Myles Doran – Hospitality Inc

The great Wendy’s burger flip-out

Fast-food fans were aghast when news broke last week that burger chain Wendy’s would be testing out surge pricing — a mostly reviled strategy of raising prices during busy times made famous by Uber.

Why it matters: It’s getting easier to use technology to monkey around with prices, but that doesn’t mean customers will like it.

State of play: In an earnings call earlier this month, Wendy’s CEO Kirk Tanner said the company was planning to test “dynamic pricing.” That’s a commonly used practice of changing prices more frequently using algorithms, machine learning and AI.

His remarks went unnoticed at first but then were picked up by a few big news outlets, they used the term “surge pricing.” The backlash was quick.
Late on Tuesday, the company put out a statement clarifying that it didn’t plan to raise prices during busy hours — but would use digital menus to change offerings during the day and offer discounts during slower times.
That of course means that prices would be higher at high-demand times, but typically consumers don’t view that as price-gouging — happy hours and early bird specials are seen as good deals.

The big picture: People are accustomed to dynamic pricing in certain areas. Flights are more expensive on Dec 23^r^d than on the Dec 25^th.

These kinds of price adjustments are more common than you might realise, and they’re growing in popularity as more companies pop up to help retailers try it out.

Dozens of US restaurants have quietly implemented surge pricing, including barbecue chain Tony Roma’s, the New York Post reports. As more menus move to tablets, the process has gotten easier to implement.
Retailers like Kohl’s, Best Buy and Grocery chains have used digital price tags that make it easy to change prices.

The bottom line: Wendy’s didn’t handle this well, says Vicki Morwitz, a professor at Columbia Business School. It seems executives didn’t think sufficiently about how consumers would react or about the best way to use dynamic pricing.

That’s crucial. There has to be a human overseeing the rollout and watching the algorithm, she says.
Changing prices a lot can be “unsettling,” the HBR professors write. Just look at how vexing the recent period of inflation has been.
The Wendy’s dust-up mirrors one of the Coca-Cola Company’s worst PR debacles, in 1999, says Morwitz, the Columbia professor.
- Back then Coke considered raising vending machine prices when the temperature rose. People thirst for a cold drink on a hot day, “so it is fair that it should be more expensive,” the company’s then-chairman said.
- People hated the idea, and the word “gouging” came up a lot, Pepsi quickly took the opportunity to say it would never do such a thing — and Coke walked it back.
Dynamic pricing is not new news in the UK hospitality market, it’s been deployed for decades, however the communication of such practice is a minefield as a number of well known national operators have since found out in recent years.

BLOGS

The great Wendy’s burger flip-out

The Benefits of “Minimalist” Leadership

When Charismatic CEOs Are an Asset — and When They’re a Liability

The Benefits of “Minimalist” Leadership

“My goal is to be the world’s least-powerful CEO,” declares Ilkka Paananen, the cofounder and CEO of Helsinki’s $2 billion mobile game company, Supercell.

Paananen believes that the secret to producing hits is to attract highly talented employees, give them ridiculously ambitious targets, and then let them loose to decide among themselves what products to make.

With billion-dollar blockbusters such as Clash of Clans, Hay Day, and Clash Royale, the company has proved that the strategy of not disturbing people with too much leadership can work magic.

Although we have known about the benefits of servant leadership for a long time, many CEOs are still far from putting it into practice.

While minimalist leadership may feel counterintuitive and uncomfortable, those who dare to practice it will gain an edge in industries requiring engaged and innovative employees.

They’ll also eliminate the bottlenecks that often happen when CEOs insist on retaining too much control.

But the shift to it will require unlearning counterproductive practices more than learning new things.

Finland, one of the least-hierarchical countries in the world, is at the forefront of the trend. This country could be considered a laboratory for the low-status, humble approach.

CEOs who practice it are less visible, try to avoid being the centre of attention, and assert less control.

They let employees shine, put the good of the company above their own egos, and ultimately build stronger and more-innovative businesses.

BLOGS

The great Wendy’s burger flip-out

The Benefits of “Minimalist” Leadership

When Charismatic CEOs Are an Asset — and When They’re a Liability

When Charismatic CEOs Are an Asset — and When They’re a Liability

Starting in the 1980s, a generation of larger-than-life CEOs became full-blown celebrity, but over time, research suggested that charismatic CEOs tended to have drawbacks as leaders.

However, charisma can be especially useful in two business concepts with big unknowns: entrepreneurial start-ups and corporate turnarounds.

In these settings, when everyone — investors, employees, customers, suppliers — are dealing with enormous uncertainties, a leader’s charisma can give people the faith necessary to take risks.

