How I got my MBA at Shake Shack
I studied economics under John Kenneth Galbraith, learned contracts law from Elizabeth Warren, and got my MBA from Shake Shack.
Why would a Harvard Law School graduate take a job flipping burgers?
It wasn’t just any burger joint. Shake Shack is part of Danny Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group, famed for such restaurants as Gramercy Tavern and Maialino. Launched in 2001 as a humble hot dog cart, Shake Shack sells comfort food like hamburgers, hot dogs, shakes and fries, but made with premium ingredients. The concept has resonated with consumers: As traditional fast food chains like McDonald’s have stumbled, Shake Shack has thrived.
Last month Shake Shack had a billion-dollar IPO. There are a dozen Shake Shacks in the Middle East and over 60 restaurants worldwide. The company intends to expand to at least 450 restaurants by opening 10 new ones each year.
Back in the fall of 2008, the second Shack location was about to open. I had left my job at McKinsey and was trying to figure out my next move. Walking past the new Shake Shack on the Upper West Side, a friend commented on how amazing their food was. I noticed a sign that they were hiring.
I’d never worked in food service. I was probably a tad overqualified. I didn’t even eat meat.
I figured, why not?
A year earlier I’d been advising Fortune 500 companies, traveling business-class and staying at the Four Seasons. Now I was serving up burgers, fries and shakes to groups of screaming school kids.
The $9/hour salary represented a slight pay cut from law and consulting. The uniform, consisting of a bright green T-shirt and hat, wasn’t my most flattering look. But my month at Shake Shack taught me some important lessons about how to run a small business.
Let them eat burgers
The company policy was that employees get 60% off all food, to be eaten during break or for take-out. No eating on your shift. But for Darryl, the star grillmaster, this was more of a guideline than a rule. Every few hours he’d grab a burger, toss it on a bun, and covertly scarf it down. As Darryl explained: “They got me flipping burgers all day, man. Course I’m gonna eat one once in a while. I just go around the corner where the cameras can’t see me.”
Nobody seemed to mind, the impact on bottom line was minimal, and Darryl remained a workhorse at the burger station.
Empower your employees
Hiring at Shake Shack is guided by the “51%” rule: Of the skill needed for the job, 51% is emotional and 49% technical. The company tries to hire people who are friendly, warm and motivated. This emphasis on soft skills is a big part of how Shake Shack created a strong culture.
Building a sense of teamwork and community in a low-paying food service job is no easy feat. Shake Shack pulled it off by training its employees to feel like they were a valued part of a larger organization.
New employees got a workbook with detailed instructions on how to run all the food stations, hospitality standards and guidelines for interacting with guests (never “customers”).
Every new employee was invited to an orientation meeting where they could meet Danny Meyer in person. We got discount vouchers for Meyer’s other fine-dining restaurants. We had a calendar system that made it easy for us to contact each other if we needed to swap shifts.
Before each shift our manager would lead a kickoff meeting, reviewing objectives (“last time our wait time was a little high”) and introducing daily specials (e.g. “the Museum of Natural History shake”).
Shake Shack’s emphasis on teamwork was crucial in the fast-paced service environment. When an order comes in for 12 Shack Stacks, the expeditor needs “8 LTP on the fly” and there’s a bunch of grade-schoolers screaming at the top of their lungs, you’ve got to help each other out. Otherwise you get backed up, people’s stress levels reach their breaking point, and the customer experience suffers as a result.
The success of Shake Shack starts with hiring, culture and teamwork. When you feel like you’re part of something bigger than yourself, you’re a lot more motivated to give your best effort.
Build a better burger
Shake Shack is part of the “fast-casual” dining segment that has exploded in the last decade. Since the rise of Chipotle, customers like seeing their food made right in front of them. They’re willing to spend a little more for higher quality, locally sourced ingredients.
