I've been watching my Kitchen Nightmares DVD for the past two nights and have been entertained by Gordon Ramsay's kick-ass-tough-love approach to turning around ailing restaurants around the USA.
I know some of the episodes are staged to make for goof TV viewing but the true stories behind the made for TV reality are definitely true.
One common theme I noticed in these once successful restos gone bad is that the owners or the chefs have lost their passion for what they do. And when that happens,things start going downhill. So usually, one of Gordon's remedies is try to get the chefs or business owners to be passionate about what they do...even if he has to use the "F" word on them over and over again just to light some fire in them.
It just got me thinking about myself. What am I really pasionate about? I'm starting to recognize signs of mediocrity in the way I do things or in the lack of drive to pursue ideas.
Maybe I need Gordon Ramsay to wake my f***ing head off! :-)
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
GIFTEDNESS
I attended a John Maxwell Leadership seminar yesterday which was videocast live from the EDSA Shangrila Hotel where John held the actual session.
While talking about the key elements to being a successful leader,John said that we should know our giftedness and work at improving it. Only then will we be able to rise above the average.
"No one pays to watch average!" he bellowed in his loud baritone voice.
It got me to thinking about my own giftedness and that of my family's.
What am I really good at and what should I really work on to " rise above the average?"
Some answers:
- I am good at getting things organized and started. Like a Pioneer of sorts. When I look at my track record I can point to several "firsts" that I achieved. I have the knack for getting support and seeing things through their completion.
e.g. The 1st Jollibee Manager's convention, the 1st in-house training video productions for Jollibee,the 1st Sales rally,the 1st Training Kitchen,the 1st to use line trainers. I also organized our Juvenate Grand Reunion in 2006.
- I am creative and artistic. I have a good sense of design and the works I have produced are appreciated. e.g I have made paintings that have sold. My composition:The Chowking Hymn and songs I made for our conventions, have been sung and received accolades. My photographs have been admired and are well-liked.
My wife Jaja's giftedness lies in her ability to make friends easily. She is loved by her friends just as she loves them. She also has this tenacity of spirit that has seen her through tough times and projects that would dishearten lesser mortals. She doesn't believe she has it but she is entrepreneurial and good at selling things.
My son TJ is gifted with the ability to write or should I say, express himself well in written word. He also has such a powerful imagination that we may not have tapped yet. He has been gifted with such a caring heart that it has been broken at times.
James. our second son, seems to have in herited his mom's gift of friendliness. He is the one with many friends and social contacts. We were surprised to know that he was getting free dental treatment in school because he was buddy-buddy with the school dentist! He is also the businessman, having made money already from selling assembled model cars/robots and Magic cards. He also has a taste for good food which is why he is studying to be a chef.
Tasha surprised us all by turning out to be a gifted athlete. She has won more medals in competitions than I have in academics. She is also a good baker, and has a good sense of fashion. She is our consultant when it comes to dressing up in style. Her grades in school may not reflect it,but she's also very smart. She can figure out a lot of things on her own specially when something has caught her interest.
Realizing this, I see that I have been blessed with a gifted family and know also that I have a challenge to see my childrens' potentials developed to their maximum.
While talking about the key elements to being a successful leader,John said that we should know our giftedness and work at improving it. Only then will we be able to rise above the average.
"No one pays to watch average!" he bellowed in his loud baritone voice.
It got me to thinking about my own giftedness and that of my family's.
What am I really good at and what should I really work on to " rise above the average?"
Some answers:
- I am good at getting things organized and started. Like a Pioneer of sorts. When I look at my track record I can point to several "firsts" that I achieved. I have the knack for getting support and seeing things through their completion.
e.g. The 1st Jollibee Manager's convention, the 1st in-house training video productions for Jollibee,the 1st Sales rally,the 1st Training Kitchen,the 1st to use line trainers. I also organized our Juvenate Grand Reunion in 2006.
