Ep178 Luke L'Heureux - Rigidity in Business is Dead: Why Flexibility is Key to Success in Today's World

00:00:00:00 - 00:00:12:19
Luke L'Heureux
you hear all this about the different generations and how, you know, they're eating those things and their work ethic and all of that. And, you know, to me, I think that's a word rationalization for bad leadership.

00:00:12:24 - 00:00:18:03
Luke L'Heureux
I think great leaders say, okay, I've got a millennial. I need to manage them this way.

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Luke L'Heureux
the rigidity of business,

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Luke L'Heureux
is over.

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Mike O'Neill
welcome to Get Unstuck and On Target, the weekly podcast that offers senior leaders insights and strategies to not only lead with competence and vision,

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Mike O'Neill
but also to achieve groundbreaking results.

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Mike O'Neill
I'm your host, Mick O'Neill. I coach top level executives on the power of ethical leadership to forge teams to be as united as they are effective

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Mike O'Neill
in each episode.

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Mike O'Neill
Join me for insightful conversations with leaders just like you, providing practical advice to help you get unstuck and propel you and your company forward.

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Mike O'Neill
Let's get started.

00:01:05:16 - 00:01:35:16
Mike O'Neill
Joining me, it's Luke LaRue. Luke is a hospitality executive with over 25 years of management experience and large restaurant and hotel groups. He is currently the chief operating officer of Central Park Restaurants, a family owned and operated company with 14 locations across the southeast. As the CEO, Luke oversees the day to day operations of the company, ensuring the highest standards of service, food, and atmosphere for the guest.

00:01:35:18 - 00:02:04:00
Mike O'Neill
He also leads and develop a team of talented and dedicated professionals who share his vision of creating a successful and sustainable business. Luke's core competencies include hospitality, team building, restaurant management, and operational excellence. He's passionate about the industry. You'll see that loud and clear, and he strives to deliver exceptional experiences for every customer. Welcome, Luke.

00:02:04:02 - 00:02:04:21
Luke L'Heureux
Thanks for having me.

00:02:04:21 - 00:02:27:17
Mike O'Neill
My Luke. We had an opportunity to spend some time together, and when I just listed your core competencies, we could do a podcast on any of those competencies, but particularly how you build teams, how you build leadership teams in particular would be something I would like to spend some time with. But why don't we start with your industry?

00:02:27:19 - 00:02:36:23
Mike O'Neill
for those who don't know about your your business and the kind of units you are run, can you describe that a little bit for us, please?

00:02:37:00 - 00:03:02:15
Luke L'Heureux
Yep. So my my current company, we have 14 locations. We're building our 15th location in New Orleans currently. we cover five different concepts. We have, you know, high level steakhouses, mid tiered steakhouses and a group of casual restaurants spanning from South Carolina down to Louisiana. you know, the the check averages are very different in each location.

00:03:02:16 - 00:03:30:14
Luke L'Heureux
The the clientele is different in each location, and it's something that we need to be constantly thinking about and pivoting, to, to make sure we're creating what we have coined guests for life. you know, we want every single guest to return. That's how we make our money. And so, you know, it's very interesting how we can, you know, keep our day to day exciting because we're managing five different concepts.

00:03:30:16 - 00:03:38:04
Mike O'Neill
We, you know, question. And what I know about these concepts is you offer fine dining experience.

00:03:38:06 - 00:04:01:04
Luke L'Heureux
Yes. Yes. So you know, for our steakhouses, we believe that we need to be as technically proficient as a fine dining restaurant as if you were going to a michelin starred restaurant in Paris. We would want that, that level of service. But we want to add an element of character and charisma and confidence to the service. And most important is we want it to be fun.

00:04:01:06 - 00:04:22:10
Luke L'Heureux
we we find that the super fine dining or very stuffy, you know, the servers or vapor, they're not supposed to exist, you know, and and, you know, with steakhouses, there's a live in in to it. There's a confidence, there's a bravado, if you will. And so we kind of have mixed both worlds. we do respect the check average.

00:04:22:10 - 00:04:41:05
Luke L'Heureux
It is expensive to eat in a steakhouse and we take that very, very seriously. you know, we have a responsibility to our guests for the amount of money they're spending to those restaurants. So, you know, it can't be good. It can't be great. It has to be perfect every time.

00:04:41:07 - 00:04:51:24
Mike O'Neill
You know, two things. Owner follow up, with one guest for life. when you look at that, if they have a poor experience, you may have lost that guest forever.

00:04:52:01 - 00:05:21:05
Luke L'Heureux
Yeah. Yeah, right. You know, we we try we try and promote a, you know, a 100% table touch experience. So for our management teams, they need to interact with every table. And and and some of those interactions can be a matter of seconds. And some of those interactions might be 10 or 15 minutes. but it's very, very important that they're digging in and realizing, how did you know that a guest potentially may be unhappy with their experience.

00:05:21:06 - 00:05:49:03
Luke L'Heureux
You know, we wait on 3 to 4000 people a week per steakhouse. You know, we're going to make mistakes. how we recover from those mistakes is what makes the difference in the guests mind. you know, I do not care about the cost of recovery. It's not a line item that I manage in our company. because I believe that the the operators need to do anything possible if we've messed up, we need to fix it.

00:05:49:05 - 00:06:10:22
Luke L'Heureux
You know, I'll give you an example. You go to these restaurants and they mess up your entrees and, you know, it takes 45 minutes and then they buy you a $7 dessert, right? Well, that's not enough. you know, but first and foremost, and it starts with the level of empathy and care. you know, the guest needs to feel that we really care, that we messed up.

00:06:10:24 - 00:06:19:13
Luke L'Heureux
And, you know, I gotta be honest with you, Mike, that the guests that are in my cell phone, 99% of them were guests, that I pissed off at some point in my life.

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Mike O'Neill
Interesting.

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Luke L'Heureux
Really? You know, it's it's how you recover it that really matters. You know, but if I do your wedding, I want to do your kid's christening or their confirmation 13 years from now. you know, we own the dirt and a lot of our locations, so we're not going anywhere. you know, this isn't a ten year run for us.

00:06:40:18 - 00:07:01:11
Luke L'Heureux
we are a family owned company, so we're building legacy for generations, and we take that very, very seriously. It's a it's a very big responsibility that, you know, Jerry's grandchildren's grandchildren still have a company that is viable and successful. And and we can only do that by making sure people come back.

00:07:01:13 - 00:07:24:24
Mike O'Neill
I want to follow up on that as well. The second thing I was going to ask you about is, I know we've been talking about the high end steakhouses and you have other offerings, but let's stick with that just for a moment. You're trying to assure a just a very, very positive experience for the guest. And you've therefore probably expect operational excellence if that's the right term.

00:07:25:01 - 00:07:40:23
Mike O'Neill
But you use the word fun and that is you want it to be fun for the guest. And I guess also for the folks who work for you. how do you incorporate? In what ways can you make fun? Just part of what you all do?

00:07:41:00 - 00:08:00:12
Luke L'Heureux
Well, you know, it's a it's a twofold thing. You know, for the guest experience, it's about the ambiance, right? You look at the lighting, the atmosphere, the music. you know what? What are the levels of music? What? What is the temperature in the room? You know, we we look at those things when the ladies put their coats on, it's too cold.

00:08:00:14 - 00:08:25:13
Luke L'Heureux
And, you know, they're fanning themselves. It's too hot. And those details really, really matter. you know, for a long time pre-COVID, we were a Frank Sinatra playlist in our steakhouse. And, you know, we realized that it was starting to get deep, you know, and when we reopened after Covid, we went to 70s and 80s rock and roll music.

00:08:25:18 - 00:08:48:00
Luke L'Heureux
Interestingly, it just completely changed the environment. I mean, I grew up listening to that music, and I'm the target clientele of the steakhouse at this point. You know, my father listened to Sinatra. So, you know, creating that, that atmosphere for our guests. Really, you know, kind of change the trajectory of the restaurants now from an employee standpoint.