BLOGS

The great Wendy’s burger flip-out

The Benefits of “Minimalist” Leadership

When Charismatic CEOs Are an Asset — and When They’re a Liability

A Simple Hack to Help You Communicate More Effectively…

A Simple Hack to Help You Communicate More Effectively…

Using a structured approach when communicating can help you prioritise what you need to convey.

Next time you have a project that needs clarity in message to multiple stakeholders, try this approach and see if the results are different to your normal ways of working…

It’s the “What, So What, Now What” framework.

Much like the Swiss Army knife, known for its versatility and reliability, this structure is flexible and can be used in many different communication situations.

The structure is comprised of three simple questions:

1) What: Describe and define the facts, situation, product, position, etc.

2) So What: Discuss the implications or importance for the audience. In other words, the relevance to them.

3) Now What: Outline the call-to-action or next steps such as taking questions or setting up a next meeting.

Let me know if you found it a useful hack, good luck.

BLOGS

The great Wendy’s burger flip-out

The Benefits of “Minimalist” Leadership

When Charismatic CEOs Are an Asset — and When They’re a Liability

Stop Assuming Introverts Aren’t Passionate About Work

Stop Assuming Introverts Aren’t Passionate About Work

Picture this: You ask two of your direct reports to take on important projects for your team, expecting both to be passionate about the opportunity.

In response, one gets visibly excited, becoming animated as you discuss their ideas, and you notice them chatting with their co-workers about it over lunch.

The other reacts with less enthusiasm, remains calmer, and seems to keep to themselves.

Who would you conclude was more passionate about their assignment?

Society often assumes that the only way to be passionate is to act extroverted, but that is simply not true.

In recent research, it was found that regardless of their actual level of passion, extroverted employees are perceived as more passionate than introverts.

Moreover, this can drive substantial inequities in the workplace, as studies have shown that employees who are perceived as more passionate are rewarded by their managers, seen as higher-status and higher-potential, and are more likely to receive financial resources and other forms of support.

It is important to understand what drives these (often flawed) perceptions of employee passion and to develop strategies for managers and employees to ensure that true passion — not just extroverted behaviours — are recognised and valued.

BLOGS

The great Wendy’s burger flip-out

The Benefits of “Minimalist” Leadership

When Charismatic CEOs Are an Asset — and When They’re a Liability

Setbacks can actually boost your career

Setbacks Can Actually Boost Your Career…

Many of us will face a setback at some point in our careers — perhaps we’ll be passed over for a promotion, fail to get the job we want, or even be asked to resign.

Because such experiences can shake our confidence and make us doubt our worth, trying to shield ourselves from them is instinctive.

But what if by focusing on the obvious negative aspects of setbacks, we miss their silver lining?

If you’ve hit a big pothole on the road to success, take heart.

Research shows that setbacks can galvanize your career in unexpected ways that make you more successful.

Three practices are key to turning them to your advantage: exploring whether your goals still fit your aspirations, opening yourself to unorthodox opportunities, and adopting a growth mindset.

You may find that it’s just the stimulus that you didn’t realise you needed.

BLOGS

The great Wendy’s burger flip-out

The Benefits of “Minimalist” Leadership

When Charismatic CEOs Are an Asset — and When They’re a Liability

Productivity Hacks

If you need help sticking to your 2024 resolutions, here are 3 of my favourite productivity hacks:

1. Eliminate notifications: Mute 99% of your Slack channels, enable “Do not disturb” modes on your phone, turn off as many app notifications as possible, and actively click on “show fewer posts like this” on social media platforms.

The average person picks up their phone nearly 150 times a day.

Translation: There’s ample opportunity to choose what you want to see versus what algorithms want to show you.

2. Prioritise response times: Not everyone, nor every task, deserves first dibs on your attention. Group contacts and projects based on their importance to you.

3. Geofence your home: While I haven’t yet gone nuclear and put my phone outside the bedroom at night, I have restricted myself from checking anything other than text messages anytime my body is in bed.

This prevents me from working up to the minute my eyes close and waking up to work.

The big picture: Tame the noise.

BLOGS

The great Wendy’s burger flip-out

The Benefits of “Minimalist” Leadership

When Charismatic CEOs Are an Asset — and When They’re a Liability

Keep it super simple

Stick to the basics and keep it simple..👇

Do your Job..

Sweat the details..

Put the team first..

Be attentive..

Ignore the white noise..

Speak for yourself..

BLOGS

The great Wendy’s burger flip-out

The Benefits of “Minimalist” Leadership

When Charismatic CEOs Are an Asset — and When They’re a Liability

The Formula

The courage to start..

The discipline to focus..

The confidence to figure it out..

The patience to know progress is not always visible..

The persistence to keep going, even on the bad days..

That’s the formula peeps.👊