Book of the Month November, 2024 Setting the Table By Danny Meyer

In the restaurant world, Danny Meyer is somewhat of a legend.? Reading this book, it is easy to understand why.? You can tell a lot by the endorsements in the front of the book- and when they include Michael Porter, Ken Chenault and Steve Forbes you know that you are in rare air. Written in 2005, this book is a timeless tribute the craft of hospitality.? Danny Meyer founded 11 very successful restaurants including the Union Square Café, the Gramercy Tavern, Table, Blue Smoke and Shake Shack among others.? It is no fluke- he creates greatness.

What I love the most about this book is his love of the craft of hospitality- it is way more than a business for him- it is a basic human desire to show great hospitality to those around you and to relish the feeling that one gets from being devoted to delivering a great experience.?

The book is easy to read and just plain interesting.? It is a journey into how restaurants get created and after this, it is a wonder that any make it- wow- this is a tough way to make a living.? However, this book is not here to complain- it is here to teach and it does a fabulous job of teaching the lessons Mr. Meyer has learned along the way.? My favorites include:

1.????? His insistence to follow your passion – pick your craft and spend your life becoming great at it- if you are going to work- do something you love and it wont feel like work

2.????? Get good mentors- seek them everywhere and listen

3.????? Turn over every rock-push hard to find out every way to be better

4.????? Hospitality flows from a Dialog between server and served- while service is just a monologue- this is a great section of the book- where ongoing EQ makes the difference

5.????? Find a way to start a relationship- look for any connection and build on it- he has an acronym for this ABCD_ Always be connecting dots-and is his way of building community

6.????? His description of viewing all his employees as “volunteers” is super cool

7. The road to success is paved with mistakes well handled

8. Context, context, context- one of the best chapters on problem solving I have ever read

9.????? Finally , his discussion of service recovery as “writing the last great chapter” is the best thing I have ever read on service recovery

And there is so much more- tips on hiring people, serving your community, instilling a culture of excellence, and just being a student of life in everything you do.? This is just a great book and will be one of the few business books written in the past 30 years that I am certain will still be read regularly 100 years from now.? I highly recommend this book- it is a 7 course meal and each course is delectable!!

?