Gordon Ramsay is a great consultant
I’ve enjoyed watching Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares for several years now, it’s a great show and we all love to laugh (and cringe) at the predicaments the owners of these restaurants get themselves into before Gordon resurrects them. But it’s also a great example of a good consultant at work.
Our favourite football-star-turned-TV-chef exhibits several key traits, he is:
- confident – the meek might inherit the earth but they’re rubbish at getting the job done
- experienced – having done it all before he knows what he’s talking about and everyone knows it
- well rounded – it’s not just about the cooking, to run a successful restaurant you need to know about every aspect of the business
- eager to teach – he’s not a pompous prat who refuses to share his knowledge and experience, he gives it willingly
Gordon’s methodology on the TV show is simple but effective. One of the most useful parts of his approach is he breaks it down, demonstrating simple ‘tricks of the trade’ that can be the difference between staying afloat or going under. For example, I love the way he often shows how you can serve simple but elegant meals for mere pence, but sell it for a few quid.
By breaking the dire straits situation down to individual problems, the answers become quite simple. Like a lot of things, these answers are typically quite obvious, when viewed individually. The phrase “it’s not rocket surgery” seems to fit, but you need to work at the right resolution; the whole enchilada is too much to swallow in one go.
However, this is easier said than done. If you know what you’re doing you can salvage almost any situation. Gordon has a lot of experience, so he looks for patterns in each establishment he visits, patterns that reflect things he has dealt with in the past. With the benefit of 20-20 hindsight he can apply a solution. If you’re tackling something for the first time, it can be difficult to see the answer, even for a superstar chef.
Of course, the outsider’s perspective is a big advantage. The people in these failing restaurants are often blinded by their own myopia and apathy, even though they are talented, hard working people with the best intentions. They can’t see what’s happening right in front of their eyes, and in many cases they just don’t care anymore.
The parallels with being a consultant—particularly in the kind of work I do—are clear. And I think Gordon has the right approach to whipping his clients into shape. The swearing would certainly make my clients sit up and take notice :)
This analogy also highlights the importance of observing; spotting the points of pain and the root causes behind the troubles a restaurant is experiencing. This is equally important when working with my clients, for example examining the current situation with their website, intranet or information management practices. Then identifying the actions that would have the greatest impact in the shortest possible timeframe. Because we’re not talking about refinement in these situations, we’re talking about code red emergency, about to fall to pieces. That’s the scene we most often find ourselves in as consultants.
It’s a case of the 80/20 rule; forget trying to tackle everything, just tackle the key 20% of issues to keep your head above water (or the doors open in the case of a restaurant). Then once you’re up and running again you can smooth out the wrinkles and go for that Michelin Star!
Another key part of Gordon’s success is the fact that he aims to get people skilled-up and self-confident. He points them in the right direction then he f***s off (as Gordon would say). He doesn’t step in and do the work for them, otherwise when he leaves they would be back at square one. This is the only sustainable way; being a mentor as opposed to a contract expert.
So what? Well I am a big believer in uncovering useful things in places you’d least expect it. Yep, this is just a TV show, but I think we can all learn a thing or two from Gordon. In a way, this post is the spiritual successor to my earlier post about the Super Nanny. I wonder how many ‘celebrity consultants’ could be role models for the humble IT consultant.
Of course I’ve put myself right in it, I’m going to have to practice what I preach now. Have to get myself one of those funky chef’s shirts.
(Thanks to James for sparking off this idea.)
About the author
Patrick Kennedy is a user experience strategist and design researcher based in Sydney Australia. He leads research activities that improve the user experience of cross-channel products and services; helping both designers and business decision makers in bringing those products and services to fruition. Read more.
Comments
A huge drawback Mr Ramsay has is that he is a nasty bully. I don’t think it is an act. I really warmed to him as a mentor in Faking it, for the lad who had never cooked, and ending up winning a cheffing competition, but otherwise Ramsay’s behavior on his various shows, such as Hell’s Kitchen, suggest he is just a nasty piece of work almost all the time.
He is certainly a super high achiever, but I wonder what his social networks look like ;-)
And I wonder as a consultant whether he’d get repeat jobs ;-)
john
Fair enough point, but I must admit I don’t find him nasty at all, pretty funny actually. And I guess I did think it was all part of the act. In the US version of Kitchen Nightmare’s I got the impression he was trying to beef up that act (perhaps too much) and comes off looking just that little bit more crude…more like a bully. So you may be right John :)
Gordon Ramsay’s Lessons for Software Take Two…
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Hi Pat,
I can’t believe you don’t find Gordon a bully, but that doesn’t mean we can’t learn from him. Watching his shows I found myself scribbling lots of notes on how the Ramsay Way relates to software development. You might find of interest my posts Gordon Ramsay’s Lessons for Software Take Two and Gordon Ramsay On Software. Running a restaurant and developing software actually have a lot more in common than I ever thought.
Well I think in the original Kitchen Nightmares series he’s not, but having watched more of the US series I agree that he is a bit of a bully and a prat. Like I said, not sure why but he seems to be putting it on in for the USA. I didn’t watch the series where Gordon taught celebrity contestants to cook (called Hells Kitchen in the UK but sounds slightly different to what you describe Todd) but I heard he was pretty nasty in that too.
Great posts btw Todd, I think it’s really good when one looks outside one’s own field for some inspiration or solutions to problems. The IT industry could certainly do a bit more of that.
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You have to separate the real world from what we see in the TV’s interpretation of the Ramsay’s TV world. His approach is to belittle and bully, so in the long term his efforts are a waste of time. This approach is to entertain the viewer, although for me it is quite boring. For Ramsay’s approach to work in IT I think is dubious. What It need is to always debrief what the project has achieved and what it has not, plus to question the process.
Thanks for your input Graham. Would I be right in assuming you’re from the US?
As I’ve said before, the US shows that feature Gordon show him in a vastly different light to that of his original shows in the UK (well at least Kitchen Nightmares). It is the UK-Gordon I was referring to in my original post, and whose approach I see value in, no his US alter-ego.
A ‘bit of a bully’ Pat?
Ramsey only exist because he can swear. Would you like to be treated like that?
I think what his TV show proves that people like to watch people being bullied.
It is sad that he is getting any air time at all.
http://www.gilka.co.uk/2009/04/26/fresh-gordon/
Is that your blog David? If so I would assume you’re familiar with the UK version of Kitchen Nightmares as opposed to the inferior US version. I wouldn’t agree that Gordon is a bully in the UK version, he might swear but really it’s not that bad. So to answer your question, no I wouldn’t mind it; if I was in the position those restaurants were in I’d appreciate the non-nonsense kick up the pants.
As for the US version of the show, I don’t even rate it at all. It’s totally contrived and the hyperbolic approach the producers take is ridiculous. I don’t believe it’s his true nature, but more to the point it’s not the sort of behaviour I was referring to when I wrote this post. In fact I hadn’t yet seen the US version when I wrote this.
Gordon Ramsey was flattened by Tracey Grimshaw on Australian national television tonight. I think all of Australia would have been cheering as this nobody bully was put back in his place. He’s a complete idiot who needs to pull his head in. Why on earth is his program even on. I’ve certainly made sure my company doesn’t advertise during his program.
I didn’t see this, seems to have caused quite a stir. Doesn’t change the usefulness of the Kitchen Nightmares approach, though. (I never said he was a great guy…although I don’t think he’s that bad)
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