00:08:48:02 - 00:09:29:09
Luke L'Heureux
You know, I'm a firm believer that employees like to be in environments that have high standards. Yeah. And, you know, we have a mission to surround ourselves with all A players. We like to only hire eight players. We we we develop B players into eight players. you know, and that's what makes it fun. You know, a lot of times great, great employees will become very disgruntled and and very unhappy if a restaurant allows bad behavior or if a restaurant allows people that don't care to exist.

00:09:29:09 - 00:09:52:14
Luke L'Heureux
And and that makes enough fun. You know, we call them black holes of joy, right? You know, any joy in your body gets sucked out if you get too close to that employee. we eliminate those people very, very quickly. you know, and I believe that managing in the black and white, having no gray, creating an environment where we are proud every day makes it fun.

00:09:52:16 - 00:10:16:11
Luke L'Heureux
You know, we we have enforcement of free ships every single day. you know, we try and inform, inspire and educate as much as we possibly can. you know, when people feel like they're getting better, it tends to make it a more palatable work environment. Restaurant business is tough. it's become much harder since Covid.

00:10:16:13 - 00:10:42:22
Luke L'Heureux
there's been a cosmic shift in, you know, guest interaction and guest expectations. And the companies that are able to navigate that well do are very successful. But, you know, the waiting employees who are being treated can sometimes not feel great. you know, but we we tell them, you know, a bad guest is in your restaurant for an hour, right?

00:10:42:23 - 00:11:09:11
Luke L'Heureux
So provide the standard of service that they expect out of our steakhouse and and understand that they're gone and don't focus on their focus on the great guests. Focus on the guests, the treat you well. Focus on the guests that respect the restaurant and respect you as an individual. And, it seems to be working. You know, our our turnover rate is less than 10% in the steakhouses, which is unheard of in the restaurant business.

00:11:09:13 - 00:11:34:20
Luke L'Heureux
you know, and and I don't let anybody talk about money. I don't think because servers make money or bartenders make money is why they stay. they stay because they're being developed. They're being inspired, and they have leaders that work hard side by side with them. you know, I believe in being a company of doers, not delegate or, of course you have to delegate as a leader.

00:11:34:22 - 00:11:58:17
Luke L'Heureux
But if you're not also doing and getting, you know, in the trenches with your people, they're not going to be up and fight and they're not going to respect you. You know, hard work in the hospitality industry, I think is, pretty much, you know, competency number one. you have to have that work ethic. And if you show that work ethic to your employees, they'll follow you.

00:11:58:19 - 00:12:20:06
Mike O'Neill
Look, we're going to stick with the high end steakhouses just for a moment. And that is when you just casually mention 10% turnover. That is unbelievable. In light of everything we read in here about the hospitality industry, do you believe the things you have shared thus far contribute in large part to that low turnover?

00:12:20:08 - 00:12:43:17
Luke L'Heureux
You know, I definitely do. you know, I think how we make our employees feel when they're at work, is really, really important because I believe that hospitality is about how we make our guests feel. I mean, you know, how do they feel when they're in the restaurant? one of the, you know, are we look a lot at our value scores more than anything.

00:12:43:19 - 00:13:06:01
Luke L'Heureux
You know, food and beverage. You open a restaurant, you want to be serving great food and great, you know, great beverages, right? That's a given. but how how the guests perceived value, I believe, is how we make them feel. And, and I think just the same way for employees. You know, we're strict, there are standards, and you need to uphold those standards, but we're consistent.

00:13:06:03 - 00:13:23:17
Luke L'Heureux
we don't play favorites. you know, everybody is held to the same standard. I believe that we entered some standard, not the position. So we don't have a lot of energy. You know, I'm the chief operating officer. If I. If I see that there's, you know, debris on the floor, I'm going to grab that broom and sweep it up myself.

