Many people dream of opening their own restaurant, but only a few succeed in making their dream come true. The participants of the new reality show didn’t just open a restaurant with all their money — they dared to do it under the guns of TV cameras. At the request of Psychologies, business coach Olga Mukhina watched the first three episodes of the reality show and advises participants on how to build relationships with each other in order to succeed.
Ksenia, Natasha and Denis are newcomers to the complex and cruel world of the restaurant business. They opened their restaurant in the very center of Moscow and at first they were full of hope and enthusiasm. Denis is a co-owner of the restaurant and a chef who is in love with his work. In his pursuit of the perfect dish, he can bring subordinates to tears. But if it includes charm, everyone forgives him. He is devoted to the restaurant he calls his home, but he does not delve into production problems, which sometimes annoys his companions.
Ksenia is the co-owner of the restaurant. Behind the appearance of a spectacular blonde lies an iron will and uncompromisingness. Formerly a lawyer. Now he runs all the affairs in his own restaurant. Dislikes empty talk. Rigidly controls everyone, including Denis.
Natasha is another co-owner, a specialist in commercial real estate valuation, a virtuoso in working with numbers. A successful career had to be interrupted after the birth of her first child. Natasha was fascinated by the idea of opening her own restaurant with her best friend Xenia. Soft and friendly, she exudes calmness and always tries to smooth out sharp corners. Natasha is eight months pregnant. How long can she help run the restaurant? And will Ksenia cope when everything falls on her shoulders?
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No more friends
After watching the first episode, I got the impression that only one hero of this story has an attitude towards the restaurant as his own business. The word “like-minded people” was heard several times, but there is no really single team there yet.
It is difficult to expect that even good friends, having started a business, will immediately act harmoniously. They were friends in another life — here are new tasks, new roles for each of them. I believe that when deciding on this project, not all participants asked themselves the questions: “Why do I need this?”, “What do I want to get as a result and what am I ready to sacrifice?”, “What will my tasks be?”. It’s one thing to just be an investor without interfering with daily work, and quite another to invest money and build YOUR business. The attitude to the matter will be different: in the first case, just one of the opportunities for income, in the second — my brainchild.
The heroes did not think about the need for agreements even on things that are obvious at first glance: who is responsible for what, who to involve in the search for a solution, what to do in non-standard situations. Apparently, they have a different understanding of who has what areas of responsibility. In my opinion, because of this, there are serious overheads in the work of the restaurant: products not delivered on time by suppliers, panic when customers are in the hall, but there are problems in the kitchen. So far, it seems that Denis is the main person for everything, from the concept and menu to deciding what to cook first when there are no blanks.
In defense of our heroes, I will say that this is a typical situation in any endeavor, but if you leave everything as it is instead of working for a result, the participants will begin to compare statuses, look for the guilty, and the standards and quality of customer service will quickly begin to decline. Let’s see how events develop.
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«Stop acting on camera»
Our heroes have the first serious defeat — they did not win the «Palm Branch» as the best restaurant and, of course, were upset. Reactions ranged from silence (“We didn’t win, so we lost”) to “Guys, we will still have many other opportunities.”
An important question — how will our heroes behave? You can give up for a long time, or you can accept reality and decide what needs to be changed. The main thing is to get back to work. But this requires internal resources — self-confidence, perseverance and enthusiasm. It is especially important for the leader to have this enthusiasm. It doesn’t matter which of the guys formally heads the business, but the leader in their group is Denis. Many of the things he said about the next steps sound right, but does he himself believe that this will produce results? A dream without hope and perseverance remains a dream.
If in the first part of the film we saw rather hidden conflicts — some issues were discussed only between girls and were clearly behind the scenes — now the conflicts have become «face-to-face». This would be useful for the business of our heroes, but, unfortunately, their discussions about the work of the restaurant are becoming more emotional, it seems to me that there is less and less focus on solving the issue. Grievances (“We spend a lot more time here”) and accusations (“Stop acting on camera”) are already openly heard.
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Now is the time to use Emotional Intelligence (EQ)—to be aware of and manage your emotions, as well as to “see” the emotions of others and respond constructively to them. Unfortunately, many are sure that to control oneself means not to show emotions. In fact, it is important to understand emotions before they overwhelm us — this is EQ. If we cannot cope with our feelings, then we become immune to the condition of other people, we act ineffectively. I would like to ask the project participants: what is more important for them now — to be right or still solve current issues?
Unfortunately, emotional stress almost always reduces trust in the group, both professional and personal. Let’s wait for the third part.
open confrontation
In the third series, the situation heats up. More and more conflicts and emotional reactions, already open confrontation: Denis and the Ksenia-Natalia coalition.
It seems to me that girls do not feel like full-fledged participants in a business in which they have invested a lot of money. They are just in the wings — to transfer a new problem to Denis or urgently replace the departed waitress, but this is not the role that they would like to play in the common cause.
I see more irritation in Denis’s behavior: there are no fewer problems, there are no results, all claims fall on him, fatigue only accumulates. It already sounds like “we” when explaining mistakes and shortcomings (“We did not have time to hire new staff”) — it seems that everyone is involved in the work, all restaurant owners have equal status, but not everyone is personally responsible for the result. Unfortunately, these are echoes of the first series — the lack of clear and precise agreements “on the shore” leads to the erosion of standards in work. In the past, we have heard that the staff in the kitchen and in the hall are nervous, as everything is happening in front of them. Soon, I am sure, the staff will simply begin to copy the style of relations between leaders — there will be more conflicts, employees will shift the blame on each other.
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The inability of the owners to give feedback to subordinates is obvious: the analysis of problems comes down to the search for “Why did it happen?” and “Who is to blame?”. In addition, I think that employees working in the kitchen and in the hall do not have a clear understanding of what is considered quality work in their particular area. Therefore, the question «Why?» they often answer, “I don’t know,” and shift the responsibility to colleagues.
It is quite understandable that in such a situation everyone is looking for an outlet in what gives professional satisfaction. Denis wants to get to the stove faster — cook for clients, forget at least for a while that his main task is to steer the business. I hope that such a “rollback” to the position of an expert is a temporary protection. Emotional intelligence skills do not work — it is easier to return to the familiar role.
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Lack of focus on results, inability to negotiate, resolve conflicts and manage the emotional side of relationships can lead to the destruction of trust and friendship. Any team goes through such tests — it is important to remember the problem areas and be conscious about communication issues.
Maybe our heroes will still be able to change something without drastic measures? To be honest, I don’t believe it anymore.