Ephemeris of the Mind (Book Review) Setting the Table: The Transforming Power of Hospitality in Business
Time to read: 3 min read
Book Cover
Why do I keep climbing mountains? Because with a few exceptions there’s always a higher, steeper mountain to scale, and I’m willing to confront all sorts of treacherous conditions, especially when I’m convinced that they’ll lead to exhilarating views from the top.
Review
Danny Meyer is the entrepreneur behind Union Square Hospitality Group, a hospitality business known for iconic Manhattan restaurants such as Eleven Madison Park, The Modern, and Gramercy Tavern. The group also dabbles in other ventures, such as creating the fast casual chain Shake Shack (which has since gone public via an IPO).
In the first half of the book, Meyer gives background on his upbringing in an entrepreneurial family and how he eventually entered the restaurant business. He writes about the experiences opening up his first restaurants and the various challenges and successes he’s faced along the way. The second half of the book explores Meyer’s lessons and takeaways from his entrepreneurship journey thus far. Some of my key takeaways include:
Meyer advocates for the idea of “enlightened hospitality” which goes beyond just serving customers well (mechanical). Meyer stresses the importance of helping guests feel special and included, which includes going above and beyond to be empathetic to customers (enlightened hospitality comes from the heart). Meyer gives many anecdotes about how this ideology is applied at his restaurants, such as giving customers the benefit of the doubt, being honest with customers to build long term trust, and proactively soliciting feedback and getting hints from guests (“connecting the dots”). Meyer also believes that by treating staff well, the staff will in turn pass on the goodwill to the customer.
Meyer believes hiring is 49% about technical skills and 51% about emotional skills. Meyer seeks to hire “51 percenters” who have the emotional skills (difficult to learn), which include optimistic warmth, intelligence, a curiosity to learn, work ethic, empathy, self-awareness, and integrity. Meyer points out that hiring a team of 51 percenters creates a virtuous cycle which attracts other 51 percenters. Obviously, this may not apply as extremely if you’re hiring for a role that is highly technical, but overall this rule applies to most organizations.
Meyer uses “constant gentle pressure” as his management style. It entails always striving for the right methods and values, and being gentle in correcting people in a dignified manner but still pressuring people towards the correct direction. Meyer stresses the importance of using “fire”, to illuminate the path for others as a torch, to build rapport amongst the team as a bonfire, and to “breathe fire” on occasions.
There are other various nuggets of advice, such as Meyer’s views on expansion (being warry of overexpansion), his experiences with media (leveraging media but being cautious), and his approach to opening up new restaurants (doing deep extensive research). The writing is very colloquial and the book is a quick read. Most of the advice feels common sense but I do appreciate the anecdotes from Meyer’s personal experiences. The book does feel sanitized as Meyer does not dive deep into the dark recesses of the restaurant industry, as Bourdain does but the book is still insightful. I read this book while in NYC to find an idea for our pivot, and while I no longer had the budget for dining at his restaurants, I did stop by the Espresso Bar in the MoMA after a nearby meeting and the staff were very friendly.
Conclusion
A book from a legendary restaurateur filled with nuggets of advice.