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I haven't got the slightest idea how to change people, but still I keep a long list of prospective candidates just in case I should ever figure it out.
—David Sedaris
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It wasn't the most harrowing research junket we had ever taken. Nothing like earlier adventures in our influencer research to some of the more dangerous parts of the world. No threat of deadly parasites, no confrontation with aggressive panhandlers, no fear of being kidnapped, no wrangling with corrupt politicians.
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This time, our research had taken us to New York City to one of the Big Apple's finest restaurants where, as part of our demanding research regime, we'd be tossing back scrumptious appetizers while chatting with a brilliant restaurateur. (It was a tough job, but someone had to do it.) All of this was being done as part of an ongoing project aimed at discovering how some rather remarkable people routinely influence human behavior in a manner that is the envy of all who know them.
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The person we were visiting on this particular day was Danny Meyer. Danny had earned the title of “influencer” by fostering a unique culture of customer service. Every one of his restaurants had been in the top 40 of Zagat's ratings of customer preference—practically since the day they first opened. We soon discovered that the reason behind his unparalleled success was his capacity to influence 1,500 ordinary employees to consistently create extraordinary experiences for their 100,000 daily guests. Actually, extraordinary is too small a word.
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For example, a woman frantically rushes through the entrance of Gramercy Tavern, one of Danny's exquisite establishments located in the Flatiron District of Manhattan. The potential diner is distraught because she has just left her purse in the taxi that dropped her off for lunch and then sped away into a sea of yellow. The blood drains from the woman's face as she realizes that not only will she never see her purse again but she also has no way to pay for her meal. Or get back to work.
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At this moment, Danny's culture of hospitality kicks into action. An employee (let's call him Carlo) notices the stranger's look of panic, learns of her problem, and invites her to join her party—who are already seated and waiting for her.
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“Don't worry about paying,” Carlo comforts the worried guest. “We'll settle up some other time. For now, please enjoy yourself. In the meantime, what is your mobile number?”
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Surmising that the frantic customer likely left her cell phone in her purse, Carlo asks a colleague to repeatedly call the number. Thirty minutes later when the taxi driver finally hears the ring and answers the call, he's many miles north in the Bronx. Carlo then flashes the Batman signal onto the side of a building to summon the Caped Crusader…
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