Client name appears here

1

• PwC Advisory
• A PricewaterhouseCoopers Perspective
• November 15, 2005

How to simplify your Thanksgiving
PwC
connectedthinking
2
(No Transcript)
3
Preface

• The Wall Street Journal challenged
  PricewaterhouseCoopers to draw on our expertise
  as Business Advisors to help a hypothetical home
  chef navigate the big management challenge of
  the year - Thanksgiving Day dinner.
• So, we drew on our experience with some of the
  worlds largest and most complex organizations
  and applied what we do every day, to this annual
  domestic challenge.
• Our first thought was, Why does Thanksgiving
  have to be such a big deal? We think we have
  cracked Thanksgiving simplification, and we
  invite you to read on in the spirit of good
  holiday fun.

4
Simplification Comfortable, Satisfied Guests
How to simplify your Thanksgiving

• Thanksgiving is about enjoying time with family
  and friends. The way we see it, enjoyment is a
  function of a comfortable environment and
  satisfied guests. Its just that simple.
• For many, the run up to the Thanksgiving Day
  feast is a frenzy of activity. Many make the
  mistake of plunging head first into shopping and
  chopping without thinking about how these
  activities truly drive comfort and satisfaction.
  After all, why run around like a turkey with its
  head cut off if you dont have to? Why does
  Thanksgiving have to be so complicated? You get
  our point.
• Large organizations often fall into this same
  trap. They have overcomplicated their
  organizations with too many products, too many
  processes, and direct energy into non-strategic
  areas. It doesnt have to be that way.

5
Simplification Comfortable, Satisfied Guests
How to simplify your Thanksgiving

• Complexity can lead to stress, which is the
  primary damper to comfort and satisfaction at
  Thanksgiving.
• We believe comfort and satisfaction can be
  maximized by applying the principles of
  simplification to Thanksgiving -- concentrating
  on the two key drivers of Thanksgiving
  complexity
• The number of dishes (i.e., products)
• The number (and quality) of guests
• Maximum comfort and satisfaction (and reduced
  stress) can be achieved by keeping these
  constraints in mind. The following slides
  outline how.

6
On Determining the Optimal Number of Dishes
How to simplify your Thanksgiving

• Lets face it, a lot of us over-reach at
  Thanksgiving. Why?
• We try to impress guests with our culinary
  talents (Our view? You are not and never will be
  Martha Stewart.)
• Our perceptions of what people want are not
  realistic. For example, if 3 dishes are good,
  then 5 must be better right? Or you think
  Uncle Norm gets cranky if he doesnt get his
  pickled squash, so you make it for him. (Our
  view? You dont have to please everyone,
  including Uncle Norm.)
• You need to ease the guilt that has been building
  all year because you never cook dinner, and
  here's the one chance to make it up to your
  family. (Our view? The family thinks the
  nightly takeout routine is just fine and some
  members may prefer it that way.)
• So whats the lesson here? Youve heard it
  before Sometimes less is more. How do you
  decide how many dishes you should prepare? We
  propose the following simple analytics to
  determine the optimal number of dishes.

7
The Burner Theorem
How to simplify your Thanksgiving
On Determining the Optimal Number of Dishes

• MAXIMUM OF DISHES ( OF OVENS OF BURNERS)
  1
• Every kitchen has its limits. Given you are
  never going to make everyone happy anyway, take
  care not exceed your cooking capacity. Exceeding
  capacity, increases the likelihood of stress, and
  we already know that stress is not healthy.

