Read This!

The concluding words  of a very illuminating conversation I had with Christophe DuBois, master chef and restaurateur of Le Épis D'Ore, a small coffee shop servicing delicacies during the day off 13th Street in Menlo Park, Pretoria. Christophe had one of the more famous French restaurants in the city, Brassierie de Paris which he sold a couple of years ago.( A restaurant by that name still exists, but Christophe has no connection with it.) 

As always during this time of the year, and especially this year, the conversation turns to: "And how was business?" In these dire times, Christophe has little to complain about. The small restaurant which is a wonderful refuge under shady trees in the suburb, for breakfasts, midmorning teas, lunch snacks and afternoon coffees, alone would not sustain a family. But add on to that the catering. (now isn't that smart? You have an operation small enough to allow for a proper family life, but you have access to an industrial kitchen for large scale catering.)

And, wait for it, Christophe says he has branched into consulting. Consulting? Yes, for expensive restaurants about to be launched, or having run into troubles. And here is the reason why I chose Christophe's story to conclude my blog for the year (yeah, tomorrow I'm off to Groot Brak, Cape Town and Somerset West, some serious cycling for 2010's Argus to be done!).

I said, Christophe, are they willing to spend money on consulting?

The reply is precious, and a textbook example of the expression of consulting's value proposition:

"They are in any case going to spend the money. They only have the choice of spending it foolishly, or wisely." (!) 

They are in any case going to spend the money... (of course you must be a consultant of substance, not a 28 year old, thirty something,  android 'management consultant' with an MBA rushing in... but then the androids is a story for another day).

And on that note: Thanks for visiting the blog over the past year, we moved from some 2000 visits in January to some 62,000 by the end of the year. I do so appreciate you looking in on my library and picking up conversations. Have a splendid and blessed festive season. For me and my family it is more than a mere festive season; it's Christmas. All of you who share this with us, God bless!