The hospitality industry can be a great teacher.

What do I mean?

The top operators in the game teach us what it looks like for a business to consistently deliver experiences that feel flawless, frictionless and human. The kind that makes people leave thinking, “wow.”

The thing is, while the customer sees “effortless,” everything experienced is often the byproduct of highly intentional systems, training and design.

In Edition 049, I highlighted Will Guidara’s TED Talk. His book, Unreasonable Hospitality, has become the latest “go-to” for businesses seeking to elevate experiences and culture through differentiated hospitality.

When I was younger, I was enamored by Danny Meyer’s Setting the Table. He built New York City icons, weaving intentionality and systems into everything so his standards for hospitality could expand.

The importance of personalization and elevated customer experiences is something I’ve written about here and presented on before. While the concepts may be intuitive and simple, the orchestration requires a lot behind the scenes. Every activity and interaction required to support those moments must work together to consistently perform at the level your growth demands.

Why am I talking about this, again, now?

Because recently, there’s been one restaurant in Nashville that’s really delivered on those surprise and delight moments—from first touch to when I’ve walked out the door. It’s called Noko. I’m not bringing this particular place up because I enjoyed a couple of meals there. It’s because after my last visit, it dawned on me for the first time in a while, “Wow, this is a place really setting the standard.”

Not just once, but according to my OpenTable records, seven times. Enough to recognize patterns.

Beyond the food being great, there are several small details worth noting

Noko defines a core purpose, which you can feel while you’re there. You can tell it’s not words; it’s operationalized.

The mission?

“To create a happy, sustainable workplace where people thrive — with more time for friends and family, deeper human connection, and the chance to explore the world through travel. By living fully and with gratitude, we become better versions of ourselves and stewards of a stronger community, changing hospitality for the better, forever.”

Consistent staff and service. Everyone is upbeat, knowledgeable and ready to serve. There’s intentionality in who’s recruited and how they’re trained. I was so impressed on my last visit that I motioned the owner over to tell him I noticed.

The restaurant is always buzzy, but never overcrowded. They manage the room well.

I never feel rushed, which is becoming rarer as restaurants try to maximize nightly covers.

This is one of my favorite observations. If the owner is present (which he often is), he’s the one walking around the restaurant with the water pitcher. He greets each table and seems to know who’s visiting for the first time and which tables are regulars.

If he’s not there, the assistant general manager takes over the pitcher. If you’ve been there multiple times, she may throw in: “[owner’s name] wanted to make sure I came by to say hello tonight. He’s sorry he’s not here to do it himself.”

Such a small gesture, but genius, seriously.

In October, I visited twice.

When we checked in, the hostess greeted us warmly and promptly wished us a happy anniversary. Subsequently, every single staff member who came to our table acknowledged our anniversary and wished us a great evening. At the end of the meal, we received a complimentary dessert with a “Happy Anniversary” note attached to the top of a soft-serve swirl.

I returned a week later with a girlfriend, and there were more surprises. A table nearby was celebrating a birthday, and someone in their party serenaded the room (he was a good singer).

Jokingly, my friend said to our server, “When’s it our turn to get a song?”

The server replied, “Well, what song do you want sung to you?”

My friend, “Girls Just Want to Have Fun.”

Well, we didn’t get the musical interlude, but we did get this:

Enough said.

At the end of the meal, I had to ask: “Does the owner make Unreasonable Hospitality mandatory reading for the staff?”

The server grinned and said, “Well, it’s not mandatory, but he does have quite a stack of them in the back.”

I thought so.

I’m not sure if Noko still does this, but it “wowed” me after the first three times. The following day, the owner called and left me a voicemail, thanking me for stopping by and hoping I enjoyed the experience.

“ME? He’s calling me?” is what went through my mind. I’m not a celeb, influencer, special guest or VIP. I’m a regular person who decided to eat at his restaurant the night before. But he took the time to pick up the phone and make sure I enjoyed it.

None of this happens by accident. This has been carefully constructed and supported by strong alignment across people, process and systems.

The consistent execution that customers experience night after night, no matter the table or who’s on shift, only happens when the operational foundations are built for it.

What are you doing to elevate how customers interact with you and your business?

Perhaps reading this provided a spark of inspiration.

As we approach year-end, you may be thinking about how to clear your plate in 2026 so you can better focus on what deserves your deep attention.

In that spirit, I’m reposting the tip I provided on the topic in August 2024. Though it’s aged, the principles remain applicable.

We all know delegation is important. But it’s not always as easy as it sounds. While holding tight to work we know best and can seemingly get done faster seems like the best course, that approach will likely hold back business growth.

The first step in delegation requires identifying what needs to come off our plate. There are several ways to do this. If you reference back to Edition 001, the Eisenhower Matrix is one helpful framework to get started. Typically, the more repetitive and time-consuming the task, the more likely it should be delegated.

Once you know what needs to be delegated, the question is “to whom?” This is often where people get stuck. Trusting the right person with what’s historically been your work is not easy. Do you know what makes it less daunting? Hiring the right people in the right seats 🙂 Identify people’s capabilities, empower them and then trust them to get the job done.

Communicate and equip people to succeed. You’ll need to clearly articulate how a task currently gets done if you expect someone to take it over from you. You also need to put the structures and tools in place to streamline the process. Finally, empower your team with authority and the ability to take ownership of new responsibilities.

Yes, this involves upfront work, but the time savings will add up once you’ve effectively delegated.

Don’t confuse delegation with a right to become a taskmaster. An effective delegator doesn’t just assign tasks and walk away, micromanage or abandon the team once a task is transitioned. Instead, they trust their team and understand that delegation is an ongoing process that requires continuous assessment.

What’s one thing you can delegate to a person on your team or automate? My challenge to you next week is to identify that task and get it done. Then, report back and let me know how it impacted your day-to-day.

In this essay, Dan Hockenmaier outlines his tried and true framework for improving business writing. Think briefs, product documents, launch plans, a decision doc, a policy outline. …the list could go on.

In addition to outlining the steps, he also provides templates and an LLM prompt to help refine your next document.

Trying to get buy-in or get to “yes” faster? This might be worth a try.

Ahead of Thanksgiving, I’m using the space this week to express my gratitude.

Gratitude to each of you who reads this newsletter.

Gratitude for the support, the well wishes and the feedback along the way.

Gratitude for being part of Empower’s story.

Thank you for being here.

You’ve worked hard to build your business. Let’s work together to make it last. We want to be your partner in the journey to develop the business that lives into your vision.

There are four primary ways Empower can partner with you to support getting your business to the next level. Click the image below to learn more about our core offerings.

If you’re ready to take the step, reach out to discuss how we can support your goals. 

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