Care and Intention

People may forget the details of an experience, but they can remember how it made them feel for decades. As a boy, Will Guidara visited the Four Seasons with his father. Thirty years later, he still remembered how he had felt at the restaurant.

A warm welcome does not require an elaborate gesture. When Will came home from school, his mother could no longer speak or get up to hug him. But she greeted him with a broad smile, which made him feel wanted and welcome.

At his mother’s funeral, Will found comfort in celebrating her life. He had prepared a speech, but when he stood up to give it, the words felt wrong. So he told funny stories about her instead. In one story, he recalled that she could still recite his father’s credit card number when shopping by phone, even though she had trouble communicating. Then everyone joined a large dance party. Celebrating her life did not take away their sadness, but it helped them remember her with joy.

Years later, a guest at Eleven Madison Park told Will that he drank his best wines on his worst days instead of saving them for celebrations. Will immediately thought of his mother’s funeral. Celebrating could bring comfort when life was hardest.

While Will and his father were grieving, Daniel Boulud and his staff gave them another experience of that comfort. They served them a beautiful dinner that lasted several hours. Boulud stayed into the early morning to give them a tour. By the time he hugged them goodbye, everyone else had left the restaurant. There was no bill.

The meal did not end their suffering, but it gave them four hours of relief. Will already wanted to work in restaurants. This dinner showed him how much serving people could matter.

The Extraordinary Power of Intention

Intention means thinking carefully about your decisions, knowing why you are making them and what result you want. Small daily choices matter because they help determine whether you can achieve that result.

Will’s father, the president of Restaurant Associates, showed this in the way he cared for Will’s mother each day. Before work, he got her out of bed, moved her into her wheelchair, helped her shower, and prepared and fed her breakfast. Fifteen hours later, he came home and repeated those steps in reverse. He still made time to help Will with homework or listen to a new song on the drums.

To keep providing that care, he needed more than stamina. He planned his days carefully, decided what mattered most, and made commitments he would not break. Because he knew what he would not neglect, he could meet his responsibilities both at work and at home.

He was just as thoughtful about raising Will. On the drive home from SeaWorld when Will was thirteen, he asked what Will wanted to do with his life. Will named three goals:

1. Study restaurant management at Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration.
2. Open a restaurant in New York City.
3. Marry Cindy Crawford.

Danny Meyer took the same thoughtful approach to how his company treated people through Enlightened Hospitality. This approach put employees ahead of guests and investors. His reasoning was practical: hire excellent people, treat them well, and help them grow personally and professionally. Because employees received care and support, they were better able to care for customers.