Principles from Danny Meyer
Embracing Mistakes: The Path to Growth and Success
Estimated reading time (3 minutes)
Happy Friday, everyone.
Welcome to Principles Friday, where I share one principle that can help you in your life or business, one thought-provoking question, and one call to action toward that principle.
Principle of the Week
"Make new mistakes every day. Don’t waste time repeating the old ones” by Danny Meyer.
Danny Meyer is a renowned restaurateur and founder of Union Square Hospitality Group, which includes some of New York City's most celebrated restaurants (Union Square Cafe. Gramercy Tavern. Shake Shack).
Before becoming a legendary restaurateur, Danny Meyer initially considered a different career path as a lawyer, albeit reluctantly. Graduating with a political science degree, the conventional route led him toward law, even though he lacked any interest or inclination toward it.
An epiphany struck him while dining at Elio's in New York with his aunt and uncle, just a night before he was scheduled to take the LSAT. Confiding his lack of passion for law, he felt compelled to pursue it out of obligation. However, his uncle's words would prove transformative.
"You’re crazy. Do you know how long you’re going to be dead? Longer than you’re alive. All you’ve ever talked about is food. Why not just open a restaurant?" his uncle wisely suggested.
This single conversation altered the course of Meyer's life. Two days later, he took a leap of faith and applied to the New York restaurant school. Determined to hone his culinary skills, he embarked on internships in Italy and France, immersing himself in the art of gastronomy.
In 1985, at 27, Meyer ventured into the unknown and opened his first restaurant, Union Square Cafe, with sheer determination but without a roadmap for success. Admitting his limited knowledge, he recalls, "I didn’t know anything except how to treat people. And the first bookkeeper I hired didn’t know how to balance his checkbook. And the first waiter I hired, I found him trying to open a bottle of champagne on opening night with a corkscrew. That is a dangerous thing to do."
Despite the challenges and initial missteps, Meyer's focus on hospitality, exceptional service, and dedication to his craft became the defining attributes of his restaurant career. Over time, he perfected the art of "enlightened hospitality," transforming the dining experience across his restaurants and earning a reputation as one of the most influential figures in the culinary world.
More importantly, Danny is a big believer in learning from mistakes. In an industry that requires a certain level of consistency and perfectionism, he developed a methodology called “5 A’s of Making Mistakes”, which encourages him and his team to experiment and take risks without fearing failure. “When you make a mistake, we do have a philosophy, which we call the five As, which is first be aware you made it. If you're not aware, you're nowhere. Number two, acknowledge it. Number three, apologize for it. Number four, act on it. And number five, apply additional generosity.”
Question to Ponder
How can you adopt Danny Meyer's "5 A's of Mistake Making" (Aspire, Admit, Apologize, Analyze, Act) to create a habit of embracing learning from mistakes, fostering growth, and propelling yourself toward greater success?
Call to Action
Think of a mistake you recently made.
One mistake I recently made was losing a potential customer because I started the discovery call on the wrong footing. I focused immediately on demo mode without determining if the prospect was a good fit for our solution, resulting in a fruitless conversation.
Here is how I used Danny Meyer’s framework:
Aware: Because I am writing about it, I am now aware of the mistake and will aspire to improve my discovery call skills and focus on understanding the client's needs and pain points more effectively. I set a goal to excel in future interactions and learn from my experience by remembering this interaction.
Admit: I acknowledged my mistake without hesitation or excuses. I took responsibility for not addressing the right pain points during the discovery call.
Apologize: I did reach out to the client and offered a sincere apology for not fully addressing their needs during the previous interaction, showing empathy and understanding.
Analyze: More importantly, I reflected on what went wrong during the discovery call and identified the factors that led to focusing on the wrong pain point. I analyzed how I can improve my approach for future client engagements by creating a checklist to adhere to.
Act: Finally, I took decisive action to prevent a similar mistake from happening in the future by creating a system to follow.
Take the same framework and apply it to your recent mistake.
Remember, every mistake is a chance to refine your approach and ultimately succeed.
Video of the Week
Shake Shack founder and CEO of Union Square Hospitality Group, Danny Meyer, started his first restaurant at 27. He looks back at the biggest mistake he made in the early years of his career as a restaurateur.
If you want to learn more principles, I interview founders on my podcast, The First 100, where they share how they acquired their first 100 paying customers. This week:
Episode 87 - The First 100 with Tony Jamous, the Founder of Oyster
Episode 86 - The First 100 with Roy Wellner, Co-founder of Augment
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