For nearly a decade, I owned and operated a restaurant. To give you some context, Eleven Madison is a very fancy restaurant on the corner of 24th and Madison. I mean, like, very fancy. We're talking servers like, crisp, ironed white tablecloths. More than 30 cooks in the kitchen. I think you get the gist. When I got there in 2006. But by the time I sold it it had been named the number one. Now, to be clear, our kitchen served unbelievably delicious. Our service was so gracious and as close to technically. And our dining room ... I mean, just Google a picture. It's one of the most beautiful out there. And it was because of those reasons of the 50 best restaurants in the world. But it was a hot dog that earned us. Or rather, the winning strategy unreasonable hospitality. The principle that guided us and turned them. In early 2010, on a busier-than-normal lunch service, I was in the dining room when I found myself clearing appetizers on vacation to New York. And they were going to the airport. I overheard them talking. "What an amazing trip. We've been to all the best restaurants." And they listed a bunch: Per Se, Le Bernardin, Daniel. Then another person jumped in: "Yeah, but the only thing we didn't get." You know those moments in a cartoon where the animated light bulb goes off signifying they're about to come up. If you’d been in the room you would have seen one appear over mine. As calmly as I possibly could, I walked gracefully back into the kitchen. And then literally ran out the front door. I bought a hotdog and ran. Now came the hard part: convincing the chef to serve it. Guys, he looked at me. Serving what New Yorkers call in a fancy four-star restaurant? But I asked him to trust me and I told him it was important to me. And eventually he agreed to cut. Adding a little swish of ketchup and finishing them with a quenelle. Then, before we served at the table, which happened to be a honey-lavender that had been dry aged for two weeks, utilizing a technique, we brought them their hot dog. I introduced it. "To make sure you don't go home a New York City hotdog." Guys, they freaked out. I'm not kidding. At that point in my career, I had served many thousands of dollars worth of food. And I can confidently say that no one better than they reacted to that hotdog. Each person said it was not only. But of their entire trip to New York, and they'd be telling the story. See, that hotdog changed the way from that point forward. Because up until then, on all the little details that I somehow hadn’t realized. That in restaurants, our reason for being. It's to make them feel welcome. It's to give them a sense of belonging. See, in restaurants, the food, they're simply ingredients. That is hospitality. And I realized, if we could be unreasonable we could give people. They would remember forever. It was only then that I realized I wasn't actually in the business. I was in the business I obsessed over that hot dog. I kept on going back to the experience and trying to figure out what happened. What happened so that it could happen so that it could start. First, being present. Which I get, it's like. But for me, being present means caring or the person you're with. That you stop caring about all. And it's essential in delivering. See, so often we have that we aren't able to slow down enough to actually listen to the things they're saying and all the things they're not saying. If I hadn't been present at that table, I never would have heard. Second, it required taking without taking yourself too seriously. Way too often in customer we let these self-imposed standards. The thing they actually want. OK, a hotdog in a four-star. But look at the way it made them feel. And third, it required the acknowledgment is. Give people a sense one size fits one. Hospitality is about making. And the best way to do that is not but as a unique individual. I really do believe I could have comped and given them a free bucket of caviar, and it would not have had the same impact. Because it would not have been. The hot dog had given us a new true north. And now we had a road map. I started talking about it constantly telling the team and encouraging them to go out to find opportunities of their own. And they were just as fired up as I was. And we got started right away. Every night, finding a few to deliver to our guests. We had unlocked something important. We knew it was working, but we wanted more of it. We wanted to give these kinds. We wanted to make it. And we recognized that we needed to invest in the resources to make that possible. So, we added a position to the team, someone whose only responsibility bring their ideas to life. We called the position the Dream Weaver, named after the iconic. You've heard it, I'll help you. It goes something like, Oh, sorry -- I just had to sing it because that song is actually it was playing the first time. It will now be stuck in your head. And with the addition of that position, we were on fire. Sincerely, a guest warned us in advance that his dad was more of a Budweiser than Sauternes and foie gras, so the Dream Weavers turned into a Budweiser cart, filled with every available at every bodega in the neighborhood. A couple came in to console themselves after their beach vacation. So at the end of their meal, we turned our private dining room with reclining folding chairs, and a kiddie pool filled with water while they drowned their sorrows with those little umbrellas. Or a family of four from Spain. They were in New York on vacation. And while they were eating, The kids were looking out our massive. It had started snowing and it was the first time. The Dream Weaver found a store that was open at eight o’clock. When they left the restaurant, there was a chauffeur-driven SUV for the most special nightcap: a few hours of play. With these gestures and so many more, our guests were obviously. But you know what? This is the cool part. Because for the first time, They were no longer just helping serving plates of food. They were coming up with their own ideas, and those ideas were affecting. They were empowered. But mostly, I mean, we were all just happy because we were making. There are few things more energizing on someone's face when they receive a gift that you are responsible for giving. It can become one of the most. And as we all found ourselves to going above and beyond for our guests, we found ourselves going above. Now I'm going to say this because I'm sure unreasonable hospitality is not just. I get it, some of the gestures were quite extravagant. We did hire people onto the team. But remember, that hotdog and the impact it had was priceless. It does not take a big budget to start because remember, it's not the cost. It's how it makes people feel. For most of America's history. Now we're a service economy. More than three quarters of our GDP. Globally, it's more than 65 percent. That means that whether or retail or construction or finance or insurance, you do the same thing. You’re in the business. And if you start to look closely enough, you will find opportunities to give people more all around you. Take real estate agents, for example. Every time I've bought, at best, the agent has left me as my thank you/congratulations gift. At worst, they've just thrown. Now, this is someone with whom looking together for my new home.