This week is Thanksgiving here in the USA. In the last month I have been around the USA, UK and Canada, and I am sad to report back that there is a serious drought of THANKS globally in our industry!

How many times have you been out lately and received a “Yup!” (or a variation) instead of genuine gratitude from your server?

Call me old school, but I feel that in this digital world, it is more important NOW than ever before to be KIND and CONNECT.

“Ya,” “Yup,” “Uh Huh,” “No Problem,” and “Sure” are all incorrect responses to “THANK YOU!” Any one of these retorts would have been deemed a “teachable moment,” whether you worked on the floor of my restaurants, or my kitchen if that is the way you blew off one of our suppliers when signing for a delivery.

I get it. Some kids were raised without manners. What I don’t get are business leaders allowing poor manners to persist, eroding their brand. Chivalry is FREE and it is a tremendous market advantage.

Can manners be taught? Sure.

When someone says “Thank you,” the correct response(s) is:

MINIMUM: You are welcome.
BETTER: It was my pleasure!
BEST: Well, thank you. I really enjoyed taking care of you this afternoon. I look forward to seeing you again!

Check the comment section for some quick tips on how to make more improvements in this area.

Happy THANKSgiving!,

There is one thing that the Top 1% always do that the other 99% don’t:

They ARTICULATE their strategy so well that every member of their company not only understands it, but takes ownership of it.

Check out the video attached as I explain to a room full of restaurant managers.

Onwards & Upwards!

This month I caught up with Matt Perkins, a great bartender, at one of my favorite restaurants in Washington, DC: Cedar.

Watch as Matt teaches us a new drink and gives us a few tips on building business.

Enjoy!

What if you could get the world’s greatest thought leaders to give you everything they had on the subject that is creating the biggest bottleneck in your career for $25?

That is exactly what they do when they put out a book. But, who has time to read anymore? Aren’t we all too busy being stuck in our bottlenecks?

If you are managing a business and DO NOT have an audiobook loaded on your phone right now, you are selling yourself short!

Every quarter I arrange my listening around a key subject (Sales, HR, Leadership, etc), and then I download a range of audiobooks on that topic.

I load them onto my phone which syncs up to the Bluetooth in my car or my headphones.

I listen while I drive, wait in line at airports or while going for a walk. No time for downtime!

My phone also has a dictaphone feature where I collect the best ideas and write them out in my journal at the end of the week.

I encourage you to try this for one month. It is a game changer and will serve as a catalyst in your career!

Want to take it to the next level? Get other members of your management team listening/reading the same book. Set aside 20 minutes at a management meeting to discuss the best ideas.

Let me know how you go,

Sean is speaking FRIDAY NOV 4th in London! Click banner at right for all the details >>>