Lessons of Execution & Leadership from Cotton Patch Cafe

For the past 3 months I have been consulting with a company in the city of Lubbock. Located among the flat landscape and cotton fields of West Texas, this small city is brimming in abundance with many things, but three in particular: banks, churches, and restaurants. Fortunately, as I have been traveling for extended periods of time there, I am thankful for the many restaurants. Anyone that travels for extended periods of time understands that eating out meal-after-meal can be a frustrating endeavor. Restaurants are one of the few places where the top-down effectiveness of the leadership of organizations can be experienced so intimately and instantly; and where you can win and lose a “client” in minutes.

I am never as picky about customer service or product quality as when I am at a restaurant. The product of a restaurant is the experience and the food. Restaurants that are successful & have successful leadership, continually strive to perfect these items at every level. It is quite easy to see through the restaurants that have poor leadership, as their lack of attention to innovation and quality is easily recognized. This is all about drilling down into the little things: butter that is not frozen when it comes out, food that is warm, friendly staff, drink always full, etc…

Among the many restaurants that I have eaten at, the one that I keep coming back to time after time during my stay in Lubbock is the Cotton Patch Cafe. (*Note: this article is NOT sponsored). The Cotton Patch cafe has 39 locations in only 2 states, but the lessons of innovation, execution and leadership, are valuable for businesses worldwide. While no restaurant is perfect all the time, this restaurant has exceeded all my expectations and given me a home away from home feeling.

Let me share with you what I have learned over the last couple months about leadership, perfection, innovation, and successful execution from my 2 to 4 visits a week to the Cotton Patch Cafe:

Setting the Tone

When you walk in the door one is instantly greeted by two smiling hostesses. I have never had to wait for a hostess to show up. I think many people in leadership positions overlook this fact of how much a smile and a good experience, right when you “walk in the door,” can set the tone for the rest of the experience. This is no different a lesson if you do not have a customer facing business.  Have you ever called a business and been met with an indifferent or rude person on the other end of the line? Or receieved a technician at your business that was just “doing their job?” A smile can do wonders, whether in person …or over the phone. The staff at Cotton Patch all take the time to remember my name, and ensure that my experience is good from the onset. The day I wrote this article, I had been to two restaurants before finally going to Cotton Patch. The service at both restaurants was horrible and I left each of them without eating. Looking back, neither of them met me with a smile at the door. So if you think this is not that important, think again.

Quality of People

I can only assume that the Cotton Patch leadership has a great training or orientation program, and/or even a great hiring process, because I have never had a bad experience with any individual there. In fact I will take that a step farther and say that I have never, not had, an exceptional experience with any individual there. I see new faces on different days and they still perform the same as others. There cannot be enough said to the lesson of: hire good people, train them well, and success will follow.

Teamwork & Silos

At most restaurants, the hostess is the person that greets people and escorts them to their table. The bartenders stay at the bar, the waiters and waitresses – take orders and serve, the clean-up crew cleans the tables. Well at Cotton Patch those position all exist as well, but their teamwork is amazing. Waiters and waitresses at most restaurants are especially territorial. Same goes for sales staff at businesses. They are protecting their tip, their “commission.” Yet at Cotton Patch, I have seen the hostesses cleaning-up tables to help the clean-up crew. I have had waiters and waitresses that were not my waiter or waitress at the time, go and get me a drink. I have had other waitresses come to my table to make sure things were OK.

There are no silos that I have been able to identify; they all work as a team. Many books have been written on teamwork and avoiding silos. This important lesson of leadership creates synergy and multiples an organization’s success – many fold. A team of people that cares first for the successful experience of the customer, rather than protecting their personal tip amount, is a beautiful site to see.

Innovation & Consistency

One thing about restaurants that has always bothered me is if there is something on the menu, or the atmosphere that is not perfect, I have never understood why the restaurant leadership does not take the time to innovate and make it perfect.  Instead, many restaurants keep serving up the same poor quality food over and over or doing the same poor practice over and over. At Cotton Patch, the bread is always warm, butter is never frozen, the food is always good, and each menu item tastes just as good …each and every time. Over 2 months ago I had their pork chop meal. They were best pork chops I have ever had, and for over a month, I was actually afraid of getting it again because I was afraid that the “best” could only happen once, and I did not want to ruin the perfect memory I had. Well, I was wrong, it was awesome the second time too.

Leadership & Execution Perfection?

Those in leadership at all organizations need to take the time to perfect their processes, perfect their products, and provide consistent quality and service. Of course a business shouldn’t get stuck down in the details and avoid delivering; but it is important to always be innovating and trying to achieve perfection in all aspects of an organization’s operations, services, and products. In my opinion, Cotton Patch has done just that.

These lessons from Cotton Patch Cafe are important for all businesses. I use the term “perfection” loosely, as the best any business can do is to satisfy the highest number of people, most of the time. Of course… hmm… if Cotton Patch were to start serving sweet potato pie, well then, I would probably have to concede perfection…… 🙂

If you are ever in Texas or New Mexico, take the time to see these lessons in action for yourself at Cotton Patch Cafe. And if you happen to visit Cotton Patch Cafe in Lubbock, TX, please say “Hi” to Leeann, the General Manager, and give her a high-five.

Leadership Take-Away’s From Cotton Patch Cafe

1.   Set the tone with your customers right off the bat.
2.   Make sure your staff knows how to smile, on the phone and in person.
3.   Hire quality people
4.   Train your people well
5.   Foster teamwork & abolish silos
6.   Perfect your product and/or services for the market you are serving
7.   Keep innovating
8.   Execute with consistency
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So, now that you’ve read this article, how are you going to use this information to bring about greater success in your organization?

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