Setting the TableThe Transforming Power of

Hospitality in Business

By Danny Meyer

Danny Meyer

Danny Meyer is the President of Union Square Hospitality Group, which includes Union Square Cafe, Gramercy Tavern, Eleven Madison Park, Tabla, Blue Smoke, Jazz Standard, Shake Shack, The Modern, Cafe 2 and Terrace 5 at New York City's Museum of Modern Art, and Hudson Yards Catering.

Danny, his restaurants and chefs have earned an unprecedented 26 James Beard Awards.

An active national leader in the fight against hunger, Danny has long served on the boards of Share Our Strength and City Harvest.

He is equally active in civic affairs, serving on the executive committees of NYC & Co, Union Square Partnership, and the Madison Square Park Conservancy.

In October 1985, at age twenty-seven, Danny Meyer, (a life long foodie) with a good idea and scant experience, opened what would become one of New York City's most revered restaurants—Union Square Cafe.

Little more than thirty years later, Danny is the CEO of one of the world's most dynamic restaurant organizations, which includes eleven unique dining establishments, each at the top of its game. How has he done it? How has he consistently beaten the odds and set the competitive bar in one of the toughest trades around?

In this landmark book, Danny shares the lessons he's learned while developing the winning recipe for doing the business he calls "enlightened hospitality."

This innovative philosophy emphasizes putting the power of hospitality to work in a new and counterintuitive way: The first and most important application of hospitality is to the people who work for you, and then, in descending order of priority, to the guests, the community, the suppliers, and the investors.

This way of prioritizing stands the more traditional business models on their heads, but Danny considers it the foundation of every success that he and his restaurants have achieved.

Some of Danny's other insights: Hospitality is present when something happens for

you. It is absent when something happens to you. These two simple concepts—for and to—express it all.

Shared ownership develops when guests talk about a restaurant as if it's theirs. That sense of affiliation builds trust and invariably leads to repeat business.

Err on the side of generosity: You get more by first giving more.

Wherever your center lies, know it, name it, believe in it. When you cede your core values to someone else, it's time to quit.

Setting the Table

Full of behind-the-scenes history on the creation of Danny's most famous restaurants and the anecdotes, advice, and lessons he has accumulated on his long and ecstatic journey to the top of the American restaurant scene, Setting the Table is a treasure trove of innovative insights that are applicable to any business or organization.

Chapters1. The First Course2. In Business3. The Restaurant Takes Root4. Turning Over the Rocks5. Who Ever Wrote the Rule…?6. No Turning Back7. The 51 Percent Solution8. Broadcasting the Message, Tuning in the Feedback

Chapters9. Constant, Gentle Pressure10. The Road to Success is Paved with

Mistakes Well Handled11. The Virtuous Cycled of Enlightened

Hospitality12. Context, Context, Context.13. The Art of Hospitality

Chapter 1 -The First Course Danny attributes many early life experiences and

mentors directly to his entrepreneurial success in his industry. What experiences to date have led to your current career interests and goals?

What mentors have played a big part in your story to date?

What individuals have inspired your passion and performance since joining ALICE?

Chapters 2 & 3In Business & The Restaurant Takes Root

Please share a situation that has not gone as planned in your career (either with ALICE or in a former role).

What did you gain from this experience? Danny had the luxury of taking a tour through European

cuisine as a training experience for his restaurant. If you had two month and an unlimited budget, what would you chose to do as a training experience for ALICE?

Chapters 4 & 5Turning Over the RocksWho Ever Wrote the Rule…?

“Shared ownership develops when guests talk about the restaurant as if it is theirs. They cannot wait to share it with their family and friends. What they are really sharing, beyond the culinary experience, is the experience of feeling important and loved. That sense of affiliation builds trust and a sense of being accepted and appreciated, invariably leading to repeat business, a necessity for any company’s long term survival.”

How does this apply to our clients at ALICE?