00:13:23:17 - 00:13:51:00
Luke L'Heureux
That's that's because that's the standard to have clean floors. you know, and and I think the employees respect us for that. you know, I, I see you hear a lot about how difficult it is to hire people and, and how difficult it is to retain people. we we never really had that problem. you know, I think first and foremost, being present is really, really important.

00:13:51:02 - 00:14:14:23
Luke L'Heureux
you know, we noticed that during, during this post, Covid hiring, where everybody was putting signs up in their in their restaurants, you know, please excuse the poor service. We're understaffed. I, I felt that was a travesty. And what it was was that managers weren't present. You know, they can place an ad and say interviews are between 12 and 4 and not be there at 12.

00:14:15:00 - 00:14:38:23
Luke L'Heureux
Where wouldn't you know, offered the applicant a glass of water while they filled out their application? They didn't show a sense of hospitality and trying to create employees for life. which is equally as important. And and so they were understaffed. You know, I think the other thing is that we really believe in surrounding ourselves with great people, and that attracts talent.

00:14:39:00 - 00:14:58:10
Luke L'Heureux
You know, if you have a lot of B and C players, well, that's what you're going to attract and you're going to have a tremendous amount of turnover. But you know, if you hire slow and you really wait and you interview and you might interview 200 candidates to hire for to haven't you make it through training. But that's the job, you know.

00:14:58:10 - 00:15:24:20
Luke L'Heureux
And that's that's where it has gone too. And and we made that a really big part of our conversations after we reopened after Covid. And we were never understaffed. And, you know, our sales showed it and our profitability showed it. I mean, we we increased sales with 50% dining rooms because of post Covid regulations or rules. And, you know, we we just continued to grow.

00:15:24:22 - 00:15:56:09
Luke L'Heureux
you know, the other important thing is we look at these these statistics, you know, we post or our turnover rates quarterly. and it is published, you know, back after, Giuliani took over for David Dinkins in New York City. He. He used to bring all of the captains of the police departments into a room and poster their statistics up on the board and he'd ask questions and he would say, well, why is this this way?

00:15:56:09 - 00:16:17:15
Luke L'Heureux
And what's happening? And what are you doing to fix it? And then the next week, he would put them all in the same room and he'd say, okay, it's a week later. What's changed? And we follow that model. you know, we have bi weekly meetings for the operating partners and, you know, senior managers. They switch off every week and we go through their numbers and we ask those questions.

00:16:17:15 - 00:16:38:17
Luke L'Heureux
And, you know, it's very, very public forum. And, you know, when we first rolled it out, everybody was a little uncomfortable. but now there's a slight competitiveness to it. you see, you know, three years later, everybody is prepared for the calls. They, they understand where their numbers are. They understand what they need to do to fix that.

00:16:38:17 - 00:16:57:15
Luke L'Heureux
And they have those answers ready. you know, and and I think that's part of how we're developing our leaders to be the next. You know, I want them to replace me. Right. So, you know that that's what's helped in our turnover. I mean, everybody is on board, so to speak, like.

00:16:57:17 - 00:17:21:01
Mike O'Neill
Luke when we met prior to scheduling, recording this podcast. there there are two terms I wrote down, and I'm looking at those right now. And you actually touched on both of those. I'd like to kind of come back to them. First of all, from a CEO perspective, I don't hear the word feel very often and that, that's not the case with you.

00:17:21:03 - 00:17:27:06
Mike O'Neill
That's not the case with your organization. You're realizing that what you're selling is a feeling, are you not?

00:17:27:08 - 00:17:52:18
Luke L'Heureux
Yeah, absolutely. You know, again, as the economy may or may not be softening and it's an election year, I mean, this this year is really the test for our company. And, where we're going and where we're going to end up. we we realized very, very quickly that hospitality is about feeling, you know, and hospitality is one of those things.