- I am creative and artistic. I have a good sense of design and the works I have produced are appreciated. e.g I have made paintings that have sold. My composition:The Chowking Hymn and songs I made for our conventions, have been sung and received accolades. My photographs have been admired and are well-liked.
My wife Jaja's giftedness lies in her ability to make friends easily. She is loved by her friends just as she loves them. She also has this tenacity of spirit that has seen her through tough times and projects that would dishearten lesser mortals. She doesn't believe she has it but she is entrepreneurial and good at selling things.
My son TJ is gifted with the ability to write or should I say, express himself well in written word. He also has such a powerful imagination that we may not have tapped yet. He has been gifted with such a caring heart that it has been broken at times.
James. our second son, seems to have in herited his mom's gift of friendliness. He is the one with many friends and social contacts. We were surprised to know that he was getting free dental treatment in school because he was buddy-buddy with the school dentist! He is also the businessman, having made money already from selling assembled model cars/robots and Magic cards. He also has a taste for good food which is why he is studying to be a chef.
Tasha surprised us all by turning out to be a gifted athlete. She has won more medals in competitions than I have in academics. She is also a good baker, and has a good sense of fashion. She is our consultant when it comes to dressing up in style. Her grades in school may not reflect it,but she's also very smart. She can figure out a lot of things on her own specially when something has caught her interest.
Realizing this, I see that I have been blessed with a gifted family and know also that I have a challenge to see my childrens' potentials developed to their maximum.
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
KITCHEN NIGHTMARES: NICK GONE LOCO OVER ROCOCO
Nick Anderson,chef and proprietor of Nick's Bistro at Rococo, was an award winning chef who, precisely because he was supposed to be good,couldn't get his ego out of the way and did things his way. Unfortunately, his way was leding him to bankruptcy.
When Gordon Ramsay came to the rescue and asked Nick's wife how much they would be in debt if they closed down now, she said: "About a hundred grand!"
Problem was they didn't have that money to pay up. And they couldn't close down because Nick had two little kids who,in Gordon's colorful language, would be all f****d up!
Before he could help however,Gordon had to make Nick eat some humble pie so he would listen and be open to suggestions.
After Gordon tasted some of Nick's menu (which included own of Gordon's), he didn't have kind words to say. He observed Nick and his sous chef serve customers one evening and his comment was that everything nick was doing was pretentious.
Why? Because Nick was using expensive raw materials for his menu and spending a lot of time plating his dishes so he would come across to customers as a classy chef, and they would have to pay top dollar (pounds) for the food.
Unfortunately, as Gordon found out by interviewing former customers, Nick had priced himself out of the market. Worse is that they didn't believe they were getting value for their money.
Throughout the episode Gordon kept badgering Nick to rethink his strategy of keeping his resto as a pricey and pretentious operation. He also pointed out that Nick had to radically change his ways because years of doing the same thing over and over again had left him uncreative.
Nick's pride was obviously hurt because when Gordon returned for a visit he found himself locked out. When Nick finally opened the door he had been crying his eyes out because he didn't feel Gordon appreciated anything he had done.
That was the break Gordon needed,because at least this time Nick was open to listening.
As a first major step to rehab, Gordon recommended that Nick change the restaurant's name. Out of the top of his head he came up with the name "Maggie's" because it was located near the Church of St. Margaret's. Nick didn't like the name but finally gave in.
Gordon also trimmed down the menu and showed Nick he could cut down his prices by getting produce and raw materials fresh and cheap from the local suppliers. He recommended they keep the preparation simple so they could serve customers faster too!
In keeping with the unpretentious and simple Maggie's theme, the resto's look was kept to a bare tables and chairs motif. Anything to do with Rococo was removed.
When Nick re-opened to customers whom they invited through leafletting,he was encouraged by what he saw. The food was going out of the kitchen fast,and customers praised the delicious cooking which came at a lower price. What's more, Nick seemed to be enjoying what he was doing again.