Danny Meyer’s chief innovation with Shake Shack was taking the high-end cuisine from his upscale restaurants like Gramercy Tavern, and transplanting it to a simple food shack. Every dish used the same ingredients as the fancy sister restaurants, from the shakes and custards to the lettuce and tomatoes. As the food truck boom has shown, people love getting high-end food from a casual “shack”-like storefront.
Of course, when people think Shake Shack, they think burgers. The Shack’s burgers have achieved cult-like status, inspiring die-hard fans to trek miles and wait in hour-long lines.
The Shake Shack team worked with butcher Pat La Frieda to create a proprietary blend that includes brisket and short rib. They developed new mass-production technology so La Frieda could churn out patties by the thousands. This allowed the Shack to get fresh burger patties delivered every day, with nothing frozen.
Every aspect of burger prep was carefully calibrated. You’d learn to keep the patties sizzling on the stainless steel grill for 45 seconds before flipping, 60 seconds for well done. Apply one slice of american cheese to get the perfect melt. Use a paint-scraper to flip the burger gently without losing any flavor-packed juice.
The “secret” Shack sauce (a blend of mayo, ketchup and mustard) adds tanginess to complement the other flavors in the burger. Sweet, sour, bitter, salty and umami — the Shack burger combines all 5 tastes in a singular, irresistible package.
As a non-meat-eater, I never really understood why people loved the food so much. But love it they did. One time my friends Raefer and Felice came in while I was working. They ordered burgers, fries and a $90 bottle of wine. They said it was one of the best meals they’d had in New York.
Practice “Enlightened” Hospitality
From the initial employee training, you’re taught to be a leader — both internally, helping out fellow team members, and externally, going above and beyond to ensure a great guest experience. People would say “Give it that extra Shack love” when scrambling to prepare a challenging order.
This “enlightened hospitality” meant treating every guest as if they were a guest in your own home. It could be a simple gesture of holding a door; asking a guest how their day was going; or giving a couple a free scoop of custard on their first date. These little things went a long way toward making guests feel like they had an amazing dining experience and spreading the Shack love to their friends.
Branding, branding, branding
From my first day, it was clear that branding was a huge part of the Shake Shack experience. Everything about the customer experience conveys a distinct attitude and style, from the locally sourced ingredients to the the typeface used for the logo and menu. Every detail was carefully chosen to build Shake Shack’s brand as a 50s burger joint reimagined for a modern context.
The daily lines out the door added to the store’s cool factor. Just as nightclubs use long lines as a marketing tool, waiting in line for Shake Shack became a bonding experience and helped build up the mystique. It’s classic “social proof” — if everyone wants to get into the burger joint, it must be good.
The brand’s strength with millennials explains why Shake Shack is 100 times more successful than McDonald’s on Instagram.
Stick to your knitting
The Shake Shack menu is a marvel of simplicity. There are just a few different kinds of burgers, hot dogs, and shakes. But while the menu is short, it’s complete — there’s something for everyone. Apple under Steve Jobs famously pared its product line down to 4–5 key platforms where it knew it was the best. Know your strengths and focus on them relentlessly: If you try to do everything, you’re probably not doing everything well.
As I came to realize, behind Shake Shack’s simple facade lay an intricate framework for operational excellence. Every last detail of the store was meticulously planned — a casual customer wouldn’t realize how much thought went into each element. They’d just be blown away by the food and dining experience, and probably tell their friends about it.
I think everyone should work in food service at least once. You learn how to deal with some prickly personalities and stay cool in a fast-paced environment. It helps you build up a thicker skin.
When I first told people I was working at Shake Shack, some were a bit confused. One friend compared me to Kevin Spacey’s midlife-crisis character in American Beauty. A girl I was dating began to cry when I told her the news.
But I’m proud that I worked there and played a small part in the Shake Shack story. I learned things I couldn’t have gotten from a business textbook or office job. If you want to build a great consumer brand from the ground up, sometimes you need to get a little grease on your hands.
