Unoriginal Thoughts: Senior Leadership within Casual Dining

The senior leadership merry-go-round within the casual-dining segment is dizzying – Are we just giving up?

As I have tirelessly stated over the past decade (to anyone who will listen): outside of a special few restaurant companies within the casual dining segment, decision-makers responsible for the recruitment of senior leadership teams receive a failing grade. You don’t have to look far to see the same executives bouncing from one company to another recommending stale, re-active quick-fix business strategies rather than thoughtful, long-term business planning.

Creative destruction, the process that something new brings about the demise of whatever existed before, is happening in every aspect of our lives (think Xerox, Polaroid, Blockbuster and MP3 players). The $300+ billion casual dining segment is facing crises and we must get serious; we need to import fresh thinking and strategic leadership that can turn constraints into opportunities.

It can be done – it has to be done.