Top Ten Learnings

10. Low-Awareness Market Challenges
While working in a low-awareness market is very exciting (hardly a day goes by where I do not have the opportunity to introduce someone to Chick-fil-A) it can also be very challenging.

9. Hiring and Terminating Employees
This is an area where I have had to learn from my mistakes. Employee turnover is necessary in order to remain remarkable and continuously improve.

8. Increasing Sales
Although I majored in Marketing and have been involved with a number of marketing events (Project IF), I have learned a lot about the ins and outs of increasing sales in the past few months.

7. Bartering
Recently, I have discovered the value of bartering with other businesses to save money. By bartering, I have been able to obtain other businesses’ products and services for my team by using the retail value of our food, while only spending the actual cost. This has been great for team member incentives and contest prizes.

6. “Lonely on Top”
As an IM/Operator it is my job to be a leader, not a friend. I have learned that it is SO important to have a social network outside of the restaurant in order to keep the priorities of the business in focus.

5. R&M
As an IM, this area is so important because I am responsible for equipping the next operator with a fully functional restaurant. This situation has forced me, out of necessity, to learn the ins and outs of preventative maintenance and the best practices of repairing equipment.

4. Signage
Signage is an effective way to communicate my vision to the team. Signs ensure that there will be nothing lost in translation – my message will reach the team just as I want them to hear it.

3. Goal Setting
It is so important to set SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time Specific) goals for the team in order to create focus. By taking time to observe and assess at the beginning of my assignment, I was able to create SMART goals that were tailored for the team at Federal Heights.

2. Vision
Vision is such a key part of leading a team. The past few months I have been given the opportunity to develop a vision for the restaurant, communicate that vision to the team, and make adjustments based on the team’s implementation of the vision.

1. Prioritizing and Organizing Time
My number one learning as an Interim Manager has been on the practice of prioritizing and organizing my time. A few weeks after I started my assignment, I was able to attend a Building Champions workshop where I learned all about prioritizing time, setting a vision, and focusing on the areas that are most important to me.