Intro

What are Clear Optics? It is the ability to always being able to see your store clearly in the search for what needs to be improved. Have you ever experienced when entering another Bar Manager’s store, you are naturally able to identify areas that could be improved? Why is this? It is because you come in with unbiased feelings towards the store and you have no emotional connection to the team. In addition, through your own experience as a Bar Manager, you can automatically identify how to improve the store. This is the most practical example of having Clear Optics BUT the challenge is to consistently have that same mindset and approach towards your own store without being emotionally biased.

Why is Clear Optics important for a Bar Manager? You want to constantly develop Clear Optics within your team because it is a 4-WALL LEADER’s strongest weapon for optimizing the store performance overall. The Bar Manager cannot single handily make the store perform because it requires a fully aligned team to create a sustainable organism. If as Bar Manager you succeed in developing clear optics within your Juicers, then, in theory, they should execute every task in the best possible way = OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE.

So, a team with well-developed optics is much more aware of how the optimal store should operate and will therefore have unbiased feelings toward their own work. Being able to see your own work unbiased, is the key definition of having Clear Optics.

Therefore, a Bar Manager has 2 main challenges within Developing Clear Optics;

1) Having self-awareness about what Clear Optics are in your own store.

2) Then extending your self-awareness of Clear Optics to the team.

To dig even deeper, having Clear Optics entails that you know The Why, which is the element that ignites the necessary motivation for pursuing high standards continuously. Clear Optics sets the framework for how the team will operate with day-to-day tasks. As the Bar Manager, your job is to influence the narratives (tell the story) of such a framework, so your team can react accordingly in every moment of the day. Meaning the Bar Manager decides what story to tell for creating the optics. This could be setting the scene with the guest’s perception as they enter the store, for the reason why we position candle lights so that the logo faces the entrance.

So, how do you develop Clear Optics? You need to establish a strong awareness of a specific area through the combination of follow-ups and training, as well as controlling the narratives of the framework by explaining ‘the Why’ thoroughly.

Clear Optics Formula

A Bar Manager’s struggle for developing optics usually stems from the challenge of making the team more aware regarding; what the expectations are, understanding ‘the Why’, and showing them ‘the How’ of performing certain tasks. But if the Bar Manager manages to successfully achieve these important factors, then the team will more actively work within the daily framework you have set.

Therefore, to be able to develop Clear Optics, you need to follow a sequence of steps in order to create the necessary framework for the team. Essentially, you combine the steps from ‘The 3 Basic Phases of Delegating Tasks’ (see Elderflower Management module) and apply them to areas of the store which need to be focused on. For example, that could be the cleaning standard of the Close.

The following formula can be followed to simplify the steps for developing Clear Optics within your team:

1) Follow Up
On a daily basis, follow up on different areas where you feel it generally lacks within the store. This includes checking the training level of the team while they work.
Identify what is wrong, why it is wrong, and how it then can be improved.

2) Feedback
Then you will provide the feedback, either individually to the Juicer or for the entire team at a meeting (see Team Meetings module).

3) The Why
In the meeting, you will also explain ‘the Why’ thoroughly to ensure that the Juicer or Team understands the reason and the importance of executing the task to perfection.

4) Expectations
Then you define exactly what the expectations are to the highest level of perfection.

5) Training
Finally, the Follow Up, the Feedback, The Why and the Expectations combined, are multiplied with the amount of BTC Training you will need to carry out to ensure that the Juicer is fully capable of matching their execution of the task to your expectations.

This formula equals Clear Optics within the team in a structured approach. Following this formula will ensure every aspect is covered and set a framework that the team can keep as a reference, whenever they are in doubt.

Example of using the Clear Optics Formula

You have noticed a decrease in the cleaning standards of the stockroom and you are also concerned about ‘the Look’ of the store overall. So, you decide to do a complete Follow Up in this area to check up on the team’s optics.

1) Follow Up
You start by following up on several different cleaning tasks, check for dust in hidden places around the Customer Area, plants/flowers, and generally check the condition within the Stockroom, Close, and Prep routines. Be curious about the Juicers’ knowledge by asking a lot of questions about the procedures they execute. It is also a chance to make Juicer Assessments of the team’s training level, which will then give you an even stronger perspective.

Collect all observations into an overview to help you determine more precisely what is lacking. From following up it becomes obvious that the entire team needs to develop Clear Optics on the general cleaning of the store.

2) Feedback
You then call the entire team in for a Team Meeting. Here you present the feedback as described in the Team Meeting module. This meeting is to fully align the team and prepare them for the reignited focus on cleaning standards for the coming period.

3) The Why In the meeting, you will in detail describe ‘the Why’ of cleaning to ensure that your entire team understands the purpose, along with the positive and negative consequences it can have on the store’s workflow, ‘The Look’ and our guests’ health.

4) Expectations
Then it is time to fully define what the expectations are to the team. You will do that by showing exactly how, for example; you want the Customer Area to look after a close. It is very important that the expectations are agreed on collectively. The expectations should be repeated once again when you carry out the actual training of each Juicer BTC.

5) Training
Finally, you need to schedule yourself to go through the lacking areas with each Juicer and train them individually. It is here where you really show the Juicer ‘the How’ down to the last detail, aiming for perfection.

You will continue to train the team using all Hygiene & Cleaning modules, including any relevant store procedures until they are all fully aligned and have Clear Optics both theoretically as well as practically.

Sum up

Following the Clear Optics Formula, you will in a structured approach, continuously develop your store’s performance, and essentially strengthen your 4-Wall Leadership. The Clear Optics Formula is the necessary tool for any Bar Manager to use for developing Clear Optics within the team and raising the level of store performance. The by-product of developing Clear Optics within the team is the skill adaptation it will transfer towards the feeling of care and ownership for the store in each Juicer. These feelings are key components for building a solid team spirit and will enhance the store performance altogether as a consequence.

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