We’re familiar with Michelin as an award — revered, feared, and respected in the culinary world. But before it was a badge of honour, it was a book. And before it was a book, it was a strategy.

A Roadmap, Not a Rating

The Michelin Guide was born in 1900 — not in a kitchen, but on a road.

France had fewer than 3,000 cars at the time. The Michelin brothers weren’t just selling tyres; they were selling possibility. So they created a guide to help motorists travel:

• Maps
• Gas stations
• Mechanics
• Hotels
• And yes — restaurants.

What started as a travel utility became, over time, an institution that redefined culinary excellence around the world.

From Guide to Gospel

In 1926, the Guide introduced its first star. One star meant “a very good restaurant.” Two meant “excellent cooking, worth a detour.” Three? “Exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey.”

And to decide who earned these stars, Michelin inspectors — anonymous, disciplined, impeccably trained — began to evaluate based on five criteria:

1. Quality of ingredients.
2. Mastery of flavour and technique.
3. The chef’s personality in the food.
4. Value for money.
5. Consistency — over time and across visits.

These weren’t popularity points. You couldn’t buy your way in. You had to live your craft.

And that’s when something powerful happened:

The Guide stopped being about tyres. It became about standards.

The Beauty of Choosing Excellence

Not every restaurant competes for a Michelin star. Many don’t want the pressure, the expectations, or the shift away from what they were designed to be. And that’s okay.

But Michelin’s existence changed everything.

It introduced a quiet, uncompromising benchmark into an industry that had become noisy, crowded, and trend-driven. It gave chefs a mirror:

Are you in the business of food — or in the practice of craft?

Which brings me to business.

Could We Dare to Introduce a Michelin
Standard to Business?

What if we evaluated not just what businesses earn — but how they earn it? Not just what they do — but who they are in the doing?

Here’s what I’ve been exploring in my own work:

1. Quality of Inputs → Foundation of Zone of Genius

Are you building on true identity — or borrowed trends? Are you and those on your team rooted in your unique motivations, strengths, and truth? Or is it a patchwork of what “works” for others?

2. Mastery of Technique → Design of Systems & Frameworks

Is your business a relay of scattered activities — or is there coherence? Does your work feel practiced, refined, and lived into — or improvised and reactive?

3. Expression of Personality → Your Signature Voice in the Market

• Michelin asks: does the dish express the chef?
• Business asks: do your workflows, words, and offers express you?

4. Value for Money → Depth of Transformation

• Do your clients look back and say, “I got far more than I paid for”?
• Are you selling services — or clarity, confidence, and change?

5. Consistency → Aligned Rhythm Over Time

Do you deliver with excellence once — or repeatedly? Is the experience predictable in its quality, yet personal in its touch?

Why Bring Michelin Into Business?

Because the business world is noisy, crowded, and trend-driven — just like the restaurant world used to be. We reward scale. We worship speed. We confuse visibility for value.

And I think we’re starving.

We need standards that:

• Honour depth over drama.
• Honour alignment over achievement.
• Honour clarity over complexity.

We need to ask:

Am I running a business or curating a craft?

What Would a Michelin-Led Business Environment Look Like?

• Fewer offers. More impact.
• Leaders who are in their Zone of Genius, not their zone of tolerance.
• Businesses that are craft, not chaos.
• Clients who pay for transformation, not transactions.
• A culture where being “star-worthy” doesn’t mean you’re everywhere — it means you’re unmistakable in your excellence.

Not everyone would want to compete.
Not every business needs a Michelin Star.
But the existence of the standard would reshape the field.

Strategic Reflection Prompt

If your business were evaluated tomorrow under a Michelin-type standard — where mastery, identity, and consistency mattered more than growth — how would you score?

And more importantly:

What would need to change to earn your first—and most aligned—Business Michelin Star™?

About Giselle

I’m Giselle Hudson — writer, possibility thinker, musician, Organization & People Development Sensemaker™, and MCODE Legacy Coach. I help leaders and soul-driven professionals decode the deeper patterns shaping their business, work, identities, and results especially when it look like a performance issue but it’s really misalignment in disguise.

If something in your life or business feels off and you can’t quite name it, message me. Sometimes one conversation is all it takes to see what’s really going on.