Business Lesson Learned from Ordering Korean Bibimbap
A Korean restaurant that serves bibimbap opened near my office a couple years ago. I had no idea what bibimbap was or even how to pronounce it, but was game to give it a shot. Once queued in the line at the counter, I looked at the menu up on the wall. It was in an entirely different language that I didn't speak. Uh oh.
Everyone ahead of me seemed to know what they were doing, but I didn’t have a clue. My anxiety increased as the line ahead of me decreased, so I came up with a backup plan to point at an item on the menu and hope for the best. Fortunately, an empathetic person next to me noticed the sweat on my brow and asked if I needed help. “Yes!” I graciously exclaimed.
He walked me through the selection process, which options and sides were available, and even recommended what to order the first time. Whew, what a relief, and more importantly, what a meal. It was fantastic.
“Make it simple for people to understand how to work with your company or department.”
Do you have the equivalent of a bibimbap in your company or department? Perhaps it’s a process that is hard to understand. Or, maybe there are so many unnecessary options available that it confuses everyone. Here’s 3 suggestions to make it easier to do business with you:
Get Rid of What You Can: Simplify, simplify, simplify. Get rid of unneeded steps, unnecessary approvals, and low-value options.
Document What’s Left: Make it simple for people to understand how to work with your company or department. Doesn’t take much. A quick swim-lane or process diagram and a few templates or forms will do the trick for most.
Explain it to First-Timers: Working with a new customer, group, or team? Congratulations. Take the time to steward them through the process from beginning to end. Make them comfortable enough that they can explain it to others.
I’ve ordered bibimbap many times since then and plan on making the next one at home. These days, the sweat on my brow is from the Gochujang and not my stress level!
