Pizza Today - October 2020 - 12

M I K E 'S M O N T H LY T I P

MIKE BAUSCH

Avoid Warm Body Syndrome
Keep Your Core Values Intact if You Expect to Thrive

W

hat do you stand for? What are
your values? Moreover, what
are your core values? If you and
your leadership team were to write it all on
the board, every single character trait that
mattered most, what would they be?
Now, go and do just that. Then identify
and condense it down, because many of
them will be akin. Then create your five
main character traits of a successful
employee in your company.
For Andolini's, ours are:
Passionate, Ethical, Competitive,
Effective and Fun.
Passionate is number one, because if
they don't care about everything in an over
the top way ... nothing else matters. Fun
matters because people want to work in
and around fun people; it builds morale
and stems attrition. Effective is a mandate,
because it doesn't matter how nice a person
is if they don't get results. Competitive
matters, too - I want them to strive to be

better and to go after the best possible pizzeria experience every time.
There are two traits that are nonnegotiable for me: my leaders simply
must have them. In short, they must be
ethical and passionate. I cannot tolerate
anything short of a passionate employee,
and my business can't survive an unethical
employee. Ethical leaders make sure our
restaurant's integrity stays intact (as well as
our bottom line being secure from theft).
For anyone to advance in my company, they
must have all five of these traits. They also
have to be willing and able. I don't take
that for granted; if someone has all these
qualities, but they don't want it at this stage
in their life or are not prepared for it, it
won't work. If they aren't willing and able,
and I force this role upon them, it fails. I
can't hope someone becomes competitive
or hope they're fun, they have to be that
already.
If your leaders don't meet these criteria,

what you get is known as Warm Body Syndrome. WBS is when you have a babysitter at
your restaurant, not involved any more than
they need be, who is punching their ticket
daily. Managers and leaders like this make
sure nothing goes horribly wrong, but they
also completely kill your morale. At the same
time, they don't ensure anything goes incredibly right.
I've suffered warm body syndrome
employees in the past. It's excruciating when
you want something for someone that they
don't want for themself. Bypass this by establishing what your values are and executing
on them. Bear in mind, your restaurant is
different than mine, and your values are most
likely different than mine, and that's ok. Do
your own thing.
If a sense of urgency is king at your store,
make that a core value. No matter what five
you choose, what's not debatable is a leadership team that is willing and able to take
them on. They must be capable and willing
to execute on these values at all times. If not,
you're spinning your wheels, hoping someone
who's a zebra becomes a giraffe. From experience, I'm letting you down gently here when
I say it's not going to happen. If they are
motivated for each value, they can improve.
But if they do not possess that character trait,
you can't force it.
What will occur if you do force it is
they'll be unhappy in their job, and you'll be
unhappy in their work performance. They will
become zombified workers dominating your
front lines. Do not allow WBS anywhere near
your management team. Talk with your staff
in quarterly performance evaluations about
the things they're doing that match your core
values. Then delve into the things they're
doing that could be better. By setting clear
expectations, you avoid Warm Body Syndrome. Additionally, employees learn what
traits matter to grow in your culture enough
to get ahead. This is how growth occurs for
them and your restaurant.
This exercise is not corporate fluff; this is as
simple as deciding who you are and informing your staff officially, with clarity, what
you stand for. Call it traits, values, pillars; it's
all the same. Doing this will save you time,
money and heartache, and it's not that hard. ■

MIKE BAUSCH is the owner of Andolini's Pizzeria in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Instagram: @andopizza
1 2 / P I Z Z AT O D AY. C O M / O C T O B E R 2 0 2 0

012_PIZ_1020_Mikes.indd 12

9/9/20 9:02 AM
http://www.PIZZATODAY.COM
Pizza Today - October 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Pizza Today - October 2020
