Communicating Vision: The Left- and Right-Brained Approach

I work in the restaurant business, which means the majority of my day
is spent interacting with people. I have around 60 employees, most of
whom are working in a restaurant as a “job” rather than a “career.”
They work for me in between one thing and the next. They work in a
restaurant because restaurants don’t require their employees to have a
plan or a defined path. They are free to simply come, serve, and go
home. My expectations of them are somewhat simple and easy to
communicate and that makes it nice for them. Flexibility is paramount
to any other benefits I might offer. My employees really just want me
to let them be themselves, on their schedule, with no pressure to do
anything more. I don’t begrudge them these things. In many ways, those
are exactly the type of employees I need.

While restaurants are different than most places of business for a
number of reasons, I can’t help but think that my employees aren’t
really that much different than employees everywhere. They are working
for me because of what I can do for them. Maybe I have some who are
passionate about food or about the restaurant business, but for the
most part I am simply helping them pay their bills and fulfilling at
least one of their other values – flexibility, a lenient policy on
tattoos and piercings, instant cash from tips, or the ability to work
late, party later, and sleep in late in the mornings.

How then do I present a vision to them for the business with any hope
that they will embrace it? How do any of us present a vision in a way
that others will be compelled to join us in the pursuit of that
vision?

When I’m making plans for the future I have to attack those plans from
a very systematic left-brained approach. Like anyone else in a
position of leadership, I have to consider logical progression,
possible outcomes and potential dangers. I have to make a plan. I
don’t get to think only about the big picture and write those dreams
down. I have to consider why they may or may not work and create
contingencies accordingly. My tendency, after putting so much thought
and work into planning for the future of the business, is to share
that plan as a means of casting the vision to my staff.

The foolish assumption is that if they can be educated about the plans
for the future, they will naturally want to follow them and will
contribute positively towards their implementation. The assumption is
that their excitement will come from their new understanding about
what the future is going to be like, right?

Let me tell you how dumb that is. Casting vision with a “left-brained”
plan is a waste of time in a restaurant or anywhere. People don’t like
change and most of the time they aren’t going to get excited about it.
They will first consider how the looming changes will affect them.
It’s human instinct. They will want to feel secure about their
situation before they even begin to consider what’s best for the
business. I don’t blame them. This isn’t their life’s work. It’s not
their dream. It’s just a job and it’s a mistake for those in
leadership to assume that others share their passion and commitment.

If I want to cast a vision to my employees, my approach has got to
appeal to an entirely different part of their brains. I have to
present things in a broad, emotional, right-brained way. The details
can follow. Details alone don’t inspire people. I have to talk about
what it’s going to be like in the future. I have to paint the picture
of an environment in which they can see themselves fitting
comfortably. At my restaurants, we talk about things in terms of the
customer’s experience, which is a very sensory thing. What do they
see, smell, hear, feel, and taste? We start there and work our way
back to the details rather than the other way around. When people can
see themselves functioning in an environment and that environment is
exciting, the changes become exciting and worth the trouble, rather
than tedious or overwhelming. My encouragement to you is to come at
things with a different angle. Work to create a picture of what life
in the future will be like and let the excitement for that new reality
help to make the changes and the details bearable.