looking to be a part of an exciting opposing action in May to help be a driving positive force for hospitality professionals - stay tuned!

​Explorers are bad leaders | Derek Sivers ​

Explorers poke through the unknown, experimenting, trying many little dead-ends.

Explorers meander, constantly changing directions based on hunch, mood, and curiosity.

Explorers are hard to follow. It’s better to let them wander alone, then hear their tales.

Explorers occasionally find a great place that would make a better home for many people. So that makes a job for a leader.

Leaders are easy to follow. Leaders say, “Here’s where we’re going. Here’s why this will improve your life. Here’s how we’re going to get there. Let’s go.”

Leaders sell the dream. Leaders describe the destination clearly and simply so it’s easy to understand and repeat. Even someone in the back of the pack, that can’t hear the leader, can follow along.

Leaders go in a straight line. Leaders simplify.

Explorers are bad leaders.

Our Take: It'd be lying to say that this post isn't a perfect exemplification of the "explore vs exploit" framework, just worded slightly differently.

Considering Derek's writing is so clean and sculpted, we'll leave you with some questions this week if you're striving to become a better leader: might it be time to do less "exploring"? Does your team suffer from your "constant changing directions" and "meandering"? Have you successfully done a good job as an explorer but you're still continuing to wear that hat when a leader might be what's necessary?

​Toast Teams Up with Google to Launch a New Ordering Channel to Help Restaurants Meet Guests Where They Are ​

Toast POS - Toast (NYSE: TOST), the all-in-one digital platform built for restaurants, today announced the Order with Google integration that allows restaurants using Toast Online Ordering to unlock a new channel for more orders. Order with Google is fully integrated with the Toast Point of Sale (POS) and is seamless for restaurant owners and guests alike.

“As restaurants look to optimize their businesses across multiple channels and revenue streams, online ordering has become a critical channel for any restaurant,” said Aman Narang, COO and Co-founder of Toast. “We are thrilled to collaborate with Google to help Toast customers maximize their online presence and take control of their ordering channels. As restaurants continue to grow their takeout and delivery business, this integration will increase Toast customers' visibility through Google Search and Maps—with ordering made easy for guests.”

Our Take: Anytime there's decreased friction for the customer, it generally results in those customers being happier. However, we'll often see operators not noticing the "phantom downsides" of these types of integrations. You can absolutely make integrations like this work for your business, just ask yourself:

  • Am I losing out on a relationship with the customer here? - The person closest to the customer typically gets to set the rules of the game. If Google is going to be where customers come to find you, consider taking a tip from Rushir from Popchew and update the featured photos for your business. Ensure your website is clearly shown, your details are up-to-date and you're responding to reviews that happen on that platform
  • Is there a price I'm paying here? - We see it all the time. If a platform is charging you a fee or if a change in your service level is resulting in increased expenses (disposables, more staff, etc), don't just blindly allow that to happen if you're feeling like it's detrimental. Why not give the blanket advice that everyone should always raise prices? Because organizations that have robust marketing strategies might even save money through keeping their prices the same on delivery apps - it's effectively free customer acquisition 🤯
  • What can I do to stand out? - If you realize that the relationship with your customers is feeling "transactional" because of these types of integrations, add in the human touch through some authentic hospitality. Have an in-person-only option on the menu so that folks are encouraged to come in (and include a cheap print-out in the bag of every order to market it to people). Build in loyalty through software-enabled programs. Incentivize reviews from folks that have a great experience.

We'd love to share some stories next week if you folks have found some fun and effective ways to adapt in the past 36 months...just hit "reply" to this email and tell us what's worked!

ICYMI 🙌

Just launched on our private hospitality professional community: Discounts & Bonuses 🎉 we work with some of our favorite brands to get members some great discounts (10% off & free sharpening at Korin, 15% off at Tilit, extended trials of software, more...) - not to mention, the Repertoire Pro Community features monthly Hotseat sessions for coaching, a Discord-esque real-time chat, focused spaces for discussions on topics like gear, menus and business, and so much more. Join today, and if you're already a member, peep the newly built out 🎁Discounts & Bonuses space!

🎙️ Junoon’s Akshay Bhardwaj aka Forbes 30 Under 30 - Food & Drink (2020) aka Executive Chef of a Michelin Starred Restaurant, sat with us to do a podcast interview. If you haven’t already, listen to the full episode on your favorite Podcast player or view it on YouTube.

📱Did you know: for those of you that are short on time but still love the podcast, we share short vertical clips on Instagram and YouTube​

This Week, We Learned… 🧠

  • HBO’s ‘The Last of Us’ Brings the Fear of Mushrooms to the Fore
  • Why You Should Save Your Rice Water​
  • Michael Ruhlman’s Substack - Did you know the best selling author writes a newsletter with his wife? You do now!
  • ​Top 10 most instagrammed dishes of all time. Listen to the podcast episode with Brent Herrig where we talk about Working for Free, Creative Freedom, Dream Photoshoots, and more.

Comment from you folks:

To Peep 👀

Quote I'm Pondering 💭

“The difference between successful people and really successful people is that really successful people say no to almost everything.”- Warren Buffet

Thanks for reading, as always,

👊Justin​

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