Restaurateur and Meatball King Michael Chernow on How to Lead a Happy and Loyal Workforce

What can selling meatballs teach you about running a restaurant empire and leading a 1,000-person strong workforce? Enter restaurateur and entrepreneur Michael Chernow. This New York-bred hospitality figure is one of the founders and creative minds behind the much-loved Meatball Shop, a six-location strong restaurant venture that took a very simple and universally loved dish - meatballs - and turned it into a business empire. His latest project, the seafood and sustainability focused Seamores, is making just as large of a splash across the Big Apple, offering delicious plates with an environmentally-friendly focus.

What I love about Michael’s story is how humble and hard working it is. Like anyone who’s spent any time in the restaurant business, Michael knows that the key to success in the industry is understanding how to connect to people--from hungry customers to staff. Restaurants contain more moving parts than most businesses, so it’s essential to have your team running as an inspired, happy, and well oiled-machine if you want to make it and not crumble. Below are some snippets from my conversation with Michael on the Business Class Podcast about how to lead a great staff. Even if you’re not making meatballs everyday, this extremely valuable information about how to inspire people to do their best work. 

Understand that your staff are sales people 

“I can honestly say that there is really no difference between salespeople at a restaurant and salespeople in a retail environment. A great restaurant produces an incredible product to sell to the consumer—the guest.”

Keep your staff happy

“If the staff is not happy, they're not only going to steal from me, they’re going to treat the guests poorly. It a trickle down domino effect. Happiness is the ultimate goal.”

And greet your staff every day

“I say hello to every single person on staff. If there are 45 people working at The Meatball Shop on a Friday afternoon when I walk into the restaurant, the first thing I do is personally walk up to every single individual. I know most of their names and I greet them by their first name and it’s all high fives and hugs. Saying hello and goodbye to everyone every day is super important, not only because it’s the right thing to do, but also because everyone wants attention.” 

As a “coach” (boss) prioritize your team over the “fans” (consumers)

“If a coach made the fans the number on priority, there would be no chance in hell that that team would perform and succeed on the field. So the coach (the General Manager) focuses on the team 100%. The team is the number one priority, so that when they get out there and perform, the fans love the experience. And that's the way I think about my business. I focus on my team; they’re my number one priority. The customer is always right is an old school way of thinking. The team needs to be supported and the second that they don't feel supported, and they feel like they work for you, it's over.”

Create a framework that allows you to step back 

“There's always a couple people at the top but you can't be everywhere, especially as you expand. It's critical that you create a framework and foundation in order for your company to be scalable and viable without you around.”

Say goodbye to your ego

“I have zero ego in my leadership skills; I certainly have no interest in trying to be something I'm not. Being CEO is not that important to me, owning a place, a sizeable chunk of 5 businesses is. If I want to be a creative entrepreneur that actually knows his business and is the majority owner for the first few years, then brings on the best team possible so that not only can they run the company when it's my time to take a step back, but I can also learn from them? That's what I'm after.”