00:17:52:18 - 00:18:18:01
Luke L'Heureux
That's great. Right? You know, when an operator says, my goal is to increase the sense of hospitality, he well, what does that really mean? And how do we really achieve that? but, you know, I, I think that, operators that can focus on how their employees feel when they come to work and, and in turn, how their guests feel as they're leaving the restaurant.

00:18:18:03 - 00:18:45:09
Luke L'Heureux
those are the ones that are very, very successful. You know, and again, it goes back to that value score, Mike. You know, we're parting people from their money, right? And we're offering a service that people need to spend good money on, whether it's the casuals that $40 a person or in the steakhouses at $100 a person. you know, we have to really understand the responsibility that we have to deliver.

00:18:45:11 - 00:19:06:04
Luke L'Heureux
you know, in an especially in a down economy, right? You know, there going to go to the places that they feel good about when they leave. And they say that was a great experience and, you know, or that was a flawless experience. you know, if they walk out and they're saying, and that was okay, you know, maybe we'll go back.

00:19:06:06 - 00:19:28:11
Luke L'Heureux
we failed. You know, and and the one thing I do believe is that it has less to do with price and more about how. You. You know, and that's the most important thing. And and, you know, it's it's the warm welcome when you come in to the warm goodbye. And that genuine thank you as you're walking out.

00:19:28:13 - 00:19:46:10
Luke L'Heureux
You know, how many times have you gone to a restaurant or, or even Home Depot, you know, and, and said thank you or or, you know, and they don't even respond to you. Great. You know immediately that sucks out everything that we did great. The for the last hour and a half while the guest was in a restaurant.

00:19:46:11 - 00:20:06:07
Luke L'Heureux
Right. So you know we look at all those touchpoints all the way down to our valet parkers in terms of how are we making these guests your and, and do they feel like they are the most important person in that room the entire time they're with us? And if we can do that, we've achieved success.

00:20:06:09 - 00:20:29:10
Mike O'Neill
Thus far, Luke, we've talked up quite a bit about what you want the guests experience to be. We've talked about how you've been able to attract and retain those employees who have direct contact, either with the food and or the customers. Let's kind of move up to management for a moment. You used a term earlier, operating partners.

00:20:29:15 - 00:20:34:12
Mike O'Neill
And I suspect that's that's a different word. For what? General manager.

00:20:34:14 - 00:21:00:08
Luke L'Heureux
Yeah. Yeah. So, you know, we we we want our people to feel like they have skin in the game. you know, we want to create that entrepreneurial spirit as if it was their money that invested into land in the build out and all of that. you know, we we always have a saying, you know, treat it as if it was yours, as if you owned it.

00:21:00:08 - 00:21:33:21
Luke L'Heureux
And, and, you know, operating partner helps us do that. you know, the term centric, you know, it's about circular management where everybody has a say. and, and everybody has the ability to move the needle, and make our restaurants better than we were yesterday. And, and that's where that operating partner comes into play. And, you know, we allow all of our people to have a voice and, and I believe that from the most green junior manager that we have to our 30 year operating partner.

00:21:33:23 - 00:21:53:13
Luke L'Heureux
Everybody has a voice. what what we're very good at is that we provide direct feedback. So, you know, when they come to us with an idea or they say they want to try something, you know, there's three outcomes, right? There's. Yeah, go for it. Let's see what happens. Right. Let's try it. there's you know what? That might be cost prohibitive.

00:21:53:14 - 00:22:12:00
Luke L'Heureux
Let's go back to the drawing board and rewrite the game plan and see if we can do this where it actually makes sense financially for us. We're the third one, as we said. You know what? We're not going to go with that idea. I don't think it fits our model right now. but please keep coming back. You know, keep trying.

00:22:12:02 - 00:22:40:19
Luke L'Heureux
And, you know, having that type of direct and immediate feedback has helped us continue those conversations. you know, our Wednesday calls are very much, you know, one slide will be just an open ended question, right? You know, what are you doing to build sales? today's meeting at 2:00 is about, you know, what are you doing to create an employee for life environment in your restaurant?

