Systems over ideas - The key to long-term success in hospitality.
My wife is so creative that making money is almost an anathema to how she sees the world. To her, the ‘creation’ has purity, which must stand apart from the world of financial pressure. However, I have noticed that her best creations arrive when the budget is tight. It’s almost as though her creative expertise is at its best when resources are limited, and she must think harder. I have also noticed that because she values creativity so highly, she has had to systemise her life so finely that creativity becomes possible. She must systemise her life to make beautiful things, and her best work is often the result of limitation rather than abundance.
The hospitality industry attracts many creative people, like my wife, and the stakes are high. Hospitality business owners and managers often have endless innovative ideas for improving operations, enhancing customer experiences, or launching new products.
While creativity is at the heart of all successful and sustained work, the success of your café, restaurant, or bar will most likely hinge on something far more prosaic: the systems you put in place to support and execute those creative ideas.
Here’s why systems should be prioritised over just more creative ideas in your hospitality business:
1. For execution …
Ideas are the seeds of innovation, but a solid system is needed to bring them to life. A well-designed system creates a clear pathway for turning ideas into actions, and the system ensures that they are executed consistently and effectively.
For example, you could improve customer service by personalising guest interactions. This idea will not yield sustainable results without a system in place—such as training protocols, feedback loops, and monitoring tools. A system ensures that each team member knows their role and how to maintain the level of service you have envisioned. In this case, a customer relationship management (CRM) system could be implemented to track customer preferences and interactions; a training program could be developed to ensure all staff are equipped with the necessary skills, and regular feedback sessions could be scheduled to monitor and improve service quality.
Systems are the framework that puts the creative idea on display.
2. For consistency …
One of the central challenges in hospitality is maintaining consistency, especially when dealing with high staff turnover and varying customer demands. A robust system enables repeatable processes so that whether you’re serving 10 or 100 customers, they all have a consistent experience.
A system-driven approach ensures that your ideas for improving the menu, service, or atmosphere are executed the same way every time, regardless of who is on shift. This builds customer trust and loyalty, essential elements for long-term success.
Creative people get bored quickly, so consistency is a blind spot. The trick is to view and sell consistency as an innovative project.
3. For scalability …
Your innovative ideas might work for a single café or a small operation, but can they scale? Systems allow your business to grow without losing the quality or efficiency that makes you successful on a smaller scale. This is often a challenging vision for the creative spirit, but some of the most creative people in history understood the potential of repetition. Think Beethoven, Jackson Pollock, Gertrude Stein, Andy Warhol, or Yayoi Kusama!
By creating robust systems—whether for inventory management, staff training, or customer service processes—you can open a second, third, or even tenth location while maintaining the standards that made your first venture successful. Growth does not necessarily cheapen the creative vision.
4. For adaptability and continuous improvement …
It’s like re-writing the same sentence over and over until you get it right.
Adaptability is key in a rapidly changing industry. Markets change, customer preferences evolve, and technology advances. A well-designed system allows for ongoing improvement. You can collect data, track performance, and adjust your processes to keep your business relevant.
Ideas might spark innovation, but systems continuously allow you to evolve and improve based on real-world feedback.
5. For long-term sustainability …
It’s easy to be excited about new ideas and initiatives, but what happens when the novelty fades? Systems provide the structure necessary for long-term sustainability. They ensure that ideas are not just exciting now but built into the fabric of the business.
Whether maintaining consistent service quality, ensuring cost control, or developing staff, a system provides your business remains viable over time rather than being a flash in the pan.
6. For minimising dependency on individuals …
Refrain from relying too heavily on a star employee. When critical staff leave, their creativity goes with them.
Systems create standardised processes that everyone can follow, meaning your business doesn’t fall apart when an individual leaves. This reduces dependency on one person’s skills or knowledge and ensures that your operation can continue regardless of staff changes.
7. For alignment and coordination …
Coordinating between kitchen staff, servers, management, and front-of-house is crucial in a busy hospitality environment. Systems help align these parts of your business towards the one creative vision, ensuring everyone works together effectively to make the vision real.
For example, implementing a point-of-sale (POS) system that communicates with your kitchen management software can help streamline operations and reduce the chance of miscommunication or delays.
8. For measurability and accountability …
Finally, systems provide the foundation for measuring performance and holding people accountable. By tracking metrics like customer satisfaction, table turnover, or inventory wastage, you can identify what’s working and what isn’t. This data allows you to make informed decisions and improvements based on actual results, not just assumptions, empowering you and putting you in charge.
While financial restrictions can feel as though they are an anathema to the creative spirit, not all of us can afford to live as impoverished as Vincent Van Gogh – even he couldn’t.
Conversely, creative visions are at the heart of all successful work. However, implementing the creative vision requires discipline. Creativity is essential for innovation and growth, but it is only as good as the systems that support the innovative idea.
