Donald Burns presents a brief leadership tip advocating a "culture of gratitude" in the workplace. He describes a personal practice from his restaurants — a daily "100% thank you" ritual where he personally thanks every team member — and argues this habit improves retention and culture when applied consistently.
You got to have a culture of gratitude. Most people leave because they do not feel appreciated and they don't see there's a path for growth and development. When I have my own restaurants, I made a commitment to myself not to ever leave the restaurant without walking up to everyone on the team, looking them in the eye, shaking their hand and saying, thank you. It's a standard that I call the 100% thank you. If you implement this thing, it will change your culture if you apply it on a daily basis.
If your restaurant only works because you work 80 hours a week, it doesn't work.
