Bruno ran a twenty-four-seat restaurant with his longtime friend Nora. When they considered adding another service day, Nora and the staff told him they were exhausted. He did not truly listen. He cooked better staff meals, covered more shifts, and kept saying they only had to get through the busy spell. Nora left the partnership, several employees followed, and the restaurant closed for several months.
When it reopened, the menu was shorter and the room held fewer seats. Bruno still wants to act the moment he sees a problem, but now tries to ask whether someone wants a solution or has only just found the nerve to finish speaking. A spare room behind the restaurant remains empty. He hopes to put one long table there for a low-cost weekly supper, this time without building something that can survive only by exhausting him.