A Lesson From Danny Meyer About Surfing and Mistakes

Welcome to Danny Knows Best, a new feature in which Eater highlights pieces of restaurant philosophy from Danny Meyer's hospitality bible, Setting the Table:

Today's lesson comes from Chapter 10, "The Road to Success Is Paved With Mistakes Well Handled":

I like to think of our staff members not as servers, but as surfers. Surfing is an arduous sport, and no one pursues it involuntarily. No one forces you to become a surfer, but if you choose to do it, there's no point in wasting energy trying to tame the ocean of its waves. Waves are like mistakes. You can count on the fact that there will always be another wave, so your choice is to get back on the surfboard and anticipate it. The degree to which you ride it with better form than the next guy is how you improve and distinguish yourself.