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\n\t\tOpinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.\t<\/p>\n
A hotel designed to stand for 100 years cannot be built around the concerns of the next quarter.<\/p>\n
For Alistair Darby<\/a>, CEO of Sir Richard Sutton Limited<\/a>, that distinction has changed how he thinks about growth.<\/p>\n \u201cHow can you run a freehold hospitality business thinking quarterly?\u201d Darby says. \u201cIt\u2019s just insane.\u201d<\/p>\n Darby spent much of his career working for public companies, where leaders were often forced to focus on the next financial update. Today, he leads a family-owned company whose portfolio includes hotels, farms and properties across the United Kingdom.<\/p>\n \u201cThe owners are not thinking about tomorrow,\u201d Darby says. \u201cThey\u2019re thinking about in 50 years\u2019 time. What are our grandchildren going to inherit?\u201d<\/p>\n That perspective shaped one of the company\u2019s biggest decisions. Sir Richard Sutton Limited plans to demolish a building it owns in Mayfair and build a new hotel. With economic and geopolitical uncertainty<\/a> affecting businesses worldwide, the board debated whether it was the right time to move forward.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a hotel that\u2019s not going to open for three and a half years, and it\u2019s then going to stand there for 100 years,\u201d Darby remembers someone saying. \u201cWhy are we preoccupying ourselves with today? We are building something for the future.\u201d<\/p>\n One of Darby\u2019s most important lessons about long-term growth came earlier in his career. A group of bars in Germany built a successful breakfast business by offering a complete buffet from day one, even when only one customer arrived.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen we started, we wasted a lot of food,\u201d Darby recalls the operator telling him.<\/p>\n The food waste created short-term pain, but offering a limited experience would have given early customers little reason to return. The team invested in the reputation it wanted before demand existed to support it.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019s your long-term objective?\u201d Darby says. \u201cHow do you get through the pain?\u201d<\/p>\n For Darby, sustainable growth sometimes requires accepting an immediate cost without expecting an immediate return.<\/p>\n \u201cLots of people talk about, \u2018We care about the long term,\u2019 but they just don\u2019t act that way.\u201d<\/p>\n Long-term growth requires leaders who are willing to step into uncertain situations. When young professionals ask for career advice, Darby tells them to recognize opportunities instead of waiting for the safest path forward.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019ve got to ride your luck,\u201d Darby says. \u201cThere are people who will tell you they are unlucky, and there are people who will tell you they are lucky.\u201d<\/p>\n Darby does not believe success is determined by luck alone.<\/p>\n \u201cThe truth is, there\u2019s nobody who\u2019s unlucky or lucky,\u201d he says. \u201cThere are just people who get given an opportunity, and they seize it.\u201d<\/p>\n His second piece of advice is more direct.<\/p>\n \u201cYou always take the shitty mission,\u201d Darby says.<\/p>\n Those opportunities often appear when someone must choose between a comfortable promotion and a difficult role that nobody else wants. Darby faced that decision when the person running Marston\u2019s Beer Company<\/a> unexpectedly left for a competitor. The business generated significant revenue, but it was struggling and needed a new leader.<\/p>\n Darby was given one hour to decide whether he wanted the job. He called his father for advice.<\/p>\n \u201cHe said, \u2018Alistair, why are you ringing me? You\u2019re an idiot. Take the job. You\u2019re going to learn so much,\u2019\u201d Darby recalls.<\/p>\n The decision gave Darby an opportunity to work with talented people, transform the business and gain experience as a board director. Because the company needed substantial change, he was also given the freedom to make decisions that would have been more difficult in a stable operation.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve carved out a career building learning and experience by always taking the shitty mission,\u201d Darby says.<\/p>\n The safe job may offer the next promotion. The difficult mission can shape the rest of a career.<\/p>\n Restaurant Influencers<\/em><\/a>\u00a0is brought to you by Toast, the powerful restaurant point-of-sale and management system that helps restaurants improve operations, increase sales and create a better guest experience. Toast \u2014 Powering Successful Restaurants. Learn more about\u00a0Toast<\/a>.<\/p>\n Restaurant Influencers is proud to have PepsiCo as a sponsor of this episode. Partnering with PepsiCo Foodservice helps restaurant operators drive sustainable growth through smarter digital experiences, AI-backed menu optimization, and tools designed to create more profitable online orders. Check out PepsiCo Foodservice<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\u201cAlways take the shitty mission<\/strong>\u201c<\/h2>\n
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