“I spent the first 10 years of my career almost exclusively focused on trying to motivate problem employees to be better, like the weeds. What I learned was that our employees are like sunflowers. They will turn wherever the sun is. If I’m spending all of my attention on the weeds, I’m actually pulling the gravitational force that way. My grandmother’s lesson was right: If I water the flowers and spend more time with the people who maybe I’ve taken for granted because they’re doing such a great job, they actually crowd out the weeds and the weeds take care of themselves.”
— Danny Meyer
Danny Meyer (@dhmeyer) is the founder and chairman of Union Square Hospitality Group (USHG), which comprises some of New York’s most beloved and acclaimed restaurants, including Gramercy Tavern, The Modern, Maialino, and more. Danny and USHG also founded Shake Shack, the modern-day “roadside” burger restaurant, which became a public company in 2015.
Danny is the author of the New York Times bestseller Setting the Table, which articulates a set of signature business and life principles that translate to a wide range of industries. He is the recipient of the 2017 Julia Child Award and was named by Time magazine as one of 2015’s 100 most influential people. Danny and USHG’s restaurants and individuals together have won an unprecedented 28 James Beard Awards, including Outstanding Restaurateur in 2005.
Please enjoy!
Brought to you by Eight Sleep’s Pod Cover sleeping solution for dynamic cooling and heating, Athletic Greens’s AG1 all-in-one nutritional supplement, and LinkedIn Marketing Solutions marketing platform with 900M+ users.
#665: Danny Meyer, Founder of Shake Shack — How to Win, The Art of The Graceful “No,” Overcoming Setbacks, The 6 Traits of Exceptional People, The 4 Quadrants of Performance, Lessons from Hospitality Excellence, and More
This episode is brought to you by Athletic Greens. I get asked all the time, “If you could use only one supplement, what would it be?” My answer is usually AG1 by Athletic Greens, my all-in-one nutritional insurance. I recommended it in The 4-Hour Body in 2010 and did not get paid to do so. I do my best with nutrient-dense meals, of course, but AG further covers my bases with vitamins, minerals, and whole-food-sourced micronutrients that support gut health and the immune system.
Right now, Athletic Greens is offering you their Vitamin D Liquid Formula free with your first subscription purchase—a vital nutrient for a strong immune system and strong bones. Visit AthleticGreens.com/Tim to claim this special offer today and receive the free Vitamin D Liquid Formula (and 5 free travel packs) with your first subscription purchase! That’s up to a one-year supply of Vitamin D as added value when you try their delicious and comprehensive all-in-one daily greens product.
This episode is brought to you by LinkedIn Marketing Solutions, the go-to tool for B2B marketers and advertisers who want to drive brand awareness, generate leads, or build long-term relationships that result in real business impact.
With a community of more than 900 million professionals, LinkedIn is gigantic, but it can be hyper-specific. You have access to a diverse group of people all searching for things they need to grow professionally. LinkedIn has the marketing tools to help you target your customers with precision, right down to job title, company name, industry, etc. To redeem your free $100 LinkedIn ad credit and launch your first campaign, go to LinkedIn.com/TFS!
This episode is brought to you by Eight Sleep! Eight Sleep’s Pod Cover is the easiest and fastest way to sleep at the perfect temperature. It pairs dynamic cooling and heating with biometric tracking to offer the most advanced (and user-friendly) solution on the market. Simply add the Pod Cover to your current mattress and start sleeping as cool as 55°F or as hot as 110°F. It also splits your bed in half, so your partner can choose a totally different temperature.
Go to EightSleep.com/Tim and save $250 on the Eight Sleep Pod Cover. Eight Sleep currently ships within the USA, Canada, the UK, select countries in the EU, and Australia.
Want to hear an episode with someone who worked with and trained under Danny before making a name for himself? Listen to my conversation with Marco Canora in which we discussed “assy” Cabernet, hands-off mentorship, continuous glucose monitors, post-meal walks, how bone broth helped Marco survive the pandemic, not underestimating the little nagging things in relationships both personal and professional, and much more.
#545: Marco Canora — The Art of Food, Eating, Nutrition, and Life
What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let me know in the comments.
SCROLL BELOW FOR LINKS AND SHOW NOTES…
SELECTED LINKS FROM THE EPISODE
- Connect with Danny Meyer:
USHG | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
- Setting the Table: The Transforming Power of Hospitality in Business by Danny Meyer | Amazon
- Union Square Hospitality Group
- Reservations Not Required | Shake Shack
- A Danny Meyer Dictionary | The New York Times
- Maialino, New York City
- Da Giovanni Restaurant, Rome
- Man Plans and God Laughs | Yiddish Wit
- Anne Lamott on Taming Your Inner Critic, Finding Grace, and Prayer | The Tim Ferriss Show #522
- Shake Shack’s Danny Meyer Reveals The Secret Ingredient Of His Success | Forbes
- Law School Admission Test (LSAT) | Wikipedia
- Elio’s, New York City
- Union Square Cafe, New York City
- Gramercy Tavern, New York City
- Trinity College, Hartford
- Explore St. Louis
- Checkpoint Systems
- Lessons on Hospitality from Danny Meyer’s Setting the Table | American Spa
- Relais & Châteaux
- La Réserve, Bordeaux | Trip Advisor
- Restaurant Dubern à Bordeaux | Panier de Saison
- What Michelin Stars Mean | Institute of Culinary Education
- The Dirty Secret of ‘Secret Family Recipes’ | Gastro Obscura
- Runnin’ Down a Dream: How to Succeed and Thrive in a Career You Love by Bill Gurley | McCombs School, University of Texas
- The Pros and Cons of Staging in a Restaurant | Eater
- The Two Things My Father’s Bankruptcy Taught Me | Inc.
