Thanks to Patti Shock, I just read a great Fast Company article highlighting Danny Meyer's approach to running successful restaurants (He can do that. He has 4 of the top 20 in NY according to Zagat). Oddly enough, he doesn't focus so much on the food. Here are some key takeaways...
Surround yourself with people whose emotional quotient is as high as, or higher than, their IQ.
For us, it's vitally important because we're in the business of delivering an experience that's supposed to make you feel good, not in the business of crunching numbers.
Service is how well something is done technically; hospitality is how good something feels emotionally. I think we're at the dawn of the hospitality economy, and the companies that prevail are the ones that realize it's the quality of the emotional experience that sets them apart.
To learn to embrace mistakes and find a way to distinguish yourself based on how you handle them is a huge opportunity.
Good rules to serve by.
The point I keep trying to drive home with clients, friends and anyone else that will listen....how does your product and service make people feel? Do you greet people at the door, or make them stand in line? If they do end up in a line, do you do anything to make them feel better about it?