Business Lessons from the founder of Shake Shack
Nugget from Danny Meyer
In this letter, I send you my two favorite passages from the book Setting the Table, by Danny Meyer (the founder of the restaurant chain Shake Shack and many fine restaurants in New York).
I first heard about him on this YouTube video from the renowned VC investor Bill Gurley. And when he talked about Danny, it immediately caught my attention.
Even though I’m not planning to open any restaurants, I was super curious to learn everything about his life and his businesses. And I did find many things of how he comes up with business ideas and how he runs his businesses that are completely applicable to any kind business — digital or physical.
In this letter you can read the two passages that resonated the most with me and I found the most useful for any type of business.
👤 Doers
💡Nugget
Passage #1:
My ultimate mission for any new restaurant is always to begin with a subject I love, zero in on what I enjoy most about it, and then envision a new context for it. I take something that is already accessible (such as frozen custard) and try to make it better; or I take what’s excellent (a selection of artisanal cheeses or a wine list) and try to present it in a more user-friendly context. I’m never out to invent a new cuisine. Instead, I’m interested in creating a fresh “hybrid” dining experience; and then, like a museum curator, I strive to put a complementary frame around it, find the right wall to hang it on, and aim just the proper lighting on it. The care with which we design our restaurants and the thoughtful way our chefs create the food on our menus are two elements that add significantly to the artistry and the handcrafted feel of a new restaurant.
I feel the entrepreneurial spark when some instinct tells me that a certain dining “context” doesn’t currently exist but should exist. I then ask myself a series of questions that force me to examine and challenge the status quo—and then change it. Each question begins with these five words: “Who ever wrote the rule…?” Who ever wrote the rule, for example, that you shouldn’t be able to enjoy a refined dining experience, with the finest ingredients, served on Limoges china, in a rustic tavern? Or that you can’t serve slow-smoked pulled pork with a glass of champagne or Chianti Classico, just off Park Avenue? Or that you can’t create a classic burger-and-shakes drive-in in New York City, where no one drives? Or that live jazz sounds good only in a late-night club and only if everyone around you is smoking?
Each venture has taken shape differently. It could be that I know of a chef I really want to work with and now must search for an idea and a location (Gramercy Tavern); or I could have what I think is a compelling idea and then look for a location and a chef (Union Square Cafe); or I could be in love with a specific location and need to find the chef and the idea (The Modern).
Context is everything. What has guided me most as an entrepreneur is the confluence of passion and opportunity (and sometimes serendipity) that leads to the right context for the right idea at the right time in the right place and for the right value. I have never relied on or been interested in market analysis to create a new business model. I am my own test market. I am far more intuitive than analytical. If I sense an opportunity to reframe something I’m passionately interested in, I give it my absolute best shot.
The commitment to add something fresh to an existing dialogue informs every decision my colleagues and I make, from the locations we select to our staff uniforms to virtually every dish we serve. Whether the topic is poached striped bass, tuna tartare, a BLT, or a cup of hot chocolate, I challenge my chefs to tell me exactly what they’re planning to do differently from or better than the next guy. Years ago, for instance, we knew that we needed to offer steak on the menu at Union Square Cafe—in a city that already claims some of the world’s greatest steak houses. I also knew there was no way we could outdo Sparks, The Palm, Peter Luger, Smith and Wollensky, or any of the other temples of beef. So we came up with the idea of our smoked steak—a great piece of meat, cold-smoked, grilled, and then served with world-class mashed potatoes and topped with fried leeks. Sirloin steak could have been a kind of “every restaurant needs a steak” throwaway on our menu. Instead, our smoked steak became a reason people return over and over again to Union Square Cafe. Still, in reframing something that people are familiar with, the outcome must be excellent and must never seem contrived.
Passage #2:
Imagine if every business were a lightbulb and that for each lightbulb the primary goal was to attract the most moths possible. Now what if you learned that 49 percent of the reason moths were attracted to a bulb was for the quality of its light (brightness being the task of the bulb) and that 51 percent of the attraction was to the warmth projected by the bulb (heat being connected with the feeling of the bulb). It’s remarkable to me how many businesses shine brightly when it comes to acing the tasks but emanate all the warmth of a cool fluorescent light.
That explains how a flawless four-star restaurant can actually attract far fewer loyal fans than a two-or three-star place with soul. In business, I want to be overcome with moths. Our staff must be like a scintillating string of one-hundred-watt lightbulbs, whose product is the sum of 51 percent feeling and 49 percent task.
📁 All the ideas in this letter are saved and classified in a searchable database, which (as of September 2024) contains 2,100+ timeless insights.
I call this database The Doers Notebook, and I’ve recently opened it for anyone who wants it!
🤔 Why did I build this?
Well, as the Latin motto goes, “A chief part of learning is simply knowing where you can find a thing.” And since it’s all 🔎 searchable, we only need to type a keyword to immediately get a list of insights related to it!
For instance, if I’m unsure about how to get more sales in my business, I can simply type the word “sales” and immediately get 88 search results! In this case from Jim Edwards, Peter Thiel, Naval Ravikant, Paul Graham, Sam Altman, Balaji Srinivasan, Nassim Taleb, and many other remarkable individuals.
It’s like having a 🧠 second brain from which we can pull wisdom on demand.
And this is super valuable because it can significantly decrease the error rate in our judgment.
“In an age of infinite leverage [code and media], judgment is the most important skill.”
- Naval Ravikant
I actually made a video where I went through the list of insights I got for the keywords “sales” and “creative”. So, if you wanna get better at sales and learn to be more creative (and also see all the features of the database and how you can get access) then definitely check out the video 👇
✍️ Essay
I recently co-authored (with Brian David Crane) an essay in which we explored the differences between pain and suffering.
If you are curious, you can read the full piece here - https://spreadgreatideas.org/contrasts/pain-vs-suffering/
💥 Stuff I Loved
Some pics of my latest trip to Italy!
Now I’m heading off to Annecy (France) on Friday to swim in the lake before the cold weather begins ❄️
Happy Friday ;)
Julio xx
P.S. If you liked this article, you'll definitely enjoy my 140-page free ebook. It’s packed with 43 big ideas (from top influential doers and entrepreneurs) to become better, richer and wiser. Download your copy here!
You are also like a museum curator, one of great insights. And the working spaces look fantastic.