The MasterChef Metaphor...Is your service business worthy of 3 Michelin Stars?
Have you spent time recently considering the importance of leadership, teamwork and customer in your service business?
OK so it's possible that I have been watching too many cooking shows. It occurred to me, while watching the Marco Pierre White challenge on MasterChef this week, that a professional kitchen is a great metaphor for any service-based business.
Watching Danni struggle to motivate and coordinate her team left us all in no doubt about the importance of leadership. Unlike her counterpart on the other team, Danni did not define her role as the leader. What was she there to do? How should she do it? What could the team expect from her? Leaving these questions unanswered created chaos for all members of the team. She also attempted to demand respect - rather than earn it. Given that she was arguably the weakest member of the team, that's a particularly tough call.
As a viewer it appeared that we were watching a group of individuals rather than a team. Superficially it seemed that there was a unifying vision - win the challenge by serving the best food in the most professional way. Each member of the team also seemed to have sufficient role clarity - each person was responsible for particular element(s) of the menu. But, as always, the true test of the team occurred when they got into trouble. As the team got further behind, and the lack of leadership direction ever more apparent, the situation cried out for the team members to step up, rally around and help each other. It did eventually happen - but by then it was too late. Ideally we would have seen the team run like a pit crew for a formula one racing team. Everyone would know their job and execute it quickly with maximum precision. But, as we saw this week, planning your response when things don't go to plan can be just as important as having the plan in the first instance.
Who was the customer in this challenge? Did anyone else get the feeling that Danni's team had no idea? It's true that they designed a menu to showcase a range of impressive culinary techniques - but what's the point if your customers would prefer French Onion Soup and Coq au Vin? There is a danger that you'll miss critical customer insights if you spend too much time being "clever" or "fancy". Often success comes from listening to your clients and presenting the most simple solution that meets your needs.
One final note - I wonder how much time Danni and the team have spent reflecting on the things they could have done better. What about you? How much time have you and your team spent recently considering how you can improve your effectiveness? If you'd like some simple diagnostic tools to help with this process, please email me at
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