I’ve always kind of liked Gordon Ramsay (other than he spells his name wrong.). He’s the foul-mouthed, passionate chef that pops up on TV judging contests and helping restaurants reinvent themselves. I’ve met Master Chef winner Whitney Miller and she thinks the world of the guy. I respect her, thus, I like him more.
Last night I watched him deal with a couple of particularly narcissistic restaurant owners (we were watching his show on Netflix). They’re from Arizona, I think — and even went on Dr. Phil afterwards because they came off so badly on Ramsay’s show. Ramsay offered them constructive criticism so they could help their restaurant recover from some bad online reviews and they blamed EVERYONE but themselves for their problems. Normally, he’s pretty darn rude. But he sat there and remained calm.
Then he walked away.
THAT impressed me. He chose not to argue. He could’ve cussed. He could have ranted back. But he didn’t.
It showed me a couple of things. One, people sometimes offer constructive criticism. And sometimes people just attack you. If you truly want to get better you have to be smart enough to know the difference. Get your damn ego out of the way.
And secondly, when people truly don’t care, they shut up and walk away.