- How Shake Shack’s Danny Meyer Built an Empire Centered on Employees | LinkedIn
- Tom Sawyer Whitewashing the Fence | PBS
- Ending Tipping and the Virtuous Cycle of Enlightened Hospitality by Adam Brown | Medium
- Tribe of Mentors: Short Life Advice from the Best in the World by Timothy Ferriss | Amazon
- The Daily Princetonian
- Interview Questions That Limit Employee Turnover | Hospitality Hotline
- An Iconic Photo That Belies The Real Story | Sports History Weekly
- John McEnroe’s Epic Wimbledon Meltdown: ‘You Cannot Be Serious!’ | ESPN Archives
- Theo Epstein’s Curse-Breakers | FiveThirtyEight
- Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game by Michael Lewis | Amazon
- The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel | Prime Video
- Tabla Will Close in December — Danny Meyer’s First Ever Shutter | Eater NY
- A Q&A With Danny Meyer: How to Close a Restaurant | The Atlantic
- Ratatouille | Prime Video
- Danny Meyer’s North End Grill Is Closing at the End of 2018 | Eater NY
- The Culinary Institute of America
- The Ultimate Guide to Tipping in America | Travel Insider
- Cold Turkey by John Lennon & Plastic Ono Band | YouTube
- New York City Restaurants’ “Hospitality Included” Movement Slowly Picks Up Steam | Nation’s Restaurant News
- The Modern, New York City
- A Return to Tipping, But Let Them Be Shared | USHG
- This Is Marketing: You Can’t Be Seen Until You Learn to See by Seth Godin | Amazon
- Special: Lockhart Link Burger At Shake Shack | Pop.Bop.Shop.
SHOW NOTES
Editor’s note: timestamps will be added shortly.
- The meaning behind Maialino.
- Control vs. surprises.
- A pivotal conversation.
- Converting the cranky.
- ABCD: Always be collecting dots; always be connecting dots.
- Danny’s first steps to chefdom.
- Being paid the worst to learn from the best.
- How business is like gardening.
- A virtuous cycle of stakeholders.
- The politely genuine decline.
- Six qualities Danny looks for when hiring.
- Work ethic lessons from Theo Epstein.
- Should they stay or should they go?
- Softly landing from a favorite failure.
- Taking on tipping culture.
- 51 percenters.
- Most gifted books.
- Seth Godin is a mensch.
- Danny’s billboard.
- Hope vs. optimism.
- Parting thoughts.
MORE DANNY MEYER QUOTES FROM THE INTERVIEW
“Hospitality is a team sport.”
— Danny Meyer
“I kind of have a mixed bag with this whole control thing. I want to determine which island the boat is heading for, but I’m completely open to all the pivots I’m going to have to take in order to get there, because there’s no sailboat race in history that was ever a straight line between A and B.”
— Danny Meyer
“Even if you get the best tomatoes, you’d better not throw them in the back corner of the walk-in refrigerator and bruise them so that they lose their sugar. Treat them the right way. Well, guess what? Same thing goes for people. You can have the best recipe in the world for how you hire people, but you’d better pick the best tomatoes. You’d better treat them the right way if you want the best sauce.”
— Danny Meyer
“I spent the first 10 years of my career almost exclusively focused on trying to motivate problem employees to be better, like the weeds. What I learned was that our employees are like sunflowers. They will turn wherever the sun is. If I’m spending all of my attention on the weeds, I’m actually pulling the gravitational force that way. My grandmother’s lesson was right: If I water the flowers and spend more time with the people who maybe I’ve taken for granted because they’re doing such a great job, they actually crowd out the weeds and the weeds take care of themselves.”
— Danny Meyer
“The world keeps moving, and if you don’t keep moving with it, you will definitely not keep up.”
— Danny Meyer
“Can’t we please have a charitable assumption about one another?”
— Danny Meyer
“There is a difference between hope and optimism. I think that hope is an active act.”
— Danny Meyer
“ABCD: Always be collecting dots so you can always be connecting dots.”
— Danny Meyer
PEOPLE MENTIONED
Related and Recommended
The Tim Ferriss Show is one of the most popular podcasts in the world with more than 900 million downloads. It has been selected for “Best of Apple Podcasts” three times, it is often the #1 interview podcast across all of Apple Podcasts, and it’s been ranked #1 out of 400,000+ podcasts on many occasions. To listen to any of the past episodes for free, check out this page.