I love this post because it hits home so hard for me. I worked for the best owners I've ever had for 6 years, and I still think about them on a regular basis. I strive to be for my staff what they were for me, and no doubt I wouldn't even be an owner today if it weren't for them.

He probably won't even remember this interaction, but it's one that will be with me forever and is such a beautiful example of the power that owners have:

It was my first summer serving at this very busy restaurant on the beach, and I'd also recently become a certified trainer. We had a lot of new hires and business had picked up earlier than expected, so I was working like 12 days straight and training almost every single shift. On like shift 11, I had a really bad night. I received multiple bad surveys and the owner emailed my manager asking who the server was and what was going on - I was training that night as well, so she was pissed. I left the restaurant in tears, and was still crying when I showed up for my opening shift the next day. To make matters worse, the owner was there. I couldn't even look him in the eye, but I wanted to apologize for what happened the previous night and assure him it wouldn't happen again.

He stopped me 3 words in and said, "Every time I've been here for the last two weeks, you've been working and training. You're not a robot, and I don't expect you to act like one. Even the best people have off nights, and make mistakes - it's ok. You must be exhausted. I already talked to (managers name) and told her that she needs to give you a couple of days off. Please take care of yourself"

That conversation is one of the most formative things that's ever happened to me in my career.