--- title: "Olive Garden: Overwhelmed by Choice" id: "25743" type: "post" slug: "olive-garden-overwhelmed-by-choice" published_at: "2014-10-24T17:49:41+00:00" modified_at: "2026-11-09T18:24:16+00:00" url: "https://associationsnow.com/2014/10/24/olive-garden-overwhelmed-by-choice/" markdown_url: "https://associationsnow.com/2014/10/24/olive-garden-overwhelmed-by-choice.md" excerpt: "Lessons on simplicity from Olive Garden, a restaurant chain that’s struggling to keep its complexity in check. Also: Should your board have a project manager?" taxonomy_category: - "Meetings / Events" taxonomy_post_tag: - "action items" - "AssociationsNow" - "Business" - "meeting management" - "Meetings" taxonomy_content_format: - "Article" taxonomy_role: - "Association CEO / Executive Director" - "Director" - "Manager" - "VP" taxonomy_persona: - "Association Professionals" --- [Home](https://associationsnow.com/) » [Articles](https://associationsnow.com/format/article/) » Olive Garden: Overwhelmed by Choice The options don’t stop with pasta and breadsticks at Olive Garden, and that’s a problem. Last month, a hedge fund with an ownership stake in Olive Garden’s parent company [took aim at the restaurant chain (opens in a new tab)](http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-09-12/how-to-fix-olive-garden-a-hedge-funds-294-page-recipe-for-darden) , citing several reasons why it was struggling financially—including its failure to sell wine, its decision not to salt the water for pasta, and its massive menu. [In a piece (opens in a new tab)](http://www.news-journalonline.com/article/20141010/WIRE/141019920?tc=ar) by Associated Press food-industry writer Candice Choi, that massive menu came up again: > [Olive Garden has] an overwhelming number of options. Executives acknowledge the need to simplify the menu, which has been criticized for mushrooming to nearly 100 items, including burgers. Still, Darden president Eugene Lee recently said it’s hard deciding what to get rid [of], because everybody has their favorite. SCD Group’s Steve Drake says Lee’s comment [strikes at a common problem for organizations (opens in a new tab)](http://www.scdgroup.net/2014/10/associations-and-paradox-of-choice.html) : Too many “favorites” among an association’s programs, products, and services can paralyze a board. He notes that associations may “need to consider whether volunteer simplicity [is] a strategy worth pursuing.” What’s your take on the issue? ### A Project Manager for Your Board? > What happens to key actions and decisions after a board meeting? [http://t.co/7FLEHmQkAJ (opens in a new tab)](http://t.co/7FLEHmQkAJ) > [#eventprofs (opens in a new tab)](https://twitter.com/hashtag/eventprofs?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) > [#assnchat (opens in a new tab)](https://twitter.com/hashtag/assnchat?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) > > — Anne Carey (@ACAREYCMP) [October 24, 2014 (opens in a new tab)](https://twitter.com/ACAREYCMP/status/525649395745050624?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) **At your board meetings,** you may find that some amazing—arguably epic—ideas come up that people in the room consider inspiring. But under the wrong circumstances, that could create a huge bottleneck or even a failure to act. It’s for this reason that Association Options CEO William Pawlucy, CAE, suggests getting a project manager on board. “When a board meeting ends, the minutes are drafted, sent for approval, and then finalized,” [he writes on MultiBriefs (opens in a new tab)](http://exclusive.multibriefs.com/content/what-happens-to-key-actions-and-decisions-after-a-board-meeting/association-management) . “This can take upwards of 30 days with no communication around the outcomes and actions of the meeting until final approval. What becomes of the action items during that period of time? How are they integrated into the organization’s overall work plan?” Pawlucy says a project manager can create a “focus on deploying and executing actions efficiently from meeting to meeting.” *(ht @[ACAREYCMP (opens in a new tab)](http://twitter.com/ACAREYCMP/) )* ### Other Noteworthy Links **Chat room redux:** In one of its first apps for private conversation, Facebook’s new [Rooms offshoot (opens in a new tab)](http://www.rooms.me/) offers the ability to create an invitation-only forum around any topic, and you don’t have to use your real name. *TechCrunch* [has more details on the concept (opens in a new tab)](http://techcrunch.com/2014/10/23/facebook-rooms/) . **Sunday is the new Wednesday,** at least when it comes to booking flights online, [Inc. magazine reports (opens in a new tab)](http://www.inc.com/zoe-henry/how-to-get-the-best-airfare-deals.html) . **A great find by *Socialfish*:** Author Brian Carter [breaks down what might be causing (opens in a new tab)](http://www.socialfish.org/2014/10/5-reasons-social-media-roi-sucks/) your mediocre ROI on social media. (iStock Editorial/Thinkstock) [Ernie Smith](https://associationsnow.com/author/ernie-smith/) Ernie Smith is a former senior editor for Associations Now. 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