Lesson #1: Hire the Best
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“What we have that a lot of other caterers don’t is a lot of talented chefs,” says Puck, identifying one of the key ingredients in his recipe for success. “I’m not saying that nobody else has talented people, but nobody has as many as we have.”
Despite being the name behind the brand as well as its main inspiration and talent, the road to success is not one that Puck has walked alone. From his early days, before the first Spago was even launched, Puck had the foresight to surround himself by only the most qualified and only those who he knew he could trust.
Before they were married, the relationship between Lazaroff and Puck was primarily one of business. Puck had complete faith in Lazaroff and even left her in charge of designing and supervising the construction of the first Spago while he was away on a promotional tour for his new cookbook. “I had no exact idea of what it was going to look like,” recalls Puck. “I knew where the grills was going to be, the pizza oven, a few others things, but otherwise no.” Puck’s vision of an Italian restaurant with checkered tablecloths and sawdust on the floor had given way to Lazaroff’s concept of “nicer floors” and white linens. It proved to be a wise decision.
Lazaroff had Puck’s complete trust. “For me, it was easy,” says Puck. “If I had a paper to sign, I just looked to see if Barbara’s signature was on it already. Then I signed it, too.” The faith that Puck placed in Lazaroff was typical of how he conducted the majority of his business relationships; he hired the best and then let them do their thing. “Whether you have one restaurant or 10 or 20 or more, the most important thing is to hire enough good people,” says Puck.
While he still enjoyed maintaining a hands-on approach to his restaurants, Puck managed to strike a delicate balance between direct involvement and allowing some independence. “We’ve never had a layer in between us and the restaurants,” says Puck. “If they needed to change a painting or a chair, they came to Barbara. If it was something on the menu, I talked to them. We had so much direct involvement.”
But, as he hires more and more of the youngest, freshest and brightest minds in the industry, Puck realizes that he has to let them assume more responsibility “or they’re going to go out on their own.” A worrying prospect for any business owner, Puck is confident about giving them that task because he knows that everyone who is working for him is one of the finest there is – responsible and just as dedicated as he is. “It's just like with having children,” he says. “When they need me, I go. If they don't need me as much, I don't go as much.” It is this respect with which he treats his employees that has resulted in Puck’s restaurants having one of the lowest employment turnover rates in the industry.
As the company continued to grow at an astonishing rate, Puck would replace his business partners and management staff as necessary, choosing to place in control those who were most qualified to be there and who had the kind of experience that he desired. “We’re much better organized, and we have much better management,” he says. Now, Puck feels his company is ready to continue meeting the challenges of the 21st century.
Lesson 1 Hire the Best
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