Leaders cannot leave all the details to others

“Everything is perfect … How?”, I asked the waiter. I’ve eaten in hundreds, even thousands, of restaurants the world over. This one was different.

I was in New York to see my eldest daughter at the University. Wanting to do something special for her birthday weekend, I worked — and I do mean “worked” — to get a reservation at The Polo Bar, which is anything but a bar. It’s a full-scale upper crust restaurant by Ralph Lauren.

The Polo Bar is the latest restaurant to be called the “best in New York City.” Opened for just a few months, it already takes months to get a booking and is packed with celebrities every night.

I am a huge fan a Ralph Lauren … he is my favourite designer and (the brand) has been clothing me for the past three decades. So, we had to try his foray into New York City. It is actually his third restaurant following Chicago and Paris.

I had high expectations and was shocked, even surprised, that The Polo Bar exceeded them. Every detail was perfect — the quality of tables, chairs, utensils, etc. The servers made us feel right at home. The food was amazing. So, I asked my question.

The server’s response almost made me drop my knife and fork. Well, it did make me drop my jaw. “We had a two-month soft opening.” Two months? “Yes, and it was only for Ralph Lauren employees. And he came every night, sitting right over there,” pointing to a table opposite ours.

Now as a leadership junkie, I asked one question after another to figure out what Ralph Lauren did to make this happen. “But what about tips?”; “A soft opening for two months … how did you survive financially?”

“He paid all of us as if the restaurant were fully open,” the server replied.

“And what did he do each night?” The server had this to say: “He tried everything on the menu, watched the way we served. He set the standard that we were to live up to and made sure every single person did every single time.”

To put it in my terms, he micro-monitored. He is a hands-on leader.

A couple of days after returning to Dubai, I was sitting with the CEO of one of the largest companies in the region and he said, “I feel like we are missing the details …”

I just had an experience were every detail was perfect and now I am hearing a CEO speak of his company “missing the details”. He was referencing a quality drift, which unfortunately starts ever so slightly and allowed to drift in the hope it will correct itself eventually.

As the CEO made this comment, it was clear that he was thinking about his employees being “off their game”. Listening to his words, I was thinking that he is the one off the game. Ralph Lauren personally ensured that every detail was perfect. Shouldn’t the CEO in Dubai do the same?

Unfortunately, the likes of Ralph Lauren — even Steve Jobs, another detail-obsessed leader — are rare. What is more common is the leader who sees or senses, yet lets it slide. Watch out for the coming avalanche when you do.

The common argument is that it is wrong, even offensive, for a leader to be so detail oriented. This argument lacks logic if your employees are letting details slip and you are not detail-oriented? How will it get resolved? It won’t!

The evidence says people will do what you focus on. So if you pay attention to the details they will. If you don’t, they won’t.

Let’s go back to the CEO in Dubai — I would advise him to lead his organisation to become detail oriented again or to knowingly accept the fact that if he doesn’t, then the standard that their customers once knew will become history.

It’s that simple. The remedy is in your hands, no one else’s. How you lead and what you focus on determines what your employees will do.

Pay attention to the detail or the details will bring attention to you.

The writer is a CEO coach and author of ‘10 Tips for Leading in the Middle East’ and other writings. Contact him at tsw@tommyweir.com.