The Salt Shaker Theory of Leadership

<p><strong>Amongst the most successful restaurateurs of the last 50 years, one stands out: Danny Meyer.</strong>&nbsp;Danny conceived of, built, and reinvented world-famous venues like Gramercy Tavern, The Modern, and my own personal favorite (and a frequent lunch stop just down the street from my office in Chicago), Shake Shack.</p> <p>Danny&rsquo;s path to success was anything but linear. In his exceptional memoir,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Setting-Table-Transforming-Hospitality-Business/dp/0060742763/ref=asc_df_0060742763/?tag=hyprod-20&amp;linkCode=df0&amp;hvadid=312118059795&amp;hvpos=&amp;hvnetw=g&amp;hvrand=14716384912781428559&amp;hvpone=&amp;hvptwo=&amp;hvqmt=&amp;hvdev=c&amp;hvdvcmdl=&amp;hvlocint=&amp;hvlocphy=9021743&amp;hvtargid=pla-432404880900&amp;psc=1" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">Setting The Table</a>, Meyer recounts his struggles in his twenties as he attempted to manage his staff at his first NYC restaurant, Union Square Cafe.</p> <p>Complaining to his mentor Pat Cetta, Danny &ldquo;bemoaned the fact that [he] was failing to get any kind of consistent message across to [his] staff members regarding standards of excellence.&rdquo; His staff was consistently missing the mark, and Meyer&rsquo;s patience was starting to wear thin. It was starting to show &mdash; to his staff, his family, and to Pat.</p> <p>As they discussed all the little misses in execution that seemed to pile up around him, Cetta smiled at Danny, and said in a thick New York accent:<strong>&ldquo;If you choose to get upset about this, you are missing the boat, luvah&rdquo;</strong></p> <p>He then proceeded to illustrate his point. As Danny tells it:</p> <p><a href="https://paulstansik.medium.com/the-salt-shaker-theory-of-leadership-5a8ad62563f"><strong>Read More</strong></a></p>