The Cutting Onions Podcast: Recent Episodes
Bobby Shaw
On the Cutting Onions Podcast, restaurant executives Bobby Shaw and Myles Gift celebrate leaders and organizations that build strong people cultures that develop other leaders.
Bobby and Myles interview leaders who have built amazing cultures in their organizations through developing great leaders who produce amazing results, the right way.
On today's episode of The Cutting Onions Podcast, we are excited to feature our conversation with Jim Varney. Jim is an industrial designer, engineer-minded entrepreneur, sustainability advocate, and co-founder of Wavelength Coffee Roasters. After roughly 25 years in product development and design, he made a significant mid-career pivot into specialty coffee.
Alongside his wife, Deanna, they founded Wavelength in Massachusetts in 2025, officially launching the brand in November of last year.
The most compelling part of Jim's story is not simply that he started a coffee company. It is that he is applying industrial design, technology, systems thinking, and environmental sustainability to an industry still dependent on many traditional processes.
We also spent time discussing the power of storytelling and how that is central to the Wavelength brand. There is a fully integrated message from the roastery to farmers' markets, to the website, to the packaging.
This was such an inspiring conversation, and we can't wait for you to hear it. Check out this episode wherever you consume your podcast content.
On today's episode of The Cutting Onions Podcast, we are excited to feature our conversation with Jim Varney. Jim is an industrial designer, engineer-minded entrepreneur, sustainability advocate, and co-founder of Wavelength Coffee Roasters. After roughly 25 years in product development and design, he made a significant mid-career pivot into specialty coffee. Alongside his wife, Deanna, they founded Wavelength in Massachusetts in 2025, officially launching the brand in November of last year.The most compelling part of Jim's story is not simply that he started a coffee company. It is that he is applying industrial design, technology, systems thinking, and environmental sustainability to an industry still dependent on many traditional processes. He and Deanna really want to show what the future can look like for roasting coffee beans.We also spent time discussing the power of storytelling and how that is central to the Wavelength brand. There is a fully integrated message from the roastery to farmers' markets, to the website, to the packaging.This was such an inspiring conversation, and we can't wait for you to hear it. Check out this episode wherever you consume your podcast content.
On today’s episode of The Cutting Onions Podcast, Myles and I continue to the conversation about the basics of the business and talk about the lost art of restaurant orientations.
This is a basic fundamental of the business that is crucial to having engaged, inspired, and excellent team members.
Here is some of what we talked about in our conversation:
* Technology (LMS, onboarding software) is a useful tool, but cannot replace human conversation, eye contact, and culture transfer
* The industry has drifted toward mistaking the administrative package for a real orientation
* Orientation is the first promise leadership makes to a new team member
* Follow-up orientation is where you prove you meant it
* Culture immersion starts in the interview process and continues through the orientation.
Our challenge to you this week: Talk to your newest team member and ask these powerful questions:
1. Is there anything we could have done differently to improve your onboarding?
2. What was confusing or unclear?
3. Who has helped you the most?
This signals your openness to feedback early. Then pick one thing, fix it, and circle back to let them know you made the change.
As Myles said, the orientation sets the tone for how the rest of the employment experience will go.
Check out this conversation wherever you consume your podcast content!
On today’s episode of The Cutting Onions Podcast, Myles and I continue to the conversation about the basics of the business and talk about the lost art of restaurant orientations.This is a basic fundamental of the business that is crucial to having engaged, inspired, and excellent team members.Here is some of what we talked about in our conversation:* Technology (LMS, onboarding software) is a useful tool, but cannot replace human conversation, eye contact, and culture transfer * The industry has drifted toward mistaking the administrative package for a real orientation * Orientation is the first promise leadership makes to a new team member * Follow-up orientation is where you prove you meant it * Culture immersion starts in the interview process and continues through the orientation.
Our challenge to you this week: Talk to your newest team member and ask these powerful questions:1. Is there anything we could have done differently to make your onboarding better? 2. What was confusing or unclear? 3. Who has helped you the most?
This signals your openness to feedback early. Then, pick one thing and fix it, and circle back to let them know you made the change.As Myles said, the orientation sets the tone for how the rest of the employment experience will go.Check out this conversation wherever you consume your podcast content!
Today on The Cutting Onions Podcast, Myles and I talk about the return of operational discipline.
Here’s what we know:
* Restaurants are entering a season where fundamentals matter more than ever.
* Technology, AI, dashboards, kiosks, loyalty platforms, delivery, and automation are all useful tools, but they do not replace the discipline of running a great shift.
* The winning operators will consistently execute labor, food cost, cleanliness, speed, hospitality, prep, manager presence, opening routines, closing routines, and daily communication.
* Operational discipline is not old-school. It is the foundation that makes growth, hospitality, and technology actually work.
The big question we ask is this…
“Have we accidentally made restaurant leadership too complicated by chasing every new tool, trend, and technology — when what our teams really need first is clarity, standards, and a manager who is present?”
Spoiler Alert: We don’t think so, but this is a good gut check for all leaders to make sure that we stay focused on the fundamentals.
We can use technology as an accelerator to make us more efficient, but nothing will replace the basics. It can support what we do operationally, but it can’t replace what we do as leaders.
All these years later, after leading hundreds of restaurants, we still believe some of the most important leadership lessons are hiding inside those basic routines.
We hope you enjoy this episode! You can listen in wherever you consume your podcast content.
Today on The Cutting Onions Podcast, Myles and I talk about the return of operational discipline. Here’s what we know: * Restaurants are entering a season where fundamentals matter more than ever. * Technology, AI, dashboards, kiosks, loyalty platforms, delivery, and automation are all useful tools, but they do not replace the discipline of running a great shift. * The winning operators will consistently execute labor, food cost, cleanliness, speed, hospitality, prep, manager presence, opening routines, closing routines, and daily communication. * Operational discipline is not old-school. It is the foundation that makes growth, hospitality, and technology actually work.
The big question we ask is this…“Have we accidentally made restaurant leadership too complicated by chasing every new tool, trend, and technology — when what our teams really need first is clarity, standards, and a manager who is present?”Spoiler Alert: We don’t think so, but this is a good gut check for all leaders to make sure that we stay focused on the fundamentals. We can use technology as an accelerator to make us more efficient, but nothing will replace the basics. It can support what we do operationally, but it can’t replace what we do as leaders.All these years later, after leading hundreds of restaurants, we still believe some of the most important leadership lessons are hiding inside those basic routines.We hope you enjoy this episode! You can listen in wherever you consume your podcast content.
Welcome to The Cutting Onions Podcast! On today's episode we are excited to feature our conversation with restaurant executive and author, Jason Brooks.
Jason has an incredible leadership story, which we get into on the podcast and it's equal parts inspiring and tactical. Jason has just written a new book titled "The Simplicity of Leadership" and it is fantastic.
The Simplicity of Leadership is built around one core premise: Complexity kills. Simplicity scales.
Jason’s message is that leadership does not have to be heavy, over-engineered, or buried under frameworks, meetings, reports, and corporate language. The work of a leader is to simplify the noise so people can focus, grow, communicate clearly, feel valued, own accountability, and build something that lasts. He frames the book around four leadership lanes: mindset, people, accountability, and legacy.
Jason opens by grounding the book in his own hospitality journey, from server to executive leadership with Outback/Bloomin’ Brands, eventually overseeing 150 locations and nearly 10,000 hourly team members. His credibility comes from lived operational experience, not theory.
The book is written as a practical playbook for leaders who want better results by subtracting the unnecessary rather than constantly adding more.
Please check out Jason's website to learn more about what Jason is up to and connect with him on LinkedIn to follow along with the insights, industry updates, and lessons from the hospitality industry.
Welcome to The Cutting Onions Podcast! On today's episode we are excited to feature our conversation with restaurant executive and author, Jason Brooks.Jason has an incredible leadership story, which we get into on the podcast and it's equal parts inspiring and tactical. Jason has just written a new book titled "The Simplicity of Leadership" and it is fantastic.The Simplicity of Leadership is built around one core premise:Complexity kills. Simplicity scales.Jason’s message is that leadership does not have to be heavy, over-engineered, or buried under frameworks, meetings, reports, and corporate language. The work of a leader is to simplify the noise so people can focus, grow, communicate clearly, feel valued, own accountability, and build something that lasts. He frames the book around four leadership lanes: mindset, people, accountability, and legacy. Jason opens by grounding the book in his own hospitality journey, from server to executive leadership with Outback/Bloomin’ Brands, eventually overseeing 150 locations and nearly 10,000 hourly team members. His credibility comes from lived operational experience, not theory. The book is written as a practical playbook for leaders who want better results by subtracting the unnecessary rather than constantly adding more.Please check out Jason's website to learn more about what Jason is up to and connect with him on LinkedIn to follow along with the insights, industry updates, and lessons from the hospitality industry.