00:22:40:21 - 00:23:05:07
Luke L'Heureux
And, you know, we have our 14 operators on the big screen, and, you know, the guy in New Orleans might come up with a great idea that the people in South Carolina use, you know, and vice versa. So it's, you know, it's it's very much real. Give them that spirit of entrepreneurship to, to really focus on, you know, the success of their, of their restaurants.

00:23:05:09 - 00:23:17:15
Luke L'Heureux
you know, we also have a very, very competitive bonus program in round three, which allows them to also feel, like they're the the part of the big picture.

00:23:17:17 - 00:23:42:20
Mike O'Neill
Yes. You know, look, you had shared that this is a family owned and operated, set of restaurants. And you also mentioned that more often than not, your restaurants sit on dirt that you own. And so you didn't use the term. The long game was what kind of crossed my mind. And that is, it will appear to me that you're all able to operate with that perspective.

00:23:42:22 - 00:23:55:06
Mike O'Neill
you are you have generations have passed through, happy in terms of the number of generations currently represented. What generation are you all on at this point?

00:23:55:08 - 00:24:28:04
Luke L'Heureux
So this would be the so the patriarch is still around. okay. You know, and his son is our president, of the company. so, you know, it's difficult to say that they have children, but, you know, it really is about the long game. you know, and Vince Van Brown, our CEO and myself, really take that seriously when when we sit there, we we say, you know, the decisions that we're making will affect Jerry's grandchildren's grandchildren.

00:24:28:06 - 00:24:57:06
Luke L'Heureux
Yeah. you know, so we we strategically, strategically reinvest into our locations. you know, we we have a saying you need to be better than you were yesterday. and and what that means is that we will continue to grow the company every single day. whether it's just being, you know, best in class or, you know, weathering the storm of a down economy or, you know, whatever pops up.

00:24:57:08 - 00:25:23:00
Luke L'Heureux
what what we're trying to do is, is create that stable foundation so that these restaurants continue to provide for the family. you know, and, and, and Vince and I are not part of the family. However, we, we take it very, very seriously. And, you know, the the the company has a way of making everybody feel like they, they're part of it.

00:25:23:02 - 00:25:48:15
Luke L'Heureux
You know, and, and so, it's it's just been an incredible working environment like, you know, it's an incredible experience. you know, and watching the, the company continue to grow and become more operationally sound and more successful. you know, is one part humbling, right? We, we we just try not to mess it up at this point.

00:25:48:17 - 00:26:07:23
Luke L'Heureux
you know, and and we do it because of how we're treated as the executives in the company by the family. And so, you know, all of that kind of trickles down to to the dishwashers. You know, to the lowest level, people in the stores.

00:26:08:00 - 00:26:24:12
Mike O'Neill
Look, you have 25 plus years of experience in restaurants and hotels. Can you reflect on a situation where perhaps you or the organizations you were part of got stuck? And when that happened, what did it take to get unstuck?

00:26:24:14 - 00:27:09:12
Luke L'Heureux
You know, I can tell you, Mike, I think at Central Key, we were stuck. you know, I, I joined the company in July of 2019. And Covid hit March of 2020. you know, at that point, I think some of our stores were a little dated. you know, they they weren't operationally excellent. you know, there was a little bit of a mentality from the previous leadership that, you know, it was about cut costs and raised prices in which we don't believe in, you know, our, our, our firm belief is to, you know, each plate and each guest, one at a time.

00:27:09:12 - 00:27:32:01
Luke L'Heureux
We will build sales that way. and so, you know, there's two types of cultural change that you can see in a company. You know, there's the ten degree ships and behavior, which is what we believe in now, you know, where we slowly change our behavior and pivot. And, you know, in a year, we we've moved the battleship.

00:27:32:03 - 00:27:54:12
Luke L'Heureux
and it's it's a change that's going to stick. but there's also swift cultural change and, and, you know, in a family owned business, that's, that's very difficult to do. There's a lot of loyalty in there's there's a lot of things. And Covid helped us do that. you know, we we went to the to guilt model that a lot of restaurants did March 17th, 2020.

