How High Have You Set Your Bar?

Last weekend I visited Restaurant Pine in Northumberland.

It's the debut restaurant of Cal and Sian Byerley.

Cal is well known for appearance's on BBC's Great British Menu, while Sian was included in CODE hospitality's top 100 most influential women in hospitality 2022.

The restaurant opened in 2020 and was very quickly awarded a Michelin star.

The food was amazing and the intricate process of preparing each dish on the tasting menu was explained in great detail, as each dish was served.

The service was of a very high standard, as to be expected, however the atmosphere was relaxed.

Every little detail had been thoroughly thought through, as had the delivery of everything they did.

While the experience was very relaxed and the service graceful, it was very apparent to me that each and every member of the team was working extremely hard.

Talking to Sian afterwards, she pointed out that it's not just the work during service, but the hours and hours of preparation and attention to detail applied prior to service beginning.

That's what allows them to achieve the levels of success they do.

I've always strived to have a 'Michelin style' standard for my retail business, even though the award doesn't exist.

Admittedly, it's a different kind of service we provide, lasting 11 hours over seven days a week and serving in excess of 3000 guests.

But what I've learned is, that by setting your bar high, you'll always strive to hit those standards.

Visiting Restaurant Pine last weekend has inspired me to raise that bar even higher.

And it's a great question for you to think about too.

How high have you set your bar?

What are the standards you would need to hit, in order to deliver the equivalent of a Michelin star in your industry?

What attention to detail would you need to apply to your business, to push it towards that star?

In a recent meeting with my team, I likened my standards to that of competing in an Olympic high jump competition.

The bar is set and we aim to clear it.

As soon as we clear it, we raise the bar.

By continuously raising the bar, even one centimetre at a time, you can dramatically improve your standards over a relatively short period of time.

And that has real Impact on your business and your life.

The question is, how high do you dare to set your bar?

Have a great week.

Mark.