Lessons Learned from the Great Wall of Chocolate

+

Next time you're at P.F. Chang's China Bistro, order the lettuce wraps (chicken or vegetarian), and pay attention to the fact that profits are up 38% compared to a year ago.  The innovation at this restaurant chain is not necessarily the food, although it is "Chinese" food consciously designed to appeal to the mainstream American palate, as noted by Newsweek.  It's the fact that given the current economic situation, they've taken a creative look at everything in the store to figure out how to run things more productively.  They haven't raised their prices, or discounted aggressively, they've figured out how to work more efficiently through cross-training, scheduling, and other low-profile strategies.

So look at your operation.  Do some creative problem solving.  Ask some questions like, "How might we do X more efficiently," or "in what ways might we reduce resources used for Y."  Look for at least 30 answers before you start judging any of the options.  It may not be glamorous or high visibility, but it fits what's needed in business today.  Any period of sustained rapid growth should be balanced by some deliberate focus on operational efficiency.  And now's the time to do that.  We also recommend balancing your creative thinking efforts with P.F. Chang's Great Wall of Chocolate Cake, which IS high visibility, and quite tasty.