00:27:54:14 - 00:28:21:14
Luke L'Heureux
And you know, pretty much to summarize it, we were doing 100,000 a week in sales before the dining rooms closed and we dropped. Took 5000 a week. Goodness started doing takeout. And, you know, we realized it wasn't sustainable. and more importantly, we realized that we had failed our neighborhoods and we had failed the the, you know, for miles around the restaurants.

00:28:21:16 - 00:28:51:10
Luke L'Heureux
because nobody was really supporting us or to go. Right. So, you know, March 24th, 2020, we closed all 14. Well at that point we had 17 locations that we closed. during Covid, we decided not to reopen three of our locations. But what we did was we went we went through and we said, you know, what is our manifesto for success and how are we going to get this message to our people?

00:28:51:12 - 00:29:18:20
Luke L'Heureux
And, and, you know, we need to create a swift cultural change. And so we immediately terminated all of the key players. We decided we weren't going to reopen with them. we let them know. you know, it was a difficult decision to make, but, you know, we were fighting for our lives at that point. You know, we had no idea what the restaurant and hospitality industry was going to look like after we reopened.

00:29:18:22 - 00:29:44:05
Luke L'Heureux
You know, we then created what was going to be the goals and expectations of all of our operators and went to all 14 restaurants before we reopened and sat with them and looked them in the eyes and said, this is our expectations moving forward, and this is how we're going to run this company moving forward. And, you know, two of the gentlemen, they dropped out and he said, you know what?

00:29:44:05 - 00:30:12:02
Luke L'Heureux
I'm not interested in working that hard or, you know, really trying to fight that hard for success. and we were okay with that. You know, we promoted a couple people from a system general manager to operating partners. And, you know, we reopened with the 14 restaurants. And, you know, it was a lot of pivoting. You know, there was a lot of we were going 100 miles an hour towards direction A and we realized that was the wrong direction.

00:30:12:02 - 00:30:39:22
Luke L'Heureux
And we immediately pivoted to a different direction. but, you know, it worked. you know, we cleaned up our restaurants, we put the right people on the bus and then put those people in the right seats and, you know, even with 50% diners, we increased sales and increased EBITDA tremendously that first year after Covid. And that just helped us change the trajectory of the company.

00:30:39:24 - 00:31:07:09
Luke L'Heureux
it was it was difficult. You know, it wasn't without pain. it wasn't without a massive amount of stress. We we took the responsibility of making sure people could provide for their families very, very seriously after Covid. but, you know, it really helped us become unstuck. and we were kind of lucky. You know, and I think it's crazy to say that Covid was the best thing that happened to us.

00:31:07:11 - 00:31:27:24
Luke L'Heureux
but it really was, in this case, it enabled us to create this cultural change which which can be very, very dangerous in an organization, you know, especially in our organization that's been around 35 years. you know, that that usually doesn't work. but the Covid enabled us to do that.

00:31:28:01 - 00:31:55:23
Mike O'Neill
Luke Cooper I don't know this, but the, right when Covid hit, I was encouraged. Mike, why don't you host a live webinar? And I did how that became a weekly webinar, for 24 weeks. But then that morphed into this podcast. But what really brought it all together is the world was stuck. How can we together work together to get unstuck?

00:31:56:04 - 00:32:27:06
Mike O'Neill
And the title and the concept, has stayed throughout in large part because what you're sharing is a success story, but you're not sugarcoating the challenges that did that you had to overcome, and you continue to have to overcome to maintain a growing, improvement and operational excellence and all the numbers that you're looking at. You know, if you reflect on this conversation, what do you want the to be the takeaways for our listeners?

00:32:27:08 - 00:32:52:13
Luke L'Heureux
You know, I think the takeaway is that, you know, the world has changed and we either adapt or die. And I think you know, if we don't change the way that we operate our businesses in terms of our people, and then in terms of, what our guests or customers see, we're we're not going to be successful.