Welcome back to The Cutting Onions Podcast.
In today’s episode, we’re talking about Gratitude and Grit: The Two Engines of Leadership.
Because leadership is not just about pushing harder, and it’s not just about staying positive. It takes both. Gratitude keeps us grounded, humble, and connected to the people around us. Grit keeps us moving when the work gets hard, the pressure builds, and the outcome is not guaranteed.
The best leaders learn how to carry both.
Gratitude reminds us of what matters. Grit reminds us to keep going. And when leaders bring those two together, they create the kind of culture people want to be part of.
So this week, ask yourself: Where do I need more gratitude? And where do I need more grit?
Welcome back to The Cutting Onions Podcast.In today’s episode, we’re talking about Gratitude and Grit: The Two Engines of Leadership.Because leadership is not just about pushing harder, and it’s not just about staying positive. It takes both. Gratitude keeps us grounded, humble, and connected to the people around us. Grit keeps us moving when the work gets hard, the pressure builds, and the outcome is not guaranteed.The best leaders learn how to carry both.Gratitude reminds us of what matters. Grit reminds us to keep going. And when leaders bring those two together, they create the kind of culture people want to be part of.So this week, ask yourself: Where do I need more gratitude? And where do I need more grit?
Today on The Cutting Onions Podcast, Myles and I discuss two principles from Jim Collins’ excellent book, Great By Choice, published in 2012. Jim has a new book coming out on April 7th titled What To Make of A Life, and we can’t wait to get our hands on it! In today’s conversation, we discussed firing bullets before cannonballs and the 20-mile march.
Bullets Before Cannonballs:
Imagine two ships trying to hit an enemy target. One captain loads the cannon immediately and fires a massive cannonball. Huge risk. Huge cost. Huge commitment. But the other captain takes a different approach. He fires a bullet first. A small test shot. Then another. And another. And when those bullets start hitting the target… Then he loads the cannon and fires the cannonball. Jim Collins defines a bullet like this: ‘A bullet is a low-cost, low-risk, low-distraction experiment.’
In the context of the restaurant/hospitality industry, it looks like running pilots (not systemwide rollouts without testing), and then gathering data and feedback. Those are bullets.
Then they scaled it and fired the cannonball. The 20-mile march story Jim Collins touches on is fascinating.
He tells the story of two explorers racing to the South Pole: Roald Amundsen and Robert Falcon Scott. Amundsen approached the expedition with incredible discipline.
He committed to marching 20 miles every single day.
* If the weather was beautiful, they marched 20 miles.
* If the weather was brutal, they marched 20 miles.
* No heroics. No overextending.*
Just disciplined progress.
Scott’s team took the opposite approach.
When conditions were good, they pushed themselves to exhaustion.
* When conditions were bad, they stopped.
* And that lack of consistency ultimately cost them the race—and tragically, their lives.*
So what does this have to do with leadership? Great leaders combine two things:
1. They fire bullets before cannonballs.
2. And they march 20 miles every day.
They test ideas before committing huge resources. And they build disciplined, consistent progress over time.
That combination—experimentation and discipline—is what allows organizations to win over the long haul.
Are you firing cannonballs before you know where the target is?
Or are you firing bullets… learning… adjusting… and then committing your resources? And once you find the target…
Are you marching 20 miles every single day?
Because great leadership isn’t about heroic bursts of activity.
It’s about disciplined progress and smart experimentation.
Today on The Cutting Onions Podcast, Myles and I discuss two principles from Jim Collins’ excellent book, Great By Choice, published in 2012. Jim has a new book coming out on April 7th titled What To Make of A Life, and we can’t wait to get our hands on it!In today’s conversation, we discussed firing bullets before cannonballs and the 20-mile march.
Bullets Before Cannonballs:
Imagine two ships trying to hit an enemy target.One captain loads the cannon immediately and fires a massive cannonball.Huge risk. Huge cost. Huge commitment.But the other captain takes a different approach.He fires a bullet first.A small test shot.Then another.And another. And when those bullets start hitting the target… Then he loads the cannon and fires the cannonball.Jim Collins defines a bullet like this:‘A bullet is a low-cost, low-risk, low-distraction experiment.’
In the context of the restaurant/hospitality industry, it looks like running pilots (not systemwide rollouts without testing), and then gathering data and feedback. Those are bullets.
Then they scaled it and fired the cannonball.The 20-mile march story Jim Collins touches on is fascinating. He tells the story of two explorers racing to the South Pole: Roald Amundsen and Robert Falcon Scott.Amundsen approached the expedition with incredible discipline.
* He committed to marching 20 miles every single day.
* If the weather was beautiful, they marched 20 miles.
* If the weather was brutal, they marched 20 miles.
* No heroics. No overextending.
Just disciplined progress.
Scott’s team took the opposite approach. * When conditions were good, they pushed themselves to exhaustion.
* When conditions were bad, they stopped.
* And that lack of consistency ultimately cost them the race—and tragically, their lives.
So what does this have to do with leadership?Great leaders combine two things:
1. They fire bullets before cannonballs.
2. And they march 20 miles every day.
They test ideas before committing huge resources.And they build disciplined, consistent progress over time.That combination—experimentation and discipline—is what allows organizations to win over the long haul. Are you firing cannonballs before you know where the target is?Or are you firing bullets… learning… adjusting… and then committing your resources?And once you find the target…Are you marching 20 miles every single day?
Because great leadership isn’t about heroic bursts of activity.
It’s about disciplined progress and smart experimentation.
Welcome to The Cutting Onions Podcast. This is episode 106, and in today’s conversation, we're talking about the power of storytelling in hospitality and in life. Alongside my co-host, as always, Myles Gift, we’re really excited about this conversation. We believe storytelling has become a really important part of the work we do in the restaurant and hospitality industry, but you see its importance everywhere in every industry across every platform.
This week, there has been a lot of energy around storytelling coming from some of the major burger brands out there and their new sandwiches, so that's part of this, but certainly not the full weight of it. This conversation is really on the power of storytelling and why it matters in hospitality.
We talk about the three stories that every hospitality brand is telling:
1. They're telling the story of the guest
2. They're telling the story of their team.
3. They're telling the story of their leadership.
We’re very excited about this conversation. We hope you enjoy it as you immerse yourself in it and really think through the way that you're telling your story and the way that your brand is telling their story and using storytelling as a leadership tool.
And finally, this last week, one of our childhood heroes, Harrison Ford, gave an acceptance speech at the Screen Actors Guild Awards that was a master class in why storytelling matters. We’ve posted about that a few times this week. If you haven’t seen it, we encourage you to watch it.
This quote from Harrison Ford sums up the power of storytelling beautifully: "The stories we tell have a unique capacity to create moments of emotional connection."
And isn’t that what we’re all here to do?
We would love to hear from you on how you use storytelling in your brand to elevate your organization, your teams, and how you are impacting your communities.
Thanks again today for joining us. We're really happy to have you here, and we'll see you on the other side.
Welcome to The Cutting Onions Podcast. This is episode 106, and today’s conversation we're talking about the power of storytelling in hospitality and in life. Alongside my co-host, as always, Myles Gift, we’re really excited about this conversation. We believe storytelling has become a really important part of the work we do in the restaurant and hospitality industry, but you see its importance everywhere in every industry across every platform. This week, there has been a lot of energy around storytelling coming from some of the major burger brands out there and their new sandwiches so that's part of this, but certainly not the full weight of it. This conversation is really on the power of storytelling and why it matters in hospitality. We talk about the three stories that every hospitality brand is telling: 1. They're telling the story of the guest 2. They're telling the story of their team. 3. They're telling the story of their leadership.
