Garutti’s prelaunch pep talk outlines the key elements of his company’s style of radical hospitality. He urges his workers to trust customers and try to be on their side–to always make the “charitable assumption” when dealing with people, and to look out for each other as much as possible. And then there’s that thing about bankrupting the company.
“What do I mean by that?” asks Garutti, who’s dressed CEO casual in a gray blazer and dark blue jeans. “Put us out of business because you are so damn generous with what you give the people who walk in this door. If there’s a kid crying, who’s going to walk over with a free cup of custard? I challenge you to put us out of business with how generous you are. Go do it. Give away free stuff.” This is not merely about the occasional gratis dessert: It’s part of a larger effort to empower employees to do whatever it takes to make customers feel loved.
At the center of Shake Shack’s mission is Danny Meyer’s philosophy of “enlightened hospitality.” In essence, it’s a set of priorities: the idea is to create a welcoming atmosphere first for employees, next for customers, and then for the outside community, suppliers, and, finally, investors. The notion echoes Johnson & Johnson’s 1943 mission statement, which espoused the same priorities and was at the time a groundbreaking corporate credo that led to decades of earnings and dividends growth.