Howard Johnson, the legendary founder of the Howard Johnson's restaurant chain, visited one of his restaurants every day. Even after the chain numbered more than one thousand restaurants, Mr. Johnson never spent an entire day in his headquarters office. Asked how he could find the time to visit restaurants daily, he replied, "Because that's where the customer is. I want to see what he sees, meet the servers, eat the same food and sit where he sits. You can't run a restaurant if you don't know your customer."

Pablo is quick; quick to smile…quick to volunteer…quick to be of service…quick to do what needs to be done. He is only a busboy, but you can see that he believes being of service is his opportunity to succeed. Everybody loves Pablo. The wait staff is always eager to work with him and regular customers strain to catch his attention and enjoy the smile he instantly bestows. You can feel his energy in the dining room whenever he is scheduled to work. This humble busboy has become one of our restaurant’s main attractions.

Tony knows his business. He is not just working his way through college as a bus-boy; he is planning to become the restaurant’s manager when he graduates.

Restaurant managers rarely think of strategic planning as part of their job description. This is partly because the very term “strategic planning” feels theoretical and lofty. Managers fiercely engaged in day to day operations prefer to leave lofty thinking to academics.