Photo: Financial Times, via Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY 2.0. Cropped for display.
Danny Meyer is a highly successful restaurateur with many fine restaurants in New York. He also created Shake Shack, which now has locations around the world.
During a recent interview, Meyer said something that caught my attention.
His most important goal was for customers to have a good experience and leave feeling good.
Serving fine food came second.
I found that quite interesting.
I don’t recall a time when I’ve worked with a client where “customers having a good experience” was the Number One goal.
In fact, I don’t recall ever placing it at the very top of the list when developing a service or product myself.
Of course, I recognize the importance of creating a good customer experience. I imagine most leaders do.
But there’s something different about making it the Number One goal.
Not one of several important priorities. Not something we hope will happen as a result of delivering an excellent product or service.
The most important thing.
That distinction shines a remarkably bright light on how we think about our work and the people we serve.
I haven’t yet had a chance to read much of Meyer’s new book, What Could Possibly Go Right?: The Essential Journey to Scale an Enduring Culture, but I’m looking forward to it.
In the meantime, I’m left with an interesting question:
What might change if we made the customer’s experience our Number One goal?
I’d love to read your reactions. Join the conversation over on LinkedIn. I’ll see you there.
About the Author, Rick Maurer