The Warming Tray Corollary to the Burner Theorem
If you have a warming tray, we believe you can
exceed your capacity (without increasing stress)
by applying the Warming Tray Corollary. It goes
like this.. Take the result from the Burner
Theorem and multiply it by 1.25. This results in
the optimal number of dishes. This Corollary
assumes you have a functional warming tray
available AND you have prepared at least 1 dish
that can prepared/heated in advance that will
retain at least 95 of its thermal energy in a
warming tray for a minimum of 60 minutes.
Candidates for such dishes are ones with higher
fat content (yes, fat. its not going to kill
you) because food with higher fat content retains
its thermal energy better than food with lower
fat content.
8
Additional Comments on Optimal Number of Dishes
and Capacity Planning
How to simplify your Thanksgiving

• Capacity planning and production scheduling are
  generally driven through linear programming
  models. Capacity is limited by machine capacity
  (burners and ovens), cycle time, available labor,
  availability of materials, and need for
  production sequencing. Capacity can be enhanced
  through pre work and off line processingthis
  is why commercial restaurants use pre-cooked
  foods that are 80 cooked (hours or sometimes
  days before) and requires only the last 20 to be
  completed before serving.
• Many foods served at Thanksgiving can be
  processed in the same way. Most cooks dont
  understand these capabilitieshence the need for
  A Plan, which guides the team through a
  standardized process that puts a quality meal on
  the table in the shortest period of time with the
  least amount of effortthat is lean
  manufacturing.
• And if you dont buy that thinking, then how
  about this We think that focusing on anything
  lean at Thanksgiving is good for you. It makes
  up for all that fatty food sitting in the warming
  tray.

9
The Guest Capacity Theorem
How to simplify your Thanksgiving
On Determining the Optimal Number of Guests

• The target number of guests can be derived by
  taking the lesser of the following two
  calculations
• Calculation 1
• TOTAL USABLE TABLE-SPACE SEATINGS LINEAL TABLE
  SPACE (inches)
• 24 (inches)
• Calculation 2
• TOTAL USABLE CHAIRS The number of chairs that
  fit comfortably beneath the TABLE-SPACE. For
  purposes of this exercise, comfortably is
  defined as 6 to 8 inches between the seat of the
  chair and the underside of the table.

On the Qualitative Aspects of Guest Management
Troublesome guests should be avoided at all
costs. Our view? Simply, dont invite them.
They are only going to ruin your holiday anyway,
so you might as well get the bad news out of the
way sooner rather than later.
10
Simplification through Standardization
How to simplify your Thanksgiving

• OK. Time to brace yourself for a little Project
  Management 101. Well try not to make it hurt
  here it goes.
• You can approach the preparation of a large meal
  like any major project. By their very definition,
  such projects are performed infrequently
  (remember, you never cook) and generally these
  projects include a team of people that do not
  routinely work together. The team members
  functional skills vary as do their ability to
  work in a high performance team. Major projects
  require leadership, communication, a detailed
  plan and appropriately skilled and trained team
  members. Because the people, production
  environment, and final product varies, the
  process must be made simple through
  standardization. Heres how we look at it

11
Simplification through Standardization
How to simplify your Thanksgiving

• Strategy What is the strategy for this years
  meal? Is it low, medium, or a high level of
  effort? What about the customer
  experienceshould you play it safe with a
  traditional menu? Do you want to hedge your risk
  and hit it down the middle with a modest
  experiment, say, deep-fry the turkey?. Or do you
  want to go for the gold with a high risk/high
  return strategy, like Asian fusion or ostrich /
  elk / wild boar for center of the plate. You
  need to understand your strategy and desired
  outcomes.
• Structure You have to consider structural
  components, like financial considerations (how
  much can the host afford to spend?) availability
  of exotic ingredients (does the hosts local
  grocery carry what you need?) the hosts kitchen
  infrastructuredouble oven, microwave, electric
  or gas stove (individual cooks generally prefer
  one or the other), or the deep-fryer for the
  turkey.