We’re very excited about this conversation. We hope you enjoy it as you immerse yourself in it and really think through the way that you're telling your story and the way that your brand is telling their story and using storytelling as a leadership tool. And finally, this last week, one of our childhood heroes, Harrison Ford, gave an acceptance speech at the Screen Actors Guild Awards that was a master class in why storytelling matters. We’ve posted about that a few times this week. If you haven’t seen it, we encourage you to watch it. This quote from Harrison Ford sums it up beautifully: "The stories we tell have a unique capacity to create moments of emotional connection." And isn’t that what we're all here to do?Thanks again today for joining us. We're really happy to have you here, and we'll see you on the other side.
Today on The Cutting Onions Podcast, Bobby and Myles talk about the Four Leadership Needs of every follower in every organization.
Gallup recently studied people across 52 countries and found something powerful: No matter where you live, no matter the industry, the people you lead have four core leadership needs. Hope. Trust. Compassion. Stability.
Of all four, hope is the most essential. Hope isn’t wishful thinking. Hope is a leader helping people see a better future and their place in it. Gallup’s data shows that when leaders inspire hope, thriving increases and suffering decreases. That’s not squishy leadership. That’s real impact.
But hope alone isn’t enough. Trust means people believe your words and your actions align. Compassion means people feel seen, heard, and cared for, not managed. Stability means that even in uncertainty, your leadership provides clarity and psychological safety.
Every day, our teams are asking four quiet questions:
1. Can I believe in where we’re going?
2. Can I trust you?
3. Do you care about me?
4. And am I safe here?
Great leaders don’t guess at those answers. We hope you enjoy this episode!
Today on The Cutting Onions Podcast, Bobby and Myles talk about the Four Leadership Needs of every follower in every organization. Gallup recently studied people across 52 countries and found something powerful: No matter where you live, no matter the industry, the people you lead have four core leadership needs.Hope. Trust. Compassion. Stability.Of all four, hope is the most essential. Hope isn’t wishful thinking. Hope is a leader helping people see a better future and their place in it.Gallup’s data shows that when leaders inspire hope, thriving increases and suffering decreases.That’s not squishy leadership. That’s real impact. But hope alone isn’t enough.Trust means people believe your words and your actions align. Compassion means people feel seen, heard, and cared for, not managed. Stability means that even in uncertainty, your leadership provides clarity and psychological safety. Every day, our teams are asking four quiet questions:- Can I believe in where we’re going?- Can I trust you?- Do you care about me?- And am I safe here?
Great leaders don’t guess at those answers.
We hope you enjoy this episode!
Today we are excited to host Joshua Sims Sr.on The Cutting Onions Podcast.
Joshua is an entrepreneur and marketing executive, and the Founder of The Fossil Group, an omni-channel, digital, and data-forward marketing agency focused on driving digital sales for franchisees, emerging brands, and founders.
His background includes serving as Head of Marketing at Big Chicken, Senior Manager of Media & Advertising (Digital) at Bojangles, and Co-Founder and Chief Marketing Officer of Family Life Brands.
Joshua is also a restaurateur and has a new deli getting ready to open in North Carolina. As you’ll hear in this conversation, entrepreneurship runs in Joshua’s family, and it is in his DNA.
He also resurrected his marketing agency as well because he saw a need to help small businesses and give them the tools to scale their organizations.
Joshua has a unique way of connecting to Operations and building that bridge where Marketing and Operations work closely together to accomplish the KPI’s to drive the business.
A graduate and former football athlete at North Carolina Central University. Joshua’s passion for HBCUs, sports, and culture led him to co-found The HBCUNightly Network, a media platform dedicated to elevating HBCU athletics and stories.
His proudest accomplishment is being a devoted husband to his beautiful wife and a father to their four great children.
We know you will enjoy this inspiring conversation with Joshua Sims! See you on the other side.
Today we are excited to host Joshua Sims Sr.on The Cutting Onions Podcast.
Joshua is an entrepreneur and marketing executive, and the Founder of The Fossil Group, an omni-channel, digital, and data-forward marketing agency focused on driving digital sales for franchisees, emerging brands, and founders.
His background includes serving as Head of Marketing at Big Chicken, Senior Manager of Media & Advertising (Digital) at Bojangles, and Co-Founder and Chief Marketing Officer of Family Life Brands.
Joshua is also a restaurateur and has a new deli getting ready to open in North Carolina. As you’ll hear in this conversation, entrepreneurship runs in Joshua’s family, and it is in his DNA.
He also resurrected his marketing agency as well because he saw a need to help small businesses and give them the tools to scale their organizations.
Joshua has a unique way of connecting to Operations and building that bridge where Marketing and Operations work closely together to accomplish the KPI’s to drive the business.
A graduate and former football athlete at North Carolina Central University. Joshua’s passion for HBCUs, sports, and culture led him to co-found The HBCUNightly Network, a media platform dedicated to elevating HBCU athletics and stories.
His proudest accomplishment is being a devoted husband to his beautiful wife and a father to their four great children.
We know you will enjoy this inspiring conversation with Joshua Sims! See you on the other side.
On today's episode of The Cutting Onions Podcast, Myles and I tackle a quote from leadership author and expert Jim Collins. His quote, "If I were running a company today, I would have one priority above all others: to acquire as many of the best people as I could."
Naturally, that resonates with us big time, and we discuss the importance of acquiring the best people. We also explore what it looks like when we don't have those people on our team.
In this conversation, we take a stab at defining what “best people” means, contrast the people priorities with strategy/systems, outline retention essentials, and offer actionable steps for leaders to get this ultimate priority right.
We believe you will find this episode helpful, challenging, and hopefully thought-provoking.
Enjoy The Cutting Onions Podcast wherever you consume your podcast content!
On today's episode of The Cutting Onions Podcast, Myles and I tackle a quote from leadership author and expert Jim Collins. His quote, "If I were running a company today, I would have one priority above all others: to acquire as many of the best people as I could."
Naturally, that resonates with us big time, and we discuss the importance of acquiring the best people. We also explore what it looks like when we don't have those people on our team.
In this conversation, we take a stab at defining what “best people” means, contrast the people priorities with strategy/systems, outline retention essentials, and offer actionable steps for leaders to get this ultimate priority right.
We believe you will find this episode helpful, challenging, and hopefully thought-provoking.
Enjoy The Cutting Onions Podcast wherever you consume your podcast content!
On today's episode of The Cutting Onions Podcast, Myles and I tackle the subject of building trust in new teams. Both he and I have recently taken on new roles, and we have new teams, so we wanted to spend some time unpacking this important topic.
As we, and you, our listeners, approach the end of 2025, we know many of you are taking on new roles and working with new teams as well. We thought this would be a helpful topic to discuss and share with all of you.
We highlight some best practices that have helped us navigate the change curve, and we hope these tips help you in your journey.
Remember to tell your story. Connect with your team. Create conversations. Be honest and transparent.
Enjoy this episode wherever you consume your podcast content.
On today's episode of The Cutting Onions Podcast, Myles and I tackle the subject of building trust in new teams. Both he and I have recently taken on new roles and we have new teams.As we, and you, our listeners, end 2025 we know many of you are taking on new roles and working with new teams as well, so we thought this would be a helpful topic to unpack.We highlight some best practices that have helped us navigate the change curve and we hope it helps you in your journey.Thanks so much! Enjoy!
Today we are excited to feature our conversation with Jacob Hicks. Jacob is a coach, keynote speaker, and sales expert with over a decade of experience helping individuals and businesses unlock lasting success.He delivers practical insights and actionable strategies that your listeners can immediately apply in their lives and careers. Whether it’s building stronger follow-up systems, overcoming challenges with a mindset-driven approach, or implementing sustainable habits for success, Jacob shares engaging stories and proven methods that resonate with audiences across industries.Some of the amazing topics we got to chat with Jacob about are:📌 Fearless Selling: Transforming Rejection into Opportunity📌 Mindset Shifts for Sales Success: Overcoming Fear and Self-Doubt📌 From Chaos to Clarity: Implementing Systems for Sustainable Growth📌 The Art of the Follow-Up: How to Build Lasting Client Relationships📌 Fearless Selling: How to Run Toward Rejection and Turn It Into SuccessWe know you'll enjoy this conversation! Don't forget to visit Jacob at his website at https://jacobhickscoach.com/ to learn more and you can also download his Entrepreneur’s Sales Toolkit here.
