Pat’s Point of View

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.)

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