Katie Frank is a ZingTrain consultant and trainer. In this episode, Katie will discuss what it’s really like to work at a company like Zingerman’s. She discusses a little about areas they can improve and the toughest part getting used to when she started working there.
She discusses more how Open Book Management affects the day-to-day. She closes this episode with her thoughts on visioning.
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Resources
Open Book Management Articles and Information on ZingTrain site.
Visioning Articles on ZingTrain
Notes taken during the editing of this show.
Path to partnership – she’s been thinking about her career path.
Statement of Intent – Own her own restaurant. And one of the things she wanted for this business was to empower people to have all the tools to make the best decisions and to understand the role they play in the business.
What do you do? Business trainer. Help people see things through a different lense.
What’s it really like to work at a Zingerman’s company? What gets lost is that it’s a lot of work. A lot of intentionality and mindfulness. We fall short and it requires a lot of mental energy.
Quote – “It’s not a Utopia, but the managing partners are people you want to come to the table with to solve problems.”
Shared language and purpose allows us to do great things.
What areas need to work through – governance, transition. Getting clear on leadership and ownership stake.
Toughest part to get used to? She kept expecting people to be stressed out because it was the holiday season, but people were helpful and happy to see you. This hasn’t changed
Learning more about an Open Book Environment. Getting people to learn how the numbers impact the day to day. How to help the bakery become profitable. She had lead teams and not particularly strong in finance. Stressed teams and communication. Once she knows the target and how to move the needle, then she was able to make better decisions for herself and her team.
How has OBM (Open Book Management) affected her day to day work life. She thinks about how to be the most cost effective for the clients.
Also, she’s more critical of undertaking expenses and evaluating whether or not it is necessary to advance the business.
1156 – New question – which one recipe has affected your life the most? She’s more aligned. Visioning.
The other, don’t ask someone to do something you’re not willing to do. Your team will only give a level of service equal to or less than the level of service given by the management.