Pizza Today - June 2019 - 3

Commentary

What Inspires You?

JEREMY WHITE

JWHITE@PIZZATODAY.COM

VOLUME 38 * NUMBER 6
JUNE 2019

've been thinking a lot about inspiration
lately. Poets and songwriters often say
the words they pen sometimes come to
them from out of nowhere. They hint that the
thoughts they articulate and put to paper are
a gift from another realm. Other times they
cite a muse - a person, place or event that
moved them to write about an emotion or
experience.
They humbly discredit their skill and dedication to their craft when they talk about this,
but we all know nonetheless that they are
masters at what they do regardless of what
inspires their art.
What inspires me? Showing my sons that
anything less than your best effort will result
in life kicking your ass is probably a good
place to start. But deep down there has to be
something more. There has to be a pride and
self-respect that says "I am going to be the
absolute best at what I do. Period. No one
will outwork me and no one will get in the
way of what I intend to accomplish."
It's an athlete's mindset. And in business,
you better have it.
If a fighter doubts his training, doubts his
conditioning, doubts his skill or doesn't properly respect his opponent ... what happens
when he steps in the ring?
If a pitcher doubts his ability to hit his
spot, what does the batter do with the ball?
World-class athletes, regardless of their
sport, have one thing in common: a burning
desire to win. And that desire is so strong
that it overrides every sense of doubt or fear
they have and spurs them to train relentlessly
so that when their moment comes they do
not fail.
What if you adopted that mindset? What

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COVER: SAUSAGE PIZZA
PHOTO & LAYOUT:
JOSH KEOWN

if you decided you were going to grow sales
by 20 percent over the next 12 months by
implementing an all-out marketing assault
coupled with elite-level service and product?
Could you do it? What would it take?
From a marketing standpoint, what resources
would you need to allocate? What sort of
assistance would you need?
What training could you provide your staff
to elevate the customer experience? What
changes to your menu - either product-wise
or pricing structure - would yield you better
results?
Chances are you're not perfect. Chances are
you're not doing every little thing flawlessly. If
you can agree to that statement, what weaknesses can you attack immediately?
Develop a plan. Then execute it. Maybe you
don't grow sales by 20 percent in the next
12 months. Maybe you hit a few roadblocks
and increase them by, say, 11 percent. Would
that be a decent consolation?
If you don't have the eye of the tiger, if
you're not "leaving it all on the field" ... then
what are you even doing here running a
pizzeria in the most highly competitive food
market ever?
Get to work and go earn the results!
Best,

JEREMY WHITE
EDITOR IN CHIEF

Pizza Today® (ISSN 0743-3115) is published monthly. Domestic U.S. subscriptions are $29.95
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Pizza Today - June 2019

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