March 2021 – The Turning Points of Life

“Innovation is the creation, development and implementation of a new product, process or service, with the aim of improving efficiency, effectiveness or competitive advantage and survival.”

The pandemic of 2020 put all of us into an unexpected and unplanned situation. The consequences of a worldwide pandemic put a significant stress on individuals and businesses. Specifically, small businesses that do not typically have the luxury of robust bank accounts were stressed to the limits. Many were unable to survive. But this is the perfect situation for innovation to bring its salvation to such situations.

One small business, a pair of restaurants located in the Silicon Valley, realized successful navigation of the unexpected challenges of the pandemic. They had ‘Innovation” as part of their business by-line: Quality, Innovation & Education.

When the pandemic hit with a vengeance, governments nationally and locally, scrambled for solutions to mitigate the deadly effects of the new and novel virus. Medical experts were consulted and given unprecedented power to dictate procedures and social limitations on national, state and local counties and city venues. Restaurants and other traditional social gathering venues were shut down. They were limited to “to go” and “outdoor dining” for almost a full year in many cases. Small businesses were very vulnerable in this situation. Many restaurants and other businesses collapsed into insolvency destroying the dreams of countless entrepreneurs.

The Founder and CEO of Sushi Confidential, Randy Musterer, was uniquely positioned in many ways to meet the challenges ushered in by a global pandemic.

At the pandemic’s onset, Randy Musterer had a lot going for him. Before opening his restaurants, Randy had spent 17 years in cancer and infectious disease research. He worked at some of the most prestigious pharmaceutical companies in the world. That experience gave Randy the knowledge and understanding of what was necessary to protect people from a pandemic and its vicious contagious character. Randy’s response to the pandemic was to immediately plan for the worst. A closed restaurant can be devastating to the owner, the employees, the customers, and the suppliers of the business.

Randy, using his scientific background and experience, educated his employees. He taught them what steps they needed to take to remain in a position where they were not vulnerable to contracting the disease. He implemented protocols for his employees while in the workplace, protecting them and the customers from contracting or spreading the virus.

Next, Randy devised a strategy for keeping the restaurant functional when indoor dining was prohibited. He vigorously established an effective take-out system that gave his faithful and loyal clientele a means to still access his top-quality sushi offerings. He instantly connected with his clientele via social media to share his background in infectious disease research, what he was doing to implement safety precautions at Sushi Confidential This resulted in the ability to gain trust and support from his loyal following. He attracted the news media as credible resource for small business challenges and success amidst a global pandemic.

Randy didn’t rest with the initial success of the take-out business. Early in the lockdown, a few of Randy’s close friends in the industry were deciding how to navigate their small businesses through the pandemic. Many were not considered “essential”, therefore, were required to cease operations. Randy knew how devastating this would be to their survival moving forward. He saw an opportunity for his fellow small business entrepreneurs and invited them to sell their products through his established take-out business. Frost Cupcake Factory began offering their award-winning cupcakes on Randy’s menu. Then a local brewery, Strike Brewery, of San Jose began offering their micro brews. An award-winning Mixologist, Jason Steele, owner of Los Gatos Soda Works, soon joined the offerings with custom “take-out” cocktails, once the state changed the laws to allow hard-alcoholic cocktails “to go”. The success of these partnerships inspired other local restaurants to follow suit to create their own partnerships to help other small businesses survive, and even thrive, during the pandemic.

While many restaurants slowly pivoted to “learn” how to operate during a pandemic, Randy realized that he needed to continue to advance his offerings to keep his clientele both old and new from boredom. As restaurants were limiting their menu to be able to open and operate at a bare minimum, Randy went on a constant upgrade to his menu. On a feverish pace, he created new and innovative sushi rolls and other menu offerings. He also expanded his vegetarian, gluten-free and keto offerings.