Gordon returned to Maggie's after a month,and the first thing he noticed was that the resto was full. He wanted to try the food but he couldn't get a table until they found him one. And when he tasted the food, he was pleased because Nick had kept it honest, simple and unpretentious.
Sales of Maggie's was averaging four thousand on weekdays and eight thousand on a good day. This was more than double of what he was making under the Rococo name. What was great was that Nick confessed that he was now doing all these things from his heart.
I learned a lot of lessons myself from this episode: humility,the need for continuous improvement and innovation, changing strategy when things change and doing something that one loves.
When Gordon Ramsay came to the rescue and asked Nick's wife how much they would be in debt if they closed down now, she said: "About a hundred grand!"
Problem was they didn't have that money to pay up. And they couldn't close down because Nick had two little kids who,in Gordon's colorful language, would be all f****d up!
Before he could help however,Gordon had to make Nick eat some humble pie so he would listen and be open to suggestions.
After Gordon tasted some of Nick's menu (which included own of Gordon's), he didn't have kind words to say. He observed Nick and his sous chef serve customers one evening and his comment was that everything nick was doing was pretentious.
Why? Because Nick was using expensive raw materials for his menu and spending a lot of time plating his dishes so he would come across to customers as a classy chef, and they would have to pay top dollar (pounds) for the food.
Unfortunately, as Gordon found out by interviewing former customers, Nick had priced himself out of the market. Worse is that they didn't believe they were getting value for their money.
Throughout the episode Gordon kept badgering Nick to rethink his strategy of keeping his resto as a pricey and pretentious operation. He also pointed out that Nick had to radically change his ways because years of doing the same thing over and over again had left him uncreative.
Nick's pride was obviously hurt because when Gordon returned for a visit he found himself locked out. When Nick finally opened the door he had been crying his eyes out because he didn't feel Gordon appreciated anything he had done.
That was the break Gordon needed,because at least this time Nick was open to listening.
As a first major step to rehab, Gordon recommended that Nick change the restaurant's name. Out of the top of his head he came up with the name "Maggie's" because it was located near the Church of St. Margaret's. Nick didn't like the name but finally gave in.
Gordon also trimmed down the menu and showed Nick he could cut down his prices by getting produce and raw materials fresh and cheap from the local suppliers. He recommended they keep the preparation simple so they could serve customers faster too!
In keeping with the unpretentious and simple Maggie's theme, the resto's look was kept to a bare tables and chairs motif. Anything to do with Rococo was removed.
When Nick re-opened to customers whom they invited through leafletting,he was encouraged by what he saw. The food was going out of the kitchen fast,and customers praised the delicious cooking which came at a lower price. What's more, Nick seemed to be enjoying what he was doing again.
Gordon returned to Maggie's after a month,and the first thing he noticed was that the resto was full. He wanted to try the food but he couldn't get a table until they found him one. And when he tasted the food, he was pleased because Nick had kept it honest, simple and unpretentious.
Sales of Maggie's was averaging four thousand on weekdays and eight thousand on a good day. This was more than double of what he was making under the Rococo name. What was great was that Nick confessed that he was now doing all these things from his heart.
I learned a lot of lessons myself from this episode: humility,the need for continuous improvement and innovation, changing strategy when things change and doing something that one loves.
Tuesday, June 03, 2008
WHAT IF...
...I created a brand ( FARMER RON'S) and challenged the biggest farm products producer in the country...and succeeded!
That would really be an aswer to many dreams...and I would DEFINITELY learn a lot of things along the way...
...and probably enjoy life while doing so!
HERE'S TO TAKING THE FIRST STEP TOWARDS MY JOURNEY TO ENTREPRENEURSHIP
That would really be an aswer to many dreams...and I would DEFINITELY learn a lot of things along the way...
...and probably enjoy life while doing so!
HERE'S TO TAKING THE FIRST STEP TOWARDS MY JOURNEY TO ENTREPRENEURSHIP
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