The Essential Journey to Scale an Enduring Culture
What Could
Possibly Go
Right?
By Danny Meyer,
bestselling author of Setting the Table
"The highest ambition for any business: to create something that imprints itself indelibly onto people's lives. Not just excellent ā essential."
ā Danny Meyer
About the Book
In What Could Possibly Go Right?, Danny Meyer shares the lessons, stories, and leadership principles that have shaped more than four decades of building businesses and enduring cultures. From celebrated successes to painful setbacks, Danny offers an honest look at what it takes to lead through growth, change, and reinventionāwhile keeping people and relationships at the center.
Part memoir, part leadership guide, the book explores the power of practical optimism, Enlightened Hospitality, and Dannyās belief that a strong culture can be scaled without losing what makes it human.
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A story 20 years in the making.
Praise for
What Could Possibly Go Right?
āMost leadership books teach you how to avoid mistakes. Danny Meyer delivers something far more powerful, showing how optimismāgrounded in standards, trust, and relentless learningācreates the conditions for people to thrive together. In What Could Possibly Go Right?, Meyer tells the remarkably honest story
of building an enduring culture through growth, setbacks, reinvention, and change. Wise, practical, and full of hard-earned lessons, this
is a master class from one of the great culture builders of our time.ā
ā DANIEL COYLE
New York Times bestselling author of The Culture CodeāWe all know Danny Meyer is the master of hospitality, but in this stunning bookāpart memoir, part manifestoāwe learn how he became a great and humane leader as well. I am so inspired!ā
ā INA GARTEN
New York Times bestselling author of Be Ready When the Luck HappensāWith his signature warmth and wisdom, Danny Meyer reveals how to build cultures that bring out the best in people. His stories and lessons are as memorable as the flavors in his restaurants. I've been waiting two decades for this book, and it was worth it.ā
ā ADAM GRANT
#1 New York Times bestselling author of Hidden Potential and Think Again and host of the podcast Re:ThinkingāDanny Meyer is a national treasure and cultural iconāAmerica's preeminent restaurateur. What Could Possibly Go Right?is his love letter to those who have walked with him on his remarkable journey, one filled with extraordinary success and painful, wrenching loss. This book is an essential roadmap for not only a successful business but also a successful lifeā
ā DARREN WALKER
CEO, Anonymous ContentāHard-won lessons on leadership and the power of practical optimism . . . This is memoir as metaphorāa great read.ā
ā SETH GODIN,
author of The Knot
Danny Meyer
Danny Meyer is the founder and Chairman of Union Square Hospitality Group (USHG), which he launched with the opening of Union Square Cafe in 1985. Over the past four decades, he has built some of New Yorkās most beloved restaurants and helped shape a distinctive approach to hospitality centered on putting people first.
Known for his philosophy of Enlightened Hospitality, Danny is a celebrated restaurateur, author, speaker, and business leader whose influence extends across restaurants, education, consulting, and beyond. His work has earned numerous honors, including 28 James Beard Awards across Danny, USHG, and its restaurants.
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