The success of any business owner is how the owner can relate to and solve his customers “pain points”. Randy was working eighteen hours a day to ensure his restaurants’ survival. He was interacting with his customers daily and started to hear a common theme. They were bored after three months of “lock down”. How many more puzzles could the family make? How many more movies can they watch together? How do I keep my kids off “screen time” and video games? Randy knew, if he came up with a solution to their “pain points”, he could make additional revenue to ensure his restaurants’ success. Randy, having previous success with Sushi Making Classes at the restaurant, decided to create a make-your-own Sushi Kit. He included a YouTube instruction video to ensure its success. This became quite popular, especially with families with children. Families sharing their Sushi Confidential Sushi Making Kits on social media enhanced the popularity of the idea.

Randy continued his partnership with Strike Brewery. Together they brewed a hazy IPA on Randy’s Sushi Confidential label.

Not letting grass to grow under his feet, when outdoor dining became an option, Randy quickly adapted his patio for outdoor dining. When more space was needed Randy was instrumental in getting the city to create parklets on the street in front of his restaurant and all the local businesses there.

Randy invested on gaining additional outdoor dining by creating a “sushi” beer garden in the parking area behind the Campbell restaurant. When the fall holidays arrived, a surge in virus cases instigated the shutdown of outdoor dining. With people now deprived of dining in a controlled environment of outdoor dining in restaurants, they reverted to uncontrolled environments of house parties. This turn of events had the effect of causing Randy’s catering business to take off again. Randy employed some clever marketing ideas that capitalized on the questionable actions of the city and county lockdown edicts.

Randy’s intense focus on innovation has brought him through the yearlong pandemic with its amazing challenges. His appreciation for those who made great sacrifices to keep us all as safe as possible fuels Randy’s altruistic nature. He set out to honor and praise the first responders, medical teams and hospital workers by serving them sushi dinners. This commitment for them was evidenced on the day that Randy and his staff received their Covid vaccines. He brought bento box lunches for all the workers and was rewarded by being on the front page of the local section of the San Jose Mercury Newspaper.

Randy didn’t let a new vocabulary go without capitalizing on it. In the beginning, businesses were labeled “essential” and restaurants were not on the list. Randy seized that as an opportunity with T-shirts and hats challenging that idea. His subtle protest for the restaurant snub.

Customized Sushi Confidential masks rounded out the opportunity to capitalize on the unprecedented circumstances created by the pandemic that came out of no where.

An innovation is an idea that has been transformed into practical reality. For a business, this is a product, process, or business concept, or combinations that have been activated in the marketplace and produce new profits, growth for the organization and in difficult situations survival.

Randy has mastered innovation for the benefit of his staff, his clientele, and his family.

Sitting in church on a Sunday morning, two strangers entered the church just after the service began. I glanced over briefly and noted that one of them looked awfully familiar. What’s this person doing here? No, it couldn’t be him! That’s impossible, just couldn’t be him!

In our church small group midweek discussion evening just four days prior, we explored the experience of Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well. A lesson of that experience among others was that we often hold prejudices towards those who think differently than we think. Jesus vividly showed His disciples that though they shunned Samaritans, Jesus did not. I walked away from that discussion evening wondering do I have any “Samaritans” in my life? Are there people I disparage behind their back and don’t realize I am doing so?

It didn’t take long for God to respond to my wondering.

Four days after that small group evening, an unexpected, unplanned and “unexplained” series of events took place for me.

Our church has two congregations in the San Diego area, Vista and National City. Vista is an English only congregation and National City is Spanish with English translation. Since my mother-in-law was in her 90’s, she had a difficult time assimilating the translated services in National City. So, we always attended Vista on a Sunday mornings.

It was Father’s Day Sunday in June 2015 when my wife Carol and I went to my mother-in-law’s home to take her to church as we usually did. Alas, she was feeling under the weather and explained she would not be able to attend church. We prayed with her and left. On the way to the car, we decided to attend service in National City as we had not been there for quite some time. We thought it would be good to see our friends who attend there.