00:32:52:15 - 00:33:15:24
Luke L'Heureux
you know, the we've always done it this way is the most dangerous phrase in business. And I, you know, and I think it's a constant pivot. You know, you hear all this about the different generations and how, you know, they're eating those things and their work ethic and all of that. And, you know, to me, I think that's a word rationalization for bad leadership.

00:33:16:04 - 00:33:51:12
Luke L'Heureux
I think great leaders say, okay, I've got a millennial. I need to manage them this way. It's not a Gen Y, and I need to pivot for them because they react different. And and so I think the biggest takeaway is, you know, the rigidity of business, is over. It's over. And the people that are able to pivot and the people that are able to, you know, really focus on on how everybody feels, whether it's their employee, their guests or themselves, are going to be the most successful people.

00:33:51:14 - 00:34:23:21
Mike O'Neill
excellent. You know, recap. Luke, before we wrap up. Let me ask our listeners a question. You ever wonder why people follow your lead? Is it out of obligation because they truly believe in your vision, with extensive experience in HR, leadership and executive coaching. I've seen first hand the essence of leadership. It's clarity and competence. It's about practical solutions to deliver bottom line results with a tailored approach informed by fortune 500.

00:34:23:21 - 00:34:51:01
Mike O'Neill
Insights will address your unique leadership challenges head on. Are you ready to lead with impact? Visit business-builders.com. Let's unlock your leadership potential and make real strides toward your goals. Until we meet again, focus on leading in a way that inspires others to follow. Not because they have to, but because they want to. Luke, you have shared some fantastic insights.

00:34:51:03 - 00:34:55:06
Mike O'Neill
I've learned a great deal from you. Thank you.

00:34:55:08 - 00:34:58:10
Luke L'Heureux
Thanks for having me, Mike. I really appreciate you having me on the show.

00:34:58:12 - 00:35:08:07
Mike O'Neill
I am confident those watching and listening to this are going to want to learn more from you. What's the best way for them to connect with you?

00:35:08:09 - 00:35:10:21
Luke L'Heureux
through LinkedIn. Would be the best way.

00:35:10:23 - 00:35:21:17
Mike O'Neill
Do me a favor. Go ahead. And Luke LaRue rolls off the tongue. But just to go on LinkedIn to find your profile. They type in what?

00:35:21:19 - 00:35:29:07
Luke L'Heureux
Luke, Luke, and then LaRue Lee, you are in UX. there's all I want to.

00:35:29:09 - 00:35:49:02
Mike O'Neill
well, there's only one, perhaps, but I think you are unique. you've given me a considerable appreciation for kind of what you're doing, what you all are doing, and I'm looking forward to visiting one of your restaurants and experience that. Well, firsthand. Again, thank you for being with me today.

00:35:49:04 - 00:35:51:10
Luke L'Heureux
Thanks again, Mike. Appreciate it.

00:35:51:12 - 00:36:00:07
Mike O'Neill
Also want to thank our subscribers for joining us, and I hope you have picked up on some quick wins from Luke that will help you get unstuck and on target.

00:36:01:15 - 00:36:05:15
Mike O'Neill
Thank you for joining us for this episode of Get Unstuck and on Target.

00:36:05:17 - 00:36:26:05
Mike O'Neill
I hope you gain insights to help you lead with competence and drive your organization forward. Remember it, Bench builders. We're committed to your success, your leadership excellence, and your strategic growth. If you've enjoyed our conversation today, please leave a review rate and subscribe to keep up with our latest episode.

00:36:26:14 - 00:36:30:14
Mike O'Neill
This show really grows when listeners like you share it with others.

00:36:30:13 - 00:36:34:01
Mike O'Neill
Who do you know? Who needs to hear what we talked about today?

00:36:34:10 - 00:36:41:15
Mike O'Neill
Until next time, I encourage you to stay. Focus on the target and continue to break new ground on your leadership path.