A Slice of the Pie: How to Build a Big Little Business

HowdoesasuburbanpizzajointendupprofiledonnationalmagazinecoversandnetworkTVnews?(Hint:Thesecretisnotinthesauce.)WhenNickSarillodecidedtoopenafamilyfriendlypizzarestaurantinthesuburbsofChicago,peoplethoughthewasnuts.Havingworkedasacarpenterformuchofhisadultlife,helackedanyformalexperienceinrestaurantsorinmanagingasmallbusiness.Everyonetoldhimnooneelsewouldevercareabouthisplacethewayhedid.Theywarnedhe'dhavetowork20hourdaysandmonitoreveryemployeejusttostayinbusiness.ButSarillosawthingsdifferently,andsetouttorunhisbusinessinaradicallydifferentway.TodayNick'sPizza&Pubisoneofthetoptenbusiestindependentpizzarestaurantsinthecountry,withtwolocationsthatgrossabout"sixtimes"therevenueofthetypicalpizzarestaurant.Andinanindustrywheremostemployeesleavewithinlessthanayear,Nick'sannualturnoverrateislessthan20percent.Howdidhedoit?ThesecretliesinNick'spurposedrivenculture,inwhicheveryemployeefromthewaiterstothechefstothemanagersisequippedwiththetoolsnecessarytodotheirjobswhilealsoadvancingthecompany'soverallmission.Theresultishighersales,adedicatedteam,andabiglittlebusinessthatisbelovedbytheentirecommunity.In"ASliceofthePie"Sarillotellsthestoryofhowhebuilthisextraordinarycultureandshowshowanyonecanfollowhismethods.Forinstance,Nick'smanagersengagethestaffbytrackingandrewardingunusualmetrics,suchashowmanyguestsrequestaparticularserverortheaveragecheckamountofeachcarryouthost.Likewise,teammembersofallagesandlevelsofexperienceareencouragedtoexpressthemselves,acquirenewskills,andsuggestideastohelpthebusinessgrow."ASliceofthePie"willhelptransformeventhesmallest,simplest,andmostordinarybusinessintoasuccessful,highperformanceorganization.