Vital Factors Physical - Michael Caito (Entrepreneur, CEO Restaurants on the Run)

Michael Caito is an entrepreneur with a system of structure. In 1993, Mike co-founded a multi-restaurant delivery and catering company called Restaurants on the Run. Today the company partners with over 1100 restaurants, over 300 delivery drivers, and delivers of 150,000 meals per month. As CEO, Mike manages the company using his passion for leadership development and expertise in execution. In his Paper Napkin Wisdom, Mike shares the philosophy behind the structure he uses to ensure the health of his company. His napkin reads: “Don’t forget Dr. Chang and your vital factors.” At first glance, these words might seem a bit enigmatic but as Mike compares maintaining his physical health with maintaining the health of his business, it becomes clear that there’s a direct parallel to his approach. Dr. Chang is Mike’s physician and every year when he gets his physical, the two sit down and take a look at the most important metrics that make up Mike’s health. They compare the previous year’s test results and evaluate how he’s progressed in last year’s goals before they set about choosing three or four new goals for the year. After one of these annual physicals, Mike asked himself: “Why would I treat my business any different than I treat my body?” It was then that he set about putting a system of business health evaluations into effect. Every month, Mike and his executive team perform a physical on the business. They look at the 12-15 most important metrics that they have on the company and they look at how they’re doing on them in comparison to last month, which ones are going well, and which ones are in danger. The process takes about 2-2½ hours once a month. As they go through the process of this business physical they are able to check how aligned they are with their goals for the year, they are able to keep one another accountable, set 3-4 goals and controls for the next month, and set up any necessary corrective action steps. Doing this means that they’re always building accountability and momentum because they are constantly measuring performance and giving recognition when it’s due. The process is one that happens in each department and it creates a system of accountability where each body part is managing itself. This monthly process works because it keeps the team tightly aligned and becomes a ritual that adds to the company structure. These meetings are, at their core, rituals that happen with peer to peer accountability. To get things done, says Mike, you have to commit to rituals. Rituals add to the structure of our day and the structure of our work and the more structure you have, the more flexibility you have because everyone is on the same wavelength and goals are being completed at a steady pace. Through this system of monthly check-ups, Mike is able to assess the health of his business and of the key people in his organization. He’s able to look at performance against the monthly goals and see how each person is performing on a monthly, quarterly, and yearly basis. If a key player is having a problem, the monthly check-up can be used to help that team member come up with an action plan to get that metric back on track. This type of leadership is about igniting and then influencing great leadership within your organization. It creates a lot of trust and a lot of time to get to a point where everything is running smoothly, but Mike says that it’s well worth it. This system, structure and rhythm didn’t come naturally to him but in changing his leadership and changing the leadership of the company, Mike’s done wonders for himself and his company. What might monthly check-ups do for you and your organization? Listen to the conversation with Mike here: