Million Tips

Watch Kitchen Nightmares for Turnaround Advice

Posted on 08. Dec, 2009 by Jeremy Reis in Management

Gordon Ramsay is a foul-mouthed chef. But, he’s also a small business expert as shown on his original BBC series, Kitchen Nightmares. The show features Ramsay working with a failing restaurant to turn things around. Most episodes feature this storyline:

1. The restaurant is failing because of a combination of over ambitious menus, lack of a clear strategy, the wrong personnel, poor public image, and denial by the owner.
2. Gordon performs an honest assessment with his own opinion combined with a survey of people “on the street” near the restaurant.
3. Typically, the restaurant needs some staff changes to get the right people in the right positions for success.
4. Gordon identifies the core problems and designs an action plan to rectify the situation.
5. Though he receives push back from the existing staff (and many an owner), he pushes forward until his plan is implemented.

The show teaches many lessons for managers seeking to turnaround a business or department.

Related tips:

1. There Are Only a Handful of Success Factors
2. Hire Diversely Talented People
3. Career Advice
4. A Reminder of Why You’re in Business
5. Behind on the Internet? What Do I Do First?

Tags: failures, Gordon Ramsay, Kitchen Nightmares, restaurants, strategy, turnaround