on connection and graciousness................

 

     When I was young, my dad gave me a paperweight that read, "What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?"  That's what I was thinking about when Daniel and I wrote, "We will be Number One in the world," on a cocktail napkin. . . .

     Most of the chefs on the 50 Best list had made their impact by focusing on innovation, on what needed to change.  But as I thought about the impact I wanted to make, I focused on the one thing that wouldn't.  Fads fade and cycle, but the human desire to be taken care of never goes away.

     Daniel's food was extraordinary; he was undeniably one of the best chefs in the world.  So if we could become a restaurant focused passionately, intentionally, wholeheartedly, on connection and graciousness—on giving both the people on our team and the people we served a sense of belonging—then we'd have a real shot at greatness.

-Will Guidara, Unreasonable Hospitality: The Remarkable Power of Giving People More Than They Expect