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2 4 • R E S T A U R A N T D E V E L O P M E N T + D E S I G N • M A R C H / A P R I L 2 0 1 5 Consultant's Take doesn't mean they're always right. Many concept creators have a tendency to surround themselves with people who agree with them. That may happen because they drive other people away or because they don't realize that what they need is someone willing to chal- lenge their assertions. In the military, they have the junior offcers go frst (from lowest rank on up) when com- menting on a plan or strategy to avoid the tendency for people to agree with the senior offcer. I have found this to be very useful when talking about a design or conducting an idea session with a group of people who work for a charismatic leader. If you explain to them in advance how to conduct these meetings, they usually embrace the idea and are willing to go along. It often means you have to take the lead in situations where the working group may otherwise have waited to frst hear what the chief had to say. Be willing to speak the truth. Telling the truth when a client or executive may not want to hear it can put the relationship at risk. This can be tough to do. If you're a consultant, you have to shed the fear of losing business and income. Being willing to speak the truth can, indeed, cause you to lose the work. But keep in mind that what your clients want most is to know that you are more interested in helping them than you are in maintaining an income stream. That advice is directly from "Getting Naked" and I consider it the single best piece of advice I've received. As one of my partners always says, we are often in a position where we have to "tell someone their kids are ugly." Doing so in an honest way lets you maintain your integrity, and ultimately can create last- ing relationships that are built on trust. Never say never! As a general rule, never say anything is impossible, even when someone poses an idea that sounds completely impossible. When a client or executive on a project requests something that sounds like it would be crazy expensive or just not feasible, bite your tongue. Instead of saying it can't be done or commenting on the potential cost, do some probing. Ask questions about what it is they are after. What are they hoping guests will feel as a result of this approach or design idea, or how do they see this contributing to the guest experience? How does this support what the brand stands for? Listening to what's behind the vision can help you come up with alternative ways to accomplish what they are after. I fnd that people rarely start out with why they think an idea is important and in some cases they haven't even thought it through until you ask them. It takes asking some ques- tions and digging to fnd what they are really hoping to accomplish. Be a problem solver. The best thing about working with or for someone who has innovative vision is fguring out what they are really good at and helping them execute it in ways they haven't thought of or couldn't get done before. Often, the Steve Jobs of the world have a pretty tough time getting their vision to reality. Some are tired of being told so often that things can't be done that they de- velop a caustic approach. For others, the diffculty is that what they want to do seems too expensive to make the fnan- cial model work. This usually results in a lot of head-butting with fnancial back- ers and everyone loses. The innovator gets bored and frustrated and the magic is watered down or lost completely. Being able to listen carefully to what is behind the vision and come up with alternate ways of achieving it makes you the hero (even if the client doesn't actually pin that label on you). Listen carefully to why they want to do something and make yourself an invalu- able resource by fguring out how to make it happen. As design and development executives or consultants helping grow brands with visionary founders, it's our job to get to the fre and magic that can make the brand successful, helping to turn it into a reality that can meet the economic needs of the sharehold- ers and help provide a path for growth. Doing so may not always be easy, but it sure is a lot of fun. + Being able to listen carefully to what is behind the vision and come up with alternate ways of achieving it makes you the hero (even if the client doesn't actually pin that label on you).