Today, this little podcast is turning 100 episodes old! Thank you all for your support of Cutting Onions over the years. From our little corner of the interweb, we do our best to highlight leaders across all industries who have built amazing people cultures that have fueled organizational success.We have been so honored to have amazing thought leaders on our podcast who have been so gracious in sharing what they have learned over the years in building companies, scaling culture, and telling the brand story.On our 100th episode of The Cutting Onions Podcast, we highlight Myles Gift's new role and the impact he has had in the industry over the years. It has been an honor to have Myles next to me on this podcast for the last 4 years.We also highlight my announcement that dropped this week about my next move, which is why we took so long to drop this episode.Culture matters, friends. Don't ever forget that.
Today, this little podcast is turning 100 episodes old! Thank you all for your support of Cutting Onions over the years. From our little corner of the interweb, we do our best to highlight leaders across all industries who have built amazing people cultures that have fueled organizational success.
We have been so honored to have amazing thought leaders on our podcast who have been so gracious in sharing what they have learned over the years in building companies, scaling culture, and telling the brand story.
On our 100th episode of The Cutting Onions Podcast, we highlight Myles Gift's new role and the impact he has had in the industry over the years. It has been an honor to have Myles next to me on this podcast for the last 4 years.
We also highlight my announcement that dropped this week about my next move, which is why we took so long to drop this episode.
Culture matters, friends. Don't ever forget that.
Enjoy this episode!
On today's episode, Episode 99, we’re talking about something rarely celebrated but always essential: consistency, especially when it’s hard. Especially when you’re in the fire.We all know what the fire is: • Pressure. • Repetition. • Crises. • Cultural fatigue. • Emotional burnout. Today, we share stories and ideas that can help us be more consistent as leaders to be the leaders our teams need.
Call to Action:Where are you tempted to tap out when you need to lean in?What would it look like to stay in the fire this week?
Call to Reflection: What’s one consistent behavior you can recommit to?
In today's episode of The Cutting Onions Podcast, we take a look at Texas Roadhouse and their innovative Managing Partner program and how it fuels their results. We also look at the difference between a traditional GM role and a Managing Partner, and how Texas Roadhouse has built its company on this foundation.Congratulations to Texas Roadhouse on being named the #1 Casual Dining restaurant in the United States.Behind the Numbers: ▪ Each Texas Roadhouse averages 5,000 guests a week, which is one of the highest in the industry. ▪ They serve 300,000 meals per day. ▪ The average Texas Roadhouse is 6,700 - 7,500 square feet and seats 291 guests. ▪ Ice-cold draft beer is served at 36-degrees Fahrenheit. ▪ They offer 15 varieties of Legendary Margaritas. ▪ The #1 seller is the 6-ounce USDA Choice Sirloin. ▪ Steaks account for 44% of the menu. #CuttingOnions #Leadership #Growth #PeopleDevelopment #Managing Partner #TexasRoadhouse #MylesGift #BobbyShaw
In the latest episode of the "Cutting Onions Podcast," Myles and I are excited to present this conversation with William Espey, the brand voice of Chipotle Mexican Grill for almost two decades. In this conversation, William discusses his early journey with Chipotle, detailing how he transitioned from a non-marketing background to pioneering the brand's creative strategies despite a limited budget and how "The Genius of Naiveté" truly fueled the creativity around the brand.As the company’s “brand voice” for nearly two decades, William played a crucial role in cultivating Chipotle’s growth from its early entrepreneurial roots to the multi-billion dollar powerhouse it became in the U.S. and Europe. William has since continued his career in brand strategy, expression, and development, expanding his influence on the branding landscape as a speaker and consultant—with a consistent focus on how to build authentic brands rooted in organizational core values, no matter the industry or the audience.
Today on The Cutting Onions Podcast, Don Champion, Senior Vice President of Sales and Development for Penn Station East Coast Subs joins us. Penn Station has 322 restaurants across 14 states. Don is a seasoned leader in franchising with decades of experience. As a former franchise owner, he brings a unique perspective on developing franchisees through strong relationships and strategic guidance.Don also believes in the power of culture and the positive impact it can have on the results of an organization, which of course makes us super happy! Culture is one of the big reasons that Don joined Penn Station East Coast Subs.They also have an unbelievable offer for new franchisees who join Penn Station. 6 months royalty-free and 50% off the franchisee fee.Don also talks about 4 critical principles that organizations need to embody:* Partnership * Passion * Trust * Continuous Improvement
One great lesson Don shared with us, and was a good reminder. Don’t think you have to have all the answers.#culture #cuttingonions #leadership #PennStationEastCoastSubs #DonChampion #leadership #leadershipdevelopment #mylesgift #bobbyshaw
Welcome to Episode 95 of The Cutting Onions Podcast. On today's episode, we speak with CEO Kristen Pechacek.
Kristen is the President and CEO of MassageLuXe, a franchise surpassing 100 units in 2024. She was recently named as one the Top 50 Game-Changing CMOs in 2023 by Entrepreneur Magazine and Top 50 Era Defining Women to Watch in 2023 by Global Franchise.
Prior to MassageLuXe, Kristen was with Self Esteem Brands as a leader in franchise and consumer marketing for over 5,000 global locations. She has also held roles in the NFL with the Minnesota Vikings and as an adjunct professor of marketing at University of Wisconsin River Falls.
Enjoy our conversation with Kristen and please share it with your network!
Welcome to The Cutting Onions Podcast! This is Episode 94 and Myles and I are excited to feature our conversation with Ingrid Schneider, the founder and CEO of Stay In Your Lane and Train In Your Lane. These two businesses are helping teams in many diverse industries bolster their teams for their next phase of growth.
Ingrid embodies entrepreneurial resilience and bold leadership. Born with a "just get it done" mindset, likely inherited from her serial entrepreneur father, Ingrid's business journey began early. Growing up in her father's Colorado waterbed stores, she was closing sales by age four, rubbing shoulders with Broncos players, and absorbing the entrepreneurial hustle.
Ingrid's entry into franchising led her to create Stay In Your Lane, a company dedicated to transforming good brands into CULT brands by pushing boundaries and fostering a collaborative team environment.
Recognizing the need for modern business solutions, Ingrid founded Train In Your Lane to offer human-based training integrated with AI solutions, gathering exceptional talent to make AI accessible and practical for business professionals. Train In Your Lane helps ordinary people do extraordinary things with AI. We talked for quite some time about some of the tools out there and how they can be harnessed to help businesses create amazing content, and how underutilized these tools are.
Known for her unapologetically bold leadership style, Ingrid champions the idea that women should be free to embrace their natural expressions without judgment. She believes in breaking glass ceilings and being an advocate, builder, creator, expert, and changemaker.
Under Ingrid's leadership, Stay In Your Lane and Train In Your Lane continue to thrive, helping businesses evolve and impacting business innovation.
We learned so much from Ingrid in this episode and are excited to share this conversation with you! Enjoy! #stayinyourlane #traininyourlane #ingridschneider #training #empathy #leadership #cuttingonions #mylesgift #bobbyshaw
For more than 20 years, Jim Taylor has both helped to fuel the growth of a leading national restaurant brand, as well as consulted with hundreds of other restaurants to navigate the ever changing restaurant industry.
Jim recently launched his first book, “Bold Operations - Building the Foundation of Strategic Excellence in Restaurants.” He is also Founder and CEO of Benchmark Sixty Restaurant Services, and has worked alongside small, medium and large restaurant companies in North America and the UK in order to help them better understand their business model, help them to optimize productivity in their business, and to turn data in to profit. Jim is working to change the way that restaurants look at and measure things like employee workload and productivity in order to improve the hospitality industry, it’s margins and retention rates. His encouragement for leaders to “see things differently” has been instrumental in the strategy and execution of several successful businesses.
Everything comes back to people for Jim, and he believes that our industry needs to stick together in order to survive. Through his work with strategic partners, as well as a growing team of consultants his goal is to make the restaurant industry a strongly desired place for people to continue to find both their first job, and their dream job.
Jim is confident that there is a new way forward for the industry, and is on a mission to improve the career experience for the next generation of hospitality professionals. He believes that there are more simple ways to look at the business model, and that by looking through a new lens, industry leaders will be able to more easily attract and retain people, while also making the financial side of the business less stressful.
For more than 20 years, Jim Taylor has both helped to fuel the growth of a leading national restaurant brand, as well as consulted with hundreds of other restaurants to navigate the ever changing restaurant industry.
Jim recently launched his first book, “Bold Operations - Building the Foundation of Strategic Excellence in Restaurants.” He is also Founder and CEO of Benchmark Sixty Restaurant Services, and has worked alongside small, medium and large restaurant companies in North America and the UK in order to help them better understand their business model, help them to optimize productivity in their business, and to turn data in to profit. Jim is working to change the way that restaurants look at and measure things like employee workload and productivity in order to improve the hospitality industry, it’s margins and retention rates. His encouragement for leaders to “see things differently” has been instrumental in the strategy and execution of several successful businesses.
Everything comes back to people for Jim, and he believes that our industry needs to stick together in order to survive. Through his work with strategic partners, as well as a growing team of consultants his goal is to make the restaurant industry a strongly desired place for people to continue to find both their first job, and their dream job.
Jim is confident that there is a new way forward for the industry, and is on a mission to improve the career experience for the next generation of hospitality professionals. He believes that there are more simple ways to look at the business model, and that by looking through a new lens, industry leaders will be able to more easily attract and retain people, while also making the financial side of the business less stressful.
Bennett Maxwell is a multifaceted entrepreneur renowned for his innovative approach to business and commitment to enhancing the entrepreneurial landscape. He is currently the driving force behind Dirty Dough Cookies, a fast-growing national cookie brand with over 80 stores open and dozens more set to launch this year. Maxwell’s career spans diverse industries, from real estate in Utah to co-founding and successfully selling Switch to Solar. In addition to his entrepreneurial ventures, he is a sought-after speaker who regularly shares insights with the media. Bennett also hosts the Deeper Than Dough podcast, launched in 2023, where he explores finding joy and fulfillment in life through entrepreneurship and beyond.
Welcome to The Cutting Onions Podcast. On today’s episode Myles and I welcome Paul Tran back to the podcast for another great conversation around franchising in the restaurant industry. Paul is a great friend to the podcast and we are excited to host him once again.
Paul is a serial entrepreneur and has quite a list of accomplishments he has achieved over the years including:
1. Co-founded his first restaurant in 2005, and was acquired in 2008.
2. Became the largest franchisee of The Halal Guys (with 9 stores in Southern California and $15 million in annual revenue), and was acquired in 2023.
3. Sold over 1,000 franchises
4. Jumpstarted the franchise program for a brand that ended up going public
5. Scaled restaurants in over 15 countries
6. Helped a one-unit mom-and-pop business get acquired by a public company; and
7. Enabled companies become more profitable and enjoyable
Today, he: 1. Consults emerging restaurant chains on growth; 2. Invests in construction, data, business services, and other food startups. 3. Hosts a YouTube and podcast channel called the Unfocused Show 4. Posts memes (and sometimes helpful insights) on LinkedIn and 𝕏 (formerly Twitter)
Paul is currently helping Pepper Lunch grow across the country, and am a multiunit franchisee himself - and building stores in Southern California.
Pepper Lunch is the original DIY Teppanyaki restaurant and aspires to turn ordinary meals into extraordinary experiences by empowering their guests to experience the joy of crafting their unique culinary journeys.
Through a blend of tradition and innovation, Pepper Lunch aims to offer a dining escapade that's as delightful to the senses as it is to the soul, while fostering a community united by the love of flavors.
Enjoy this conversation with Paul Tran! #cuttingonions #pepperlunch #culture #mylesgift #paultran #leadership #franchising #bobbyshaw
Today on The Cutting Onions Podcast we are honored to feature our conversation with Certified Coach and Marketing Expert Jessica Harrison. Jessica is a certified Executive Coach (ICF-ACC) and consultant focusing on coaching others to find greater balance, navigate transitions and leverage their unique talents. She studied leadership coaching at Brown University's School of Professional Studies. She is also one of my favorite humans on the planet! Before coaching and consulting, she spent over 12 years in marketing leadership roles with Chipotle (where she and I met) in field marketing, promotions and roll-outs where she was part of the journey with the brand from unknown start-up to household name. Previous brands supported include Red Bull, New Line Cinema, Old Navy and De Beers. Jessica started Ivy & Scout in 2017, and offers executive, career and college exploration coaching along with strategic marketing consulting for start-ups, consumer product companies, hospitality companies and individuals. Past and current clients supported include Randy’s Donuts, Equip, Steel Series, Yogurtland, LEAP, Noodles & Company, Blaze Pizza, Time Timer, and McCormick & Schmick’s. We know you are going to love this conversation! Enjoy it wherever you consume your podcast content! #jessicaharrison #ivyandscout #chipotle #localstoremarketing #lsm #marketing #grassroots #burritos #stpatricksdayparade #california #kansascity
Today on The Cutting Onions Podcast we are honored to feature our conversation with Certified Coach and Marketing Expert Jessica Harrison.
Jessica is a certified Executive Coach (ICF-ACC) and consultant focusing on coaching others to find greater balance, navigate transitions and leverage their unique talents. She studied leadership coaching at Brown University's School of Professional Studies. She is also one of my favorite humans on the planet!
Before coaching and consulting, she spent over 12 years in marketing leadership roles with Chipotle (where she and I met) in field marketing, promotions and roll-outs where she was part of the journey with the brand from unknown start-up to household name. Previous brands supported include Red Bull, New Line Cinema, Old Navy and De Beers.
Jessica started Ivy & Scout in 2017, and offers executive, career and college exploration coaching along with strategic marketing consulting for start-ups, consumer product companies, hospitality companies and individuals. Past and current clients supported include Randy’s Donuts, Equip, Steel Series, Yogurtland, LEAP, Noodles & Company, Blaze Pizza, Time Timer, and McCormick & Schmick’s.
We know you are going to love this conversation! Enjoy it wherever you consume your podcast content! #jessicaharrison #ivyandscout #chipotle #localstoremarketing #lsm #marketing #grassroots #burritos #stpatricksdayparade #california #kansascity
On this episode of The Cutting Onions Podcast, we dive into a captivating conversation with Christine Schindler, CEO and Co-Founder of PathSpot. A Duke-alum and Biomedical Engineer, Christine's innovative approach has revolutionized health and safety in the restaurant industry through PathSpot’s HandScanner technology, protecting 1.7 million meals last year alone and boosting handwashing frequency by up to 80% in partner locations.
Under Christine's guidance, PathSpot has forged partnerships globally, ensuring employee and customer safety while enhancing profitability. Beyond her impactful work at PathSpot, she mentors young entrepreneurs with the Clinton Global Initiative and advocates for female empowerment through initiatives like Aunt Flow and Girls Engineering Change.
Christine's contributions have not gone unnoticed, earning her accolades such as Forbes 30 Under 30 and Time Magazine Top Inventions. Her commitment to advancing STEAM fields and creating a safer, more efficient industry exemplifies her dedication to making a difference. Congratulations to Christine on being named a Rising Star in Hospitality Technology Magazine's 2023 Top Women in Restaurant Technology Awards. #WomenInTech #Innovation #Leadership #CuttingOnions #ChristineSchindler #Pathspot #Culture #BobbyShaw #MylesGift
On today's episode of The Cutting Onions Podcast, we talk to entrepreneur and founder, Kevin Cochran for an inspiring conversation on the restaurant industry, technology in restaurants, and his new concept, Jackie Mays Burger.
After ten years of working in restaurants at the beginning of his career, and as the first GM and on the startup team of Freebirds World Burrito, Kevin then gave up the food business over two decades ago for the high-tech world, and worked most recently in clean technology.
Kevin made his return to the restaurant industry in 2020 as founder of Jackie Mays Burger, a 100% plant-based, fast-food franchise concept for consumers desiring healthier and sustainable choices on the go.
In his previous role as Chief Operations Officer for an emerging energy management company, Kevin led programs to track energy and carbon footprints for organizations like HP, Tesla, and the City of Sacramento. Trained in the US and Europe with an MBA and a certification in Sustainability, Kevin also served as a Director on the Board of the Sustainability Management Association for four years until 2021.
You can follow Kevin on his BLOG at www.SustainabilityX.com and on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevincochran
Jen is currently a Senior Funding Consultant at Benetrends financial. Jen was the proud CEO, President and CF of My House Fitness Franchise.
In 2004 after the birth of her first child, Jennifer put her lifelong passion for fitness to the test and began her position as Group Fitness Coordinator for LA Fitness in Florida.
Success at LA and her desire to correct what she saw was wrong with the large fitness chains lead her to open up her own community-based Fitness studio. With the help of her husband, in August of 2010 her dreams became a reality. And the first My House Fitness Studio opened!
The success of the studio was so fast and wonderful that she and her husband decided to expand. They opened My House Fitness Franchise Inc in the fall of 2011. They expanded to 2 corporate and 29 franchise locations in 10 states in a few short years.
Jen has spent her professional career as a franchisor and is an avid proponent of entrepreneurship today. She wants to share her experience and passion for franchising with you.
As a wife and a busy mom of 3 she understands the kind of quality life business ownership brings. If you are passionate and excited about starting a business or expanding into franchising and are looking for funding options, she can help bring your vision to life!
Today we welcome Justin Lindsey to The Cutting OnionsPodcast. Justin has been a Chick-fil-A Owner/Operator for nearly 14 years. He is currently the Owner/Operator of Chick-fil-A Kendall located in Miami, Florida. Chick-fil-A Kendall is one of the Top 5 busiest restaurants in the entire Chick-fil-A chain, out of nearly 3,000 total restaurants.
Justin employs a staff of over 160 team members & 17 leaders. Justin is an innovator at heart. He lives by a personal mission of “leading with generosity.” That mission was at the center of Justin creating a first-of-its kind 3 Day Workweek for full time team members & leaders in his business.
This 3 Day Workweek has been featured in media interviews& news publications all around the country. It was even featured in international news markets for its revolutionary approach to restaurant scheduling. The 3 Day Workweek has positively transformed Justin’s business & granted his team the precious gift of time. Team members have more time available to focus on school, take care of children, & travel.
Of all the benefits that can be offered to team members,there are few as impactful as a 3 Day Workweek. Justin has helped many other Chick-fil-A locations & even businesses in other industries (i.e.: Casinos, Full-Service Restaurants, & Hotels) to implement 3 Day Workweeks.
A 3 Day Workweek can be executed in nearly any environment utilizing Justin’s approach to scheduling. To assist in the implementation of a 3 Day Workweek, Justin has collaborated in the development of a mobile appcalled Shift Fish that can be found on the Apple App Store & Google Play. It provides the flexibility & framework necessary to successfully roll out a 3 Day Workweek.
This was an absolutely incredible conversation, and wecannot wait for you to hear it!
David DeSantis is a well-known name in the pizza industry. With 27 years of experience in the restaurant business, he has created six successful brands and owned 17 restaurants. However, his latest venture sets him apart from others in the industry: the creation of a cutting-edge supplier relationship management platform.
David’s passion for the restaurant business started at a young age. He grew up in a family of food lovers and learned the art of cooking from his grandmother. At eight years old, his family introduced Dunkin Donuts to Atlanta, and David was frying donuts by the age of ten.
David was a Domino’s Pizza delivery driver at sixteen and was managing the location by eighteen.
David and his brother Richard started their first pizza restaurant in Atlanta during the Olympics in 1996, and while operating what became a four-unit chain, David achieved his Executive Master’s in Business Administration from Kennesaw State University. David subsequently started the brands Peace Love & Pizza, The Jammin Pie, Bulldawg Pizza & Wings, Bring the Smoke BBQ and others.
After becoming a successful restaurateur, David realized there was a market gap when it came to managing relationships with suppliers. He needed an efficient way for restaurants to communicate with their suppliers, quickly manage inventory, automate price changes, consider rebates, bring transparency to contract negotiation, and audit supply chain contracts. This led to him starting Wook.ai.
But at the end of the day, Dave is an operator with a heart for helping other entrepreneurs be able to manage their business with transparency and real time data.
We think you will enjoy this episode very much. Here we go!
On today's episode of The Cutting Onions Podcast, Myles and I have a great conversation regarding an article that we read on LinkedIn from Emma Codd, who is the Global Chief Diversity Officer at the Deloitte.
In this article, Emma unpacks some incredible information and data around the mental health of Gen Z and Millennial workers, and how we as leaders can help remove the stigma around mental health issues.
This conversation blossomed into a dialogue around what we can do as leaders to reduce the stigma around mental health issues and also raise mental health awareness.
We also talk about how to look at our work weeks differently, and we discussed some interesting experiments that are happening out of the marketplace on the shorter work week and how that might reduce burnout.
Here is the link to Emma's article on LinkedIn. You are going to want to check this out!
Welcome to The Cutting Onions Podcast, Episode 82 which features Joseph Szala in a compelling conversation to talk about all things digital, loyalty, and how to create an amazing guest experience.
Joseph serves as Vice President of Digital Experience for Rapturous, a wing of 3 Owl. His hospitality-first approach and unyielding passion for creating remarkable digital restaurant experiences has positioned him as thought leader in the world of CX and UX as well as brand development and marketing.
He and the Rapturous team continue to craft superior digital restaurant experiences that realize measurable lifts in order averages, repeat traffic, loyalty, and revenue for an impressive suite of restaurant brands.
We know you are going to love this conversation! Enjoy.
Today we chat with Daniella Sardi from about AI Voice Technology. Daniella Sardi is the Head of Enterprise, Restaurants at SoundHound, specializing in strategic territory development and fostering collaborative teams.
She brings extensive experience as a successful sales leader across multiple verticals and has a track record of building winning cultures, which as you know is so important to us at The Cutting Onions Podcast.
Daniella also previously held key roles at Doma and TriNet, bringing a wealth of expertise to drive voice AI innovation in the restaurant industry.
There is so much to learn from this inspired conversation with Daniella, including the 5 questions you need to ask when evaluating a potential Voice AI partner.
In this week's episode we talk about the new California law, AB 1228 which raises the minimum wage to $20.00 as of April 1, 2024 at all fast food restaurants with 60 units or more in their portfolio.
We take a look at both sides of this issue and try and gauge the impact this new law will have on restaurant companies in California and talk about what this could mean for the industry overall if other states follow suit.
On this week's episode of The Cutting Onions Podcast and on the heels of the Restaurant Franchising Innovation Summit held in Kansas City by Fast Casual, we talk about Artificial Intelligence and Robotics.
We highlight some of what we learned this week about the future of AI and Robotics, and discuss what we already see in the restaurant experience with existing brands like McDonald’s and new brands that have just launched like Kernel.
This is a great lead-in to our conversation next week with Daniella Sardi, Head of Enterprise for SoundHound. SoundHound creates big-picture Voice AI solutions that drive growth for the restaurant industry.
Welcome to The Cutting Onions Podcast, Episode 78! In today's conversation Myles and Bobby talk about ramping up in the hospitality and retail business and all the things that need to be in place for that to happen successfully.
We also talk about team communication, scheduling, deployment, and how to take a fresh look at our businesses. We also dive into some leadership lessons from the late, great Andy Grove, former CEO of Intel.
We think you will enjoy this episode and would love to hear your feedback.
Enjoy!
On today's episode of The Cutting Onions Podcast, Myles and I continue the conversation we started last week around what it looks like to enter into a situation that is at best a struggle, and at worst broken, in the restaurant industry.
We get super granular in this episode building on the ideas we shared in Part One of this conversation in last week's episode. We talk about some important ideas including how important it is to bring your team alongside you as you begin rebuilding the shop, restaurant, district, or company.
We also talk about the key elements of effective leadership, including organization, follow-up, and clear communication. We suggest that effective leadership requires a combination of strategic thinking, strong communication skills, and a willingness to adapt and learn from experience.
We also discuss the importance of prioritizing people over financials when fixing a broken situation and setting expectations with bosses or ownership groups.
Key Questions we discuss:
-
How can we celebrate wins and reinforce desired behaviors?
-
What are the fears that people have when entering a challenging situation, and how can we help them overcome those fears?
-
How can we document our experiences and share institutional knowledge for future leaders?
-
How can we balance the need for speed with the need for organization and follow-up?
Welcome to The Cutting Onions Podcast, Episode 76! In this episode Myles and I start a conversation about what it looks like as a leader to enter into a situation where you might have a restaurant, district, market, area, region, or company that has significant challenges.
Where you do you start? What do you do? How do you do it? What does it look like to starting doing what needs to be done and protect the most important asset of your organization...your team. Your people.
This will be a two-part conversation, and we can't wait for you to hear this episode and we would love your feedback!
a seasoned and strategic human resources executive with 25 years of experience in leading HR teams and functions across diverse industries and sectors, including Fortune 500 companies. As a Chief Human Resources Officer, Michael oversees all aspects of human capital management, aligning HR policies and practices with the organization's vision, mission, and values.
His background includes roles as the leadership head leading HR functions for global organizations in the areas of Benefits, Compensation, Payroll, Talent Acquisition, Organizational Development, and Workforce Planning within both public and privately owned companies, including roles with Fortune 500 companies such as Carnival Corporation, Dollar Tree Stores, NY Life Insurance, Tommy Hilfiger, Polo Ralph Lauren and Focus Brands.
Michael is passionate about taking HR teams from operationally reactive to strategically proactive, by linking HR strategies to business strategy through the development of practical HR business plans that better leverage employees' talents and competencies.
Listen in behind the scenes to Myles Gift, Jay Timms, and me as we talk about our new project, a Mastermind Group that we are calling "Prior To Service: What Great Restaurateurs Understand About Leadership". This community is being built for three tiers of hospitality leadership, with the first focus being on the heart and soul of any restaurant...the General Manager. We wanted to give you a peak behind the curtain and hear the passion we have for creating this exciting new Mastermind Group, which we believe is the first of its kind. This group is being designed to help provide support, coaching and encouragement to the General Manager role. This group will provide a foundation of information and inspiration that attendees can tap into for a lifetime.
We are excited for you to hear all about what we are thinking about and can't wait to launch this group! Much more to come!
In this episode Myles has a great conversation with Pepper Lunch CEO Troy Hooper. Troy began his career in the Caribbean cutting his teeth in hotel restaurants and private clubs. A serial entrepreneur, Troy knows what it takes to succeed in business and has built his career on tried and true principles. He also offers some sage advice to anyone thinking about becoming an entrepreneur. Remember that it takes twice as long as you think it will to succeed, and it will take twice as much money. Both so very true.
Troy now leads Pepper Lunch as CEO. Pepper Lunch is a 30 year old casual dining Japanese hotplate oncept with over 500 locations in Japan, Asia, Australia, and now the United States. Just hearing Troy talk about the food made our mouths water!
Troy talked a lot about leadership and the importance of asking others to join your journey. There is no silver bullet to being successful as a leader. Just community and support.
Enjoy this chat with Troy Hooper! We look forward to continuing the conversation with him in future episodes!
In this episode we discuss how to enter an organization regardless of the level of leadership you are coming in at, and also some key principles from Great By Choice by Jim Collins, which we think is incredibly underrated. The two ideas we unpack today are the 20-mile march and firing bullets before you fire a cannonball. Enjoy this conversation around some timeless principles!
Known for her charisma, generosity of spirit, and infectious energy, Brooke Janousek is the kind of leader others feel inspired by. She brings this spirit to each and every client she works with through The Grow CMO, a fractional leadership solution for effective marketing growth that she founded in 2022 after two decades as an expert in the marketing industry. As a fractional CMO, Brooke partners with clients to execute strategies to increase revenue, profitability, and customer loyalty. In today’s world, Brooke makes her C-suite expertise accessible, affordable and most importantly, valuable by pulling from her experience with brands like Disney, Toro, GE, Sonic Drive-In Restaurants, and Liberty Tax.
Brooke’s dynamic leadership style follows her outside of the office and into every realm of her life. A poised, engaging public speaker, Brooke feels most fulfilled when she is sharing her expertise with others and connecting with everyone’s energy. Her deep desire to support others is the bedrock of Brooke’s relationships as well. Whether she’s traveling, taking a CrossFit or yoga class, or simply taking her dog Kip for a walk, she cherishes the connections she makes along the way. A native of Omaha, Nebraska, Brooke is setting off on an adventure she’s aptly named “Brooke on the Grow,” chronicling her move out west and her year of intentionally living life joyfully. A self-proclaimed digital nomad, her hope is that her stories paired with those she meets along the way, encourage everyone to see their own good and ability to actualize their potential if they bet on themselves.
On today's episode we have an incredible conversation with Corporate Communications Expert Chris Arnold. Chris help shape the stories and communications strategies that build, grow and protect beloved brands in a complex world. Over his career, Chris has led communications in-house for notable and high-profile consumer brands such as Chipotle Mexican Grill, one of the most outspoken and transformative restaurant companies in a generation, and REI Co-op, the nation's largest member-owned retail co-op.
As a trusted and unflappable counselor to senior leaders and a valued source to journalists, Chris helps companies successfully navigate everything from brand evolution to significant milestones and existential crises. During his time at notable public relations agencies and communications consulting firms, he advised clients across a variety of sectors. Currently, Chris heads communications at Darigold, an iconic Seattle-based cooperative of nearly 300 farmers who provide milk and other dairy products to customers in about 30 countries worldwide.
In this episode, Chris highlights important topics around corporate communications including the opportunities and challenges of social media for businesses, emphasizing proactive work, identifying allies, and being prepared for crises. We talk about the food safety crisis at Chipotle from several years ago and what the brand did to respond to the challenge of the 24-hour news cycle and how they weathered that storm.
We also discussed growth, people development, and overcoming challenges in a growing brand and how social media and the 24-hour news cycle has changed the game. One of the powerful insights Chris shared, which aligns with us so closely on The Cutting Onions Podcast, is this quote he heard and paraphrased about the power of story.
"Story is more important in human development than opposable thumbs. Opposable thumbs as people let us hang on. Story tells us what to hang on to."
Enjoy this amazing conversation with Chris Arnold and we would so appreciate it if you would share it with your network, along with your thoughts on the topics we talked about in this episode.
On today’s episode of The Cutting Onions Podcast we are excited to present our amazing conversation with Stephanie Cramer. Stephanie is an incredible talent strategist who has a passion for scaling culture and an expert in skills-based hiring. For the last 3 months, we have read everything Steph has posted and shared and every single thing has rang so true it is still ringing in our ears. Including this conversation.
One particular resource she shared actually came at the perfect time for me as I was in the midst of my job search and was a huge help to me on that journey, which we talk a bit about on the podcast today.
This conversation wasn’t near long enough and we look forward to having Stephanie back on a future episode to have more incredible discussions on scaling culture and skills based hiring!
In this week's episode, Myles and I take a step back to process our amazing two-part conversation with Jay Timms. Jay shared some incredible information, concepts, and coaching with us over the last two episodes and it was so good that we felt like it deserved a full episode just unpacking the wisdom that Jay shared with us, and what resonated with us the most. We really enjoyed our time with Jay and look forward to reconnecting with him again on future episodes.
On today's episode we dive in for another conversation with Organizational Psychologist Jay Timms on The Cutting Onions Podcast. Last week we got to know Jay and talked about how important self-awareness is as a leader, picking a direction versus a destination, how we leave our fingerprints as leaders. In today's conversation, Myles and I talk with Jay about stepping stones and stumbling blocks, what failure actually is, the 4 important questions every leader needs to ask themselves, KBI's versus KPI's, and the 3 things you must do as a leader.
We are super excited to share this conversation and look forward to continuing to work with Jay in the future.
We know you will love this episode and encourage you to share it across your social media channels.
Welcome to The Cutting Onions Podcast. Today we feature Part 1 of our conversation with Organizational Psychologist, Employee Engagement Guru, and Hospitalitarian, Jay Timms. In this episode we talk about Jay's journey through university to hospitality to his dream of helping people become more self aware of who they really are and what they should be doing for their life's work.
Jay has developed and presented leadership training, consulted for, and been a keynote speaker to Fortune 500 companies including Microsoft, EA Games, and Chipotle Mexican Grill to name a few. Over the past 25 years, Jay has enhanced businesses, teams, and individual performance of leaders and employees in a vast array of industries by diagnosing, designing, and delivering a wide range of solutions and interventions: organizational design, change management, creative problem solving, training, process improvement, team building, and leadership development. He’s an expert in engaging learners at all levels including employees, leaders, boards, and team’s performance in consultation with business partners to match solutions to organizational needs. He is not a “coach”. He is not a “growth guide” or whatever buzzword is trendy at the time. It’s simple: Jay Timms is how you become a better leader.
Jay’s pioneering work in process improvement has led to shifts in policies and practice for government professionals. He has coached the development of hundreds of leaders at all levels throughout his career and laid the foundation for what CEO’s have described to investors as “aggressive and unprecedented expansion” in the organizations he has led and supported. His award-winning research on communication and relationships is complemented by his Master’s Degrees in Organizational Psychology and Counselling Psychology, and he is also certified in Neuro-Linguistic-Programming.
His latest book, “The Great Awakening: How Successful Leaders are Attracting, Engaging, and Developing Rockstar Teams”, is due to be published in September 2023.
We recently learned about The Great Game of Business and absolutely believe the principles it teaches, so we thought we would dive deeper into the content here and highly encourage our listeners to do the same. In The Great Game of Business the core principle is to engage your teams with transparency, share your critical metrics, help them keep score and know if they are winning or not, help them own their results, and provide them a stake in the outcome. This was a fun conversation and we would like to invite you along for the ride in learning more about this revolutionary approach to management and leadership.
In this episode we discuss some basic core principles around how we get ready for summer in the hospitality industry and how we engage our teams to own their results. We riff a bit on the amazing book Great Game of Business and we just scratch the surface of this book and the philosophy and we look forward to unpacking more of this content in the weeks to come on The Cutting Onions Podcast. Enjoy!
What does a great interview process look like? In this episode we share some personal stories about our interview experiences and contrast the two extremes...those organizations who handle the interview process beautifully and those that don't. We hope you enjoy this episode and we would love to hear your feedback!
Welcome back to The Cutting Onions Podcast! It's been a minute but we are so excited to be back! On this episode we dive deep into the restaurant industry job search struggles, what we believe the industry could do better, and the importance of staying positive throughout the process. We leave no stone unturned in this conversation and we air it all out, including our own personal struggles in finding our next role. We hope you enjoy this conversation and find some inspiration for your journey.
Thanks for joining us today on The Cutting Onions Podcast! This is Episode 61 and today we dive into the topic of Supply Chain and the key points from the Q2 2022 Kinetic 12 Deck. This was a great conversation and it was helpful for us to tackle this topic and do a deep dive on it, and we hope it helps you just as much! Please feel free to weigh in with your thoughts as well. We would love to engage in a conversation with our listeners. We would also appreciate you sharing this episode on your networks and let's keep the conversation going. Enjoy!
In this episode, Bobby and Myles begin to unpack the excellent Emergence Kinetic 12 Q2 2022 Report that shares Emerging and Growth chain insights, operator connections and live regional roundtables on important subjects like Supply Chain, Technology, Automation, Inflation, Labor Retention and so much more. Bobby and Myles provide their insights and commentary on the data found in the report and over the next several weeks will tackle all of the data in the deck and continue the conversation, as well as invite special guests to the podcast to share their insights.
Our thanks to Tim Hand and Bruce Reinstein at Kinetic 12 for their excellent work in putting this deck together for the industry.
Enjoy this episode!
Welcome back to The Cutting Onions Podcast! Myles and I have been gone for a bit, getting the opportunity to put into practice so many of the core beliefs we both have around culture building, people development and operational excellence. We have been able to do all that through the process of opening new restaurants! That's right, NRO's are back folks!
It was great to connect with each other and share our learnings over the last few months around opening new stores and being on the front lines of the process and working shoulder to shoulder with our teams. We think you will really enjoy this conversation and we look forward to your feedback and comments!
Cheers!
Welcome to the Cutting Onions Podcast, Episode 58! On today’s episode we are super happy to feature our conversation with Frios Gourmet Pops president Patti Rother. It was so fun to chronicle Patti’s journey through the restaurant space from her time at two iconic brands, Panera and Noodles & Company, into Franchise Sales and Development, into her current role. But rooted in all of that is Patti’s desire to develop people and build high performing teams.
Frios Gourmet Pops, serving gourmet popsicles, started in a tiny garage years ago and the goal of the company is simple: to hustle happiness and leave people better than they found them. That is a pretty spectacular goal. And they do it out of tie dye food trucks which is pretty spectacular in and of itself.
We know you will enjoy this conversation with Patti as she tells her story and the journey she is on with Frios Gourmet Pops and what the future looks like for this exciting brand.
See you on the other side!
Today we feature a super fun conversation with Cherryh Cansler. Cherryh is the Editor of FastCasual.com and the VP of Events for Networld Media. Cherryh leads some of the most attended events in the restaurant industry and provides opportunities for leaders from every restaurant segment to get together, learn from each other, share best practices, and have a whole lot of fun while they are doing it.
In this conversation Cherryh shares her unique insights into the restaurant industry, how things have evolved over the pandemic, and what’s next for fast casual. We also debate what is fast casual and what it isn’t when it comes to having a restaurant experience. This conversation was an absolute blast and it was a pleasure having Cherryh on the podcast with me and Myles. We have a couple of fun outtakes you can listen to after the episode which really show how much fun we had! I mean we talked about Beer Yoga, so how could it not be fun!?
Enjoy this conversation with Cherryh Cansler!
Welcome to the Cutting Onions Podcast, Episode 56! Today we are featuring our conversation with Chef Essi Tadrus. Essi got his start in restaurants at the age of 14 years old and became an entrepreneur very, very fast. After working in kitchens in his teens and developing his craft, he took the plunge and bought a cell phone/pager shop and it was a huge success!
Realizing his love for restaurants, Essi got back in the game and started developing his own concepts to rave reviews of everyone who dined in his restaurants. These restaurants include Rib Shack and Fly Chix. After selling Rib Shack in 2018 and still feeling the love for barbecue, he began to think of the way he used to describe the food he was making in the kitchen as being made with southern love, and that is how Southern Luv BBQ was born!
But it all started with Essi created his BBQ sauce and sold it out of the trunk of his car to area restaurants and then figured out how to get distribution. And the rest was history, but the story is just beginning!
This is a super inspiring conversation that existing entrepreneurs or anyone thinking about being an entrepreneur should hear. Everything Essi has created has been through a lot of blood, sweat and tears, which is what it takes to be a serial entrepreneur, and that is what Essi is. He talks about those early days through today and how it still takes intestinal fortitude, a street-fighting mentality, and hustle to pull it all together, but at the root of it all is the culture he has created between vendors, suppliers, and the guest.
We hope you enjoy this episode with Chef Essi Tadrus as much as we did! Check it out wherever you consume your podcast content! #chef #essitadrus #southernluv #bbq #barbecue #fastcasual #finecasual #restaurants #restaurant #bbqrestaurant #cooking #southerncooking #lowandslow #cuttingonions #mylesgift #bobbyshaw
We are thrilled to present this conversation with Stephanie Stuckey, CEO of Stuckey's (during National Pecan Month) and it really was a masterclass on what it means to be an entrepreneur, the lessons she has learned along the way, how she ended up as CEO of Stuckey's, and the advice she would give any would be entrepreneur! We also had a great time chatting about the Great American Road trip, which Stephanie is super passionate about!
We talked about the challenges of buying the family business, raising capital, and charting the future of the 85 year old brand, while protecting its legacy. Stephanie spoke with all the passion, commitment, excitement, and enthusiasm that you would expect from her if you follow her posts on LinkedIn. We cannot wait for you to hear this amazing conversation. Enjoy! #stephaniestuckey #ceo #stuckeys #pecan #nationalpecanday #nationalpecanmonth #georgia #pecanlogroll #greatamericanroadtrip #roadtrip #travel #podcast #cuttingonions #cuttingonionspodcast #mylesgift #bobbyshaw
We are so excited to present our conversation with Duck Donuts CEO Betsy Hamm this week on The Cutting Onions Podcast!!! Betsy has such an inspiring leadership journey, including her time at Hershey Entertainment & Resorts and then joining Duck Donuts as Marketing Director, becoming COO, and then being named CEO at Duck Donuts right before COVID changed the world. She talked about how she navigated and led through the last couple of years and built relationships that thrived during a very difficult season, which helped the entire Duck Donuts team and franchise community adjust to all the challenges that COVID presented.
Myles and I also talked to Betsy about how those efforts have helped her build and protect the 109 unit franchise international brand, even through COVID, while growing it through grassroots marketing efforts and driving revenue. