NOVEL NEXT 49
“Who would you choose, Jo I-ruk-ssi?”
Someone who’s good at the job but lacks tact vs. someone who’s not so good at the job but is diligent.
The ultimate golden balance game.
In the franchise business, there are times when you wonder what kind of person to choose as a franchisee.
Fox or bear? That is the question. There were times when I agonized over this, tearing my hair out. Now, after countless experiences, I’ve more or less reached a conclusion.
Jo I-ruk, like my former self, furrowed his brow and fell into deep thought.
“Hmm. It’s difficult. Can’t we find someone who’s both good at their job and diligent?”
“There may be degrees of difference, but ultimately, people can be broadly divided into these two categories.”
“Is that so? This is just my personal opinion, but if it were me….”
Jo I-ruk paused for a moment, then raised his head and continued.
“…I think someone who’s good at the job might be better.”
“Oh? And why’s that?”
“Because personality can be hidden one way or another. Even Jang Min-gyu-ssi, though it showed a bit, would be fine as long as he maintains proper etiquette in front of customers.”
Jo I-ruk calmly laid out his reasoning.
“After all, we’re looking for someone to work, not a nice person. From the company’s perspective, sales performance is more important than an individual’s character.”
He’s right.
From a superficial viewpoint.
“Well, looking at the results, Jang Min-gyu-ssi would probably generate much less revenue than Seo Beom-jun-ssi and become a harmful franchisee for the company.”
“What?”
“If I had to choose just one of them, I’d definitely go with Seo Beom-jun-ssi.”
“Why? Although Seo Beom-jun-ssi is a former athlete and his diligence and physical fitness are somewhat guaranteed, he’s never run a food business before.”
Jo I-ruk immediately countered. Rather than picking at my opinion, he seemed genuinely puzzled.
Right. I made the same mistake as Jo I-ruk in the early days.
I prioritized selecting people who were quick and good at cooking, even if they lacked tact.
‘The result was… disastrous.’
It seemed to work well at first. They were all good at their jobs, after all. And I provided full support.
Many places started turning a profit and recouping their investment within a month or two.
But the problem comes after that.
“Most people think that slumps and mannerisms become a crisis when business isn’t going well. But the real mannerism actually comes when business is booming.”
Jo I-ruk’s eyes widened.
“When you work every day, you naturally start to question things. What am I doing? Why am I working so hard? Because ultimately, the work is similar.”
“Ah… I can see that happening.”
“Then these thoughts start to pop up. ‘Should I open 10 minutes late just for today?’, ‘Should I close a bit early just for today?'”
That’s the downfall.
Pushing back 10 minutes at a time like this, before you know it, the business hours have significantly shortened compared to the beginning.
“Is that all? Some self-consciousness develops too. ‘I’m earning this much, I’m actually more impressive than you guys, why should I work hard and bow down?'”
You know those kinds of shops, right?
Where the owner leaves the kitchen to others, decks themselves out in luxury brands and gold necklaces, and just handles the cash register or loiters around the shop.
No matter how good the food is, customers quickly leave such places.
“Being good at the job? Most shop work is repetitive, so even the least talented person improves with practice. Sense? It’s nice to have, but not having it isn’t a disaster.”
But diligence is different.
“No matter how good someone is, if they’re not diligent, they quickly succumb to mannerisms and fall. So if you want to lower the closure rate, it’s better to focus on diligent, modest people.”
“I see…!”
Jo I-ruk’s eyes sparkled as he nodded repeatedly.
“Diligence. That should be the criterion for selecting franchisees…. But while it might be clear like today, usually even insincere people claim they’ll work hard in interviews. How do you discern that?”
“You can’t know everything about a person from a short conversation. That’s impossible, of course. But there are a few things to look out for.”
There are three main points. I held up my fingers one by one as I spoke.
“First, hairstyle.”
“Ah, it shouldn’t be long, right?”
“They’ll wear hats in the kitchen anyway. So there’s no time to fuss over hairstyles. Long hair might be fine if well-managed, but usually, they stick to short hair because it’s less hassle.”
Jo I-ruk started scribbling something in his notebook frantically. Thinking it wasn’t necessary, I watched him a bit awkwardly, but he soon peeked up and asked.
“What’s next?”
“The second is the watch.”
“Ah~”
“Same reason. It gets in the way when working in the kitchen.”
“What’s the last one?”
“Look down.”
I pointed to the feet as I spoke.
“Shoes. Surprisingly, many people come wearing slippers or sandals. Or without socks.”
“Aha….”
“Ultimately, that person’s hygiene concept becomes responsible for the shop’s hygiene. If they smell, have long nails, or messy hair, they lack the basics.”
This is, well, too fundamental to even mention. Jo I-ruk finally stopped his busy pen.
“I understand. I’ll keep this in mind when selecting franchisees in the future.”
Good attitude.
“Then should we start preparing for Seo Beom-jun-ssi’s franchise opening?”
“Yes, please do.”
“Hmm…. But why did you call Jang Min-gyu-ssi for an interview? His personality would have been obvious from his self-introduction.”
“……”
If asked for a reason, I can only keep my mouth shut. Because it falls into a category I can’t talk about.
‘I actually ran a franchise with that person before. Of course, he fell into mannerisms and sales plummeted. But I wanted to confirm once more. If this Jang Min-gyu-ssi was the same as the one I knew.’
…It would be too strange to say that. I just grinned silently. That seemed to be enough of an answer for Jo I-ruk.
“Yes, I understand. You received another divine revelation, right?”
“Haha. Shall we call it that?”
Jo I-ruk shrugged at my made-up excuse. A signal that he had no intention of prying further.
This is why it’s comfortable.
“Well then, I’ll be heading out for my external meeting~”
I stretched as I got up from my seat. Oof, I’m stiff. Just as I was about to leave, Jo I-ruk asked from behind.
“What kind of meeting did you say it was today?”
“Oh, didn’t I tell you?”
I turned around with a grin.
“An investor meeting!”
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Swoosh.
Choi Yeo-hae pushed up her large-lensed sunglasses with her fingertips. Despite wearing sunglasses more suited for a resort indoors, they suited her perfectly without a hint of awkwardness.
It was an excessively luxurious place for an investor meeting. A suite room in a 5-star hotel.
With the bedroom and reception room separated, I sat facing Choi Yeo-hae in the reception room.
“Oh my. I’m sorry.”
Choi Yeo-hae said in a tone that wasn’t sorry at all.
“I forgot my glasses. These sunglasses are the only ones I have with a prescription.”
So that’s what it was. And here I thought it was some new intimidation tactic. Anyone would think that after staring at sunglasses with a huge luxury brand logo for 10 minutes.
“You wrote the investment report well. It’s like it was written by a 10-year veteran entrepreneur.”
Busted.
Choi Yeo-hae said as she took off her sunglasses and placed them on the table.
“There’s no youthful charm at all. I can’t tell if I’ve invested in a fresh young person or a 10-year-old snake.”
Tsk, tsk, she clicked her tongue. As if she wouldn’t have criticized the investment report even more harshly if it had been lacking.
Knowing this was Choi Yeo-hae’s roundabout way of giving praise, I managed to keep my expression neutral.
‘Phew. Even at this age, CEO Choi is scary. She has a way of making people nervous. Should I call it charisma?’
Even I, who rarely get intimidated, felt a drop of cold sweat trickle down my spine in front of Choi Yeo-hae.
Others would have been drenched in sweat.
Thud.
Choi Yeo-hae put down the investment report on the table and said,
“Shall I be honest?”
“Please do.”
Choi Yeo-hae looked at me straight on with raised eyebrows. Faced with a presence like facing a tiger, I tried not to lose my composure.
“It’s beyond my expectations.”
As expected.
“The record of using the investment funds is clean, and I like the investment choices. Haha. You even doubled the surplus funds by investing in stocks?”
If you know the future, you might as well use it. Even a layman would know about a few major stocks.
“I usually hate it when people mess around with investment funds like this, but the results are too impressive to criticize. You could be a fund manager, you know?”
“You’re too kind.”
“No, really. I’m tempted to entrust you with our company’s asset management. Share your portfolio with me. I want to show it to our people.”
Choi Yeo-hae continued as she took out a bottle of wine from the minibar.
“Come on, we should celebrate. Have a glass.”
“Pardon?”
As I held up the wine glass in a daze, Choi Yeo-hae filled it and said,
“You’ve proven it. That you’re a diamond that can shine on its own.”
“Haha….”
“To be honest, I was skeptical. No matter how talented and ambitious, it’s not easy for a young person to create a company, is it?”
Of course, it wasn’t easy. Before my regression, it was truly like banging my head against a wall.
Now it’s much easier because it’s the second time. To Choi Yeo-hae, who doesn’t know these circumstances, I must look like a divinely inspired genius.
“So, about that, CEO.”
I carefully opened the topic.
“Actually….”
“You want to increase the investment?”
“!”
“Did you think I wouldn’t know?”
Choi Yeo-hae smirked and took a sip of wine.
She poured another glass, swirling it to smell the aroma.
“You’re in the process of explosively expanding your branches, so you’ll need more investment funds. You even cashed out all your stock investments, didn’t you? I can tell at a glance.”
“…Yes, that’s right. As you said, I came to ask for more investment funds.”
I wanted to grow more, and faster.
Whether she knew my thirst or not.
Choi Yeo-hae answered immediately.
“I’m afraid that’s not possible.”