12
Simplification through Standardization
How to simplify your Thanksgiving

• Process An end-to-end tasked and timed
  detailed plan supports execution of the strategy.
  The Plan is critical to standardization and
  ultimately simplifying this project. (The Plan
  continuously leverages off prior years plans.
  The Plan is subject to continuous improvement and
  refined after the actual experience of each
  holiday meal). The Plan accounts for every minute
  task and detail, including detailed
  specifications for ingredients, cross-referencing
  to specific menus that have been tried, tested
  and perfected in prior years, digital pictures of
  final product and presentation, quantities
  prepared and consumed. The team should walk
  through the plan prior to the actual event,
  prototyping any changes from the prior year. New
  team members should be properly trained and
  supervised. Dont forget to keep the pet rat
  locked in its cagewe dont want Aunt Betty to
  faint into the mashed potatoes like last year.

13
Simplification through Standardization
How to simplify your Thanksgiving

• People Competent leader identified prior to
  start of planning process. Roles and
  responsibilities assigned in accordance with the
  plan and skills assessed in light of Plan
  requirements. Supplement the teams skills and
  time availability, as needed, either through
  outsourcing (i.e., prepared foods) or hire a
  consultant or specialist (rent a chef). Theres
  also the idea of managing the expectations of
  guest to ensure everyone is aligned with what you
  have planned. For goodness sakes, make sure to
  tell Dad to not hog all the stuffing.
• Technology You should consider the various
  technologies you will need in advance. For
  example, you may want to consider a means of
  communication prior to the day of the
  evente-mail addresses, cell phone numbers, and
  the like. The Team also should understand the
  limitations of the hosts kitchen equipment.

14
The Thanksgiving Simplification Food Pyramid
How to simplify your Thanksgiving
If you can't avoid all together, use sparingly
Troublesome Guests Relations
2-3 Servings
2-3 Servings
Managed Expectations
Sourcing Strategies
3-5 Servings
2-4 Servings
Know your guests
Standardization
Use abundantly 6-11 servings
An Attitude of Simplification
15
Workplan
How to simplify your Thanksgiving
Saturday Saturday Sunday Sunday Monday Monday Tuesday Tuesday Wednesday Wednesday Thursday Thursday
Track/Task am pm am pm am pm am pm am pm am pm
Guest Management Guest Management Guest Management Guest Management Guest Management Guest Management Guest Management Guest Management Guest Management Guest Management Guest Management Guest Management Guest Management
Finalize guest list
Manage expectations
Outsource meal components
Align guests
Meal Management Meal Management Meal Management Meal Management Meal Management Meal Management Meal Management Meal Management Meal Management Meal Management Meal Management Meal Management Meal Management
Draft menu plan
Finalize menu plan
Outsource to vendors, guests
Procure raw materials
Pre-assembly
Assembly
Infrastructure Management Infrastructure Management Infrastructure Management Infrastructure Management Infrastructure Management Infrastructure Management Infrastructure Management Infrastructure Management Infrastructure Management Infrastructure Management Infrastructure Management Infrastructure Management Infrastructure Management
Assess capacity
Plant maintenance
Plan for contingencies
Prepare site
GO LIVE
16
Credits

• Joe Duffy, Partner
• US Performance Improvement Leader
• joe.duffy_at_us.pwc.com
• Dave Pittman, Partner
• US Finance Operations Simplification Leader
• dave.pittman_at_us.pwc.com
• Dr. Robert Eccles, Senior Fellow of
  PricewaterhouseCoopers
• President, Advisory Capital Partners, Inc.
• robert.eccles_at_advisorycapital.com

17
About PricewaterhouseCoopers

• At PricewaterhouseCoopers, youll find advisory
  professionals with unparalleled financial and
  accounting expertise, knowledge of business
  processes, industry insight and technology, and
  customer relationship skills. Through our
  capabilities in these areas, we assist clients in
  translating strategy into action.
• With over 23,000 professionals in 85 cities
  around the country, PwC is well placed to help
  you meet the challenges and opportunities of the
  U.S. marketplace. We offer the perspective of a
  global organization combined with detailed
  knowledge of local, state and U.S. national
  issues.
• Oh yeah, and were fun to work with too.

18
www.pwc.com/us/advisory