Mimi Sheraton, former restaurant critic for the NYT, once wrote (and I’m paraphrasing) that she preferred her supreme on the plate.

In other words, the food.

Not the fancy flower arrangements in the lobby or other niceties that might contribute to a restaurant’s ambience and feel.

The other day, someone was telling me about the top meal of their life.

They could recall the restaurant, the cost of the meal, the special room in which it was served, and the white glove service.

But not the food.

Talent retention in your organization today is about the supreme on the plate (meaningful work) and the special room in which it is served (the feeling team members get when immersed in that work at your company).

Your culture drives both.

(One of the top 3 meals of my life can be found at this little place in Montepulciano.  That’s where I learned that diced cucumber and melon with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkling of salt and pepper can be an extraordinary thing.)