The 4 leadership lessons behind Shake Shack's success

These leadership takeaways are part of a new primetime series, CNBC Leaders Playbook, premiering January 7 at 10 p.m. ET/PT. Hosted by Julia Boorstin, the series goes inside the minds of the world's top business leaders to reveal how lasting success is built.

Shake Shack founder Danny Meyer never set out to build a massive company.

It all began as an experiment in "enlightened hospitality" — which is Meyer's belief that when you put employees first, they deliver better guest experiences, which drives loyalty, revenue, and long-term success for everyone involved.

That experiment started in the most unlikely place: a hot dog cart in a public New York City park. The empire grew from that single cart only because his philosophy resonated.

Meyer says the strongest companies run on a virtuous cycle — and it starts with employees.

But it isn't about putting customers or investors last. It's about understanding that engaged, motivated employees create better guest experiences, which drive revenue and, ultimately, stronger returns for investors.

The idea is simple: when you have happier employees, you have happier customers.

And that will drive more revenue, which means more money to reinvest in staff, community, and suppliers and ultimately it all adds up to better returns for investors.

If any link in that chain breaks, he says, the whole system breaks.

When hiring a new employee, Meyer says technical skills matter, but hospitality skills matter a little bit more.

You can teach the skills employees need to do the job, but you can't teach someone how to deliver authentic hospitality that makes customers feel special.

For that reason, Meyer looks for hires with qualities like kindness, optimism, curiosity, empathy, self-awareness, and integrity — traits you don't typically see listed on a résumé.

Meyer has the humility to understand that earning a guest's trust today doesn't guarantee you'll have it tomorrow — which is why he believes that every day offers an opportunity to prove your value.