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"So what you're saying," Maister emphasizes, "is that the size is a conscious choice and is one of the big things that give us our competitive edge, our low labor cost."
A Hispanic student looks somewhat disturbed and raises his hand. "I disagree with it being called a greasy spoon," he says. "I think it's a clean greasy spoon."
"Clean greasy spoon," Maister repeats, pleased.
"Yes, 90% of the instructions to employees are about cleaning," the student says, "and that's part of the design, with the big windows. As people drive by, they can see that the place is clean."
Maister's class has a certain ebb and flow. He leads it on from observation to evaluation. He is polite and good-humored. By the end of class, 22 different students have spoken, and the class draws to a close without reaching any firm conclusions; the students are learning a certain way of learning.
"We're not giving people facts," Maister says later in his office. "What we're doing is training judgment. All of management is judgment."
Maister must make judgments on his 100 students (50% of a student's grade is based on classroom performance), and he has a card on each one, with a photograph of the student on it. His comments range from "very good" to "turkey." His own job, he says, "is to turn people on, to make them want to learn." He is wearing, as he speaks, a blue necktie ornamented in gold thread with the words Waffle House.