How to Create & Use a Flash Report

Think of yourself as the captain of a ship or the pilot of an aircraft. The captain receives information from instruments, decides what to do with that information based upon reason, experience, etc., and then issues instructions to the crew that guides the vessel to its planned destination.

A business owner without information is like a ship at sea during a storm without a compass, a map, a rudder -- and the captain never learned how to sail! You just react to whatever happens like a donkey in a hailstorm. All you can do is turn your back to the wind, lower your head and hope it is over soon.

Like cockpit instruments, a flash report is a brief, useful, one-page summary of essential information about your restaurant. You may use it to coach your employees, guide your decision-making, etc. Your administrative staff should take no longer than one hour to prepare it and you should be able to read it in 10 minutes. Most restaurants prepare flash reports weekly. Consultants often say, "You must be able to measure whatever you hope to control." Well, a flash report contains measurements to support your particular management needs. There is no one right way to design a flash report, but here are some hints and an example that will enable you to use this valuable management tool.

Depending on your experience analyzing business data, your savvy with computers and software applications, and your patience, this article can set you on course to create a "management information system" that will give you greater control over your operation. At the very least, it should open your eyes to the importance of gathering and analyzing data. With a little effort and easily available technology, you can turn your managers from barnstorming pilots peeking through the clouds to find the way home, to modern aviators with a cockpit full of instrumentation telling him or her everything about position, altitude, speed, direction, fuel supply, air traffic, and weather ahead -- at a glance.