We arrived at the church to a joyful reunion. We were warmly greeted by the members who were still outside and then made our way into the church. We placed our offering into the offering box and took our seats in the fourth-row pew opposite the choir.

The service began with the Bishop, our very dear friend.

A few minutes into the service two strangers came in and quietly took a seat behind the choir, just across the aisle form me. At first glance, I thought I knew the gentleman as he appeared very familiar. But after some thought dismissed him as just looking remarkably like a man I had worked with some thirty-five years before. I hadn’t seen this person since. I figured it was impossible for it to be the same man.

For a few minutes, distracted from my attention to the sermon, I pondered the unlikely possibility. I finally discarded as preposterous the chance that I knew this stranger and quickly returned my attention to the service.

The bishop soon reached a point in the sermon where he requested the choir to render a hymn.

To my surprise the stranger and the lady he was with moved across the aisle and sat in the pew in front of me. Then I realized it is him. That’s Mike who I worked with for ten years at a local company.

I was shocked and immediately prayed, asking God, “What dear heavenly Father are You teaching me by this extraordinary situation?”

Then I heard the whisper of the Holy Spirit’s words, “Meet your Samaritan!”

It didn’t take long for me to understand. For the last thirty-five years whenever I had a conversation about managing styles, I used Mike’s management style as an example how not to manage. Truly I treated him as the Jews treated Samaritan’s, rejection and criticism.

Wow, I thought. I really did have a “Samaritan” in my life. Now the question was, what am I going to do about it?

Jesus taught that we are to love one another, even when we disagree with them.

When the service was over, Mike and his companion made their way to the exit. I caught up with them in the foyer.

I addressed the lady, “I am sorry, but I don’t recognize you.”

She responded, “Oh I recognize you Evangelist Musterer. You baptized my son in this church many years ago. I’m Marilyn.”

I said, “Marilyn, I am sure you are right. But I am so very sorry that I don’t recognize you.”

I looked at Mike, “But I know you!”

Mike said, “No you don’t. We’ve never met!”

“You are Mike Smith and we worked together at TRI from 1978 to 1988. I’m Allan Musterer.”

Mike stood in astonishment, mouth agape. We wended our way outside and continued our brief conversation. Mike explained that he and his wife had moved to Florida where she eventually passed on from cancer. Mike started a business and hired Marilyn as an administrative assistant. Since they both had sons in San Diego, they traveled together for Father’s Day to visit their sons. Marilyn wanted to attend church that morning so since she didn’t have transportation Mike agreed to join her.

I offered my condolences and since they had to leave, I gave Mike my business card and asked him to contact me when he returned home.

The following Wednesday I shared my extraordinary Sunday experience with our small group discussion meeting. It inspired a lively conversation. My only regret was that I didn’t get Mike or Marilyn’s contact information. I wanted to share with Mike and Marilyn what the unexpected meeting meant to me.

The next Sunday, my mother-in-law was feeling well so we attended service in Vista. Mike and Marilyn again attended in the National City church. My friend Bob, recalling my disappointment for not getting their contact information, approached them and after a brief conversation got their emails for me.

I sent each of them an email explaining what I experienced and asked for their forgiveness. But alas did not get a response. I felt much better that I could explain myself and ask for their forgiveness.

I continue to stand in awe of what complex lengths God went to in arranging this powerful lesson from the life of Christ to bring it so vividly into my life today. As you read this experience, consider all the intricate “coincidental” actions of so many people that it took to create this story.

TURNING POINT

I realize again and again to what lengths the love of God goes to teach me to follow the teachings and wisdom of Jesus Christ. So often I can get lost in the hustle of life and slip into conduct that is not consistent with being an active serving Christian. I now make a deliberate effort to measure my words. I am not yet perfect, and still have my stumbling along the way, but I can count on the whispered reminders of the Holy Spirit. I just pray for a heart with skill to listen when He speaks.

Month: March 2021

Innovation = Survival

My Samaritan