372: Will Guidara - The Nobility Of Service: Lessons Learned From The #1 Restaurateur In The World

The Learning Leader Show With Ryan Hawk

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Full show notes can be found at www.LearningLeader.com

#372: Will Guidara

Notes:

• Sustaining excellence =
  • Everyone has the capacity for excellence
    • Hard work
    • Giving a lot of yourself to something -- A" passion for the thing you're excellent at doing."
    • The nobility of service
    • It requires getting up on a day when you're tired and not feeling it
      • "You need to be on even when you feel off"
• The "pre-shift" meeting -- "As a leader, you have a responsibility to share what inspires you."
  • "Everyone craves affirmation."
• Lessons from his Mom:
  • She became a quadriplegic when Will was nine
    • You can talk things into existence - Will's mom said she wanted to stay alive until he graduated college. And she did it by one day. Doctors said she should have died when Will was 12.
      • "What would you attempt to do if you could not fail?"
    • The power of non-verbal communication.
    • Integrity in the face of adversity - Life is not always awesome. There's always ups and downs. Perspective is key.
• Eleven Madison Park - Setting the goal to be the #1 rated restaurant in the world. In 2010, they were #50.
  • Seven years later, they were #1.
• "You need to love what you're doing to be great at it."
• There is power in having extraordinary intention
• Strategic planning --
  • Be specific and actionable
  • Have endless reinvention
  • Be willing to take risks
• "Unreasonable Hospitality"
  • You need to decide what you want to embody
• "Business like life is all about how you make people feel. It's that simple and that hard." - Danny Meyer
• Hiring:
  • "We hired dream weavers from art schools, designers..."
  • Experiential design separated them from the rest
• Be present
  • Listen to what is being said and what's not being said. Engage with people. Serve them. Meet them where they are.
• "Hospitality is one size meets one" - Have to meet them one at a time
• What's the secret to a happy marriage?
  • "Never stop pursuing each other"
• Ruth's Chris - The special calamari strips -- Not on the menu, but available to make an experience exceptional
• The nobility of service... The four words:
  • Hospitality
  • Excellence
  • Education - "A day you aren't learning isn't a day worth living"
  • Passion - "Our work matters. What we do matters."
• Meeting at The White House:
  • Restaurants during the pandemic
• His dad's advice -- "Adversity is a terrible thing to waste"
• "It's not what happened to you, it's how you respond."
  • "Through crisis comes community"
• The Welcome Conference
  • "Hospitality is just as much a craft as cooking."
• Will's dad is his hero
  • "Next level intense responsibility"
  • He never complained
  • "Name what you want to accomplish and do it"
• "The secret to happiness is always something to look forward to."
• Here is WHY joining a Learning Leader Circle is a good idea...