Chapters 6 & 7No Turning BackThe 51 Percent Solution

Page 141: bottom paragraph. The Excellence Reflex: A natural reaction to fix something that

could be better. The excellence reflex is rooted in instinct and upbringing, and then constantly honed through awareness, caring, and practice. The overarching concern to do the right thing well is something we can’t train for. Either it’s there or it isn’t. So we ned to train how to hire for it.

“We don’t believe in hiring the 110% employee. That’s about as realistic as working a 26 hour work day. We are hoping to develop 100% employees who’s skills are divided 51-49 between emotional hospitality and technical excellence”

What makes a 51 percent employee at ALICE?

Chapter 8Broadcasting the Message

Who are the critics we are up against at ALICE?

Meyer stresses that “effective businesses remain true to their core, but also know how to hear, respond, and adjust to constructive feedback”

Feedback is an inevitable part of our process at ALICE. How do we manage this while still staying true to our core? How do we respond? How can we grow from this?

Read Chapter 9 Constant, Gentle Pressure

Are you an effective leader?“Two keys to building consensus for problem solving

are coaching and communication. Coaching is correction with dignity.”

“Communication is at the root of all business strengths- and weaknesses.”

Chapter 10The Road to Success is Paved with Mistakes Well Handled The 5 A’s for Effectively Addressing Mistakes (page 223)

Awareness Acknowledgement Apology Action Additional Generosity

“Always write a great last chapter. People love sharing stories of adversity. Use this powerful force to your advantage by writing the closing statement the way you want it told. Use all if your imagination and creativity in thinking about your response.”

Can you give an example (at ALICE or as a customer yourself) when you when a mistake was addressed effectively?

Chapters 11 & 12The Virtuous CyclE of Enlightened Hospitality,Context, Context, Context.

Which of these stakeholder groups can ALICE enhance for our hotel clients? How?

What are your “YES” criteria for New Ventures in your life/career?

Chapter 13The Art of Hospitality

Define “The Art of Hospitality”

Moment of TruthAccording to Meyer, hospitality occurs when there is a

certain degree of human interaction between service providers and customers.

For example, when a hostess greets customers in a restaurant, customers usually note immediately whether the hostess greets them sincerely by evaluating the hostess’s smile, gesture, and eye contact.

Hospitality as a Dialogue Furthermore, the author views

hospitality as a dialogue between a service provider and customers; he considers service as a monologue which focuses on technical delivery of a service product.

Thus, true hospitality only exists when there is mutual communication between service provider and customers.

Who Provides True Hospitality?

According to Meyer, only true, optimistic and team-oriented people have the potential to provide true hospitality to customers; this is not something that one can obtain or improve by simply training one’s employees.

How can ALICE serve as a tool to empower employees to provide genuine hospitality to employees?

Emotion vs. TechniqueMeyer contends that he has been able

to provide consistent hospitality to his customers because of his restaurants’ rigid employee recruitment policies.

More specifically, the author pinpoints five emotional skills-- optimistic warmth, intelligence, work ethnic, empathy, and self-awareness, and integrity-- which he expects his employees to possess.

In Meyer’s view, these emotional skills are more important than technical skills in providing hospitality service.

Personalizing hospitality Danny Myer ALSO describes in

detail his innovative and competitive service strategy throughout the book.

For example, he uses customers’ personal information strategically in providing hospitality.

He obtains customers’ personal information tactfully, using a reservation book or online reservation system.

How does ALICE provide this information to our users about their guests?

Get more Meyer!

• Speaking engagement @Yale MBA: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CeOeUqIBzAg

• Team member spotlight: http://www.ushgnyc.com/people/team-member-spotlight/

• The Tipping Debate: http://www.nytimes.com/topic/person/danny-meyer

• Family life: http://www.timeout.com/new-york-kids/new-york-families/family-portrait-31

• Documentary available on netflix “The Restaurateur”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwuVZFddCp

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