Many people have never heard of Hell’s Kitchen or Hotel Hell, both of which are reality shows run by the acclaimed British chef and entrepreneur Gordon Ramsay. He is invited by supposedly excellent restaurants and hotels that somehow fail to generate income or have any noticeable number of customers.

His challenge: identify how to fix the business.

Predictably, great drama ensues.

What is remarkable is how Ramsay does the turnaround, which is a process that many small and medium-sized enterprises could learn from and apply.

Identify the Problem from Multiple Angles

One of Ramsay’s great assets is his sharp eye for detail and decades of experience in both the restaurant and hotel sectors. When he arrives to a business, he thoroughly looks for signs of problem.

What Gordon Ramsey looks for	The questions we could ask
Is the decor outdated?	Is our website appealing? Does our reception look professional?
Too many dishes on the menu?	Are we offering too many services?
What do employees see as a problem?	How do our employees perceive the business? Are they getting heard?
What do former employees say was the problem?	Do we listen to critical information? Are we open for improvement?
How does the food taste?	Is our product or service great from a customer’s perspective? Is it high quality?
What does the owner see as a problem?	Are we honest with ourselves? What is our role in success or failure?
What do other guests say?	Is customer feedback encouraged? Is it honest? Is it being heard?

Find an Effective Way to Trigger Change

Very often, the key problem with the business is not the lack of skills. Cooks can cook pretty well… they just don’t do it. Staff know how to run a hotel or restaurant, they are not given the tools, means, or support to do so. Occasionally, they are in the wrong place: if you are not an asset in customer-focused areas, better be an asset in back-office tasks.