The NYT piece on the 80th birthday of the owner of Zabar’s – one of our favourite groceries when we lived in New York – reminded me of something I’m noticing almost every day now – the effect that one person’s passion has on the success of a business. I notice this everywhere – cafes, restaurants, retail, movies, music – everywhere. It’s trite these days to describe passion for one’s work as critical to fulfilment, but we typically see this discussion in the context of how we feel about our jobs. It’s worth remembering that it’s true on a larger scale as well – over and over again, I see that the best businesses bear a clear imprint of one person’s intense passion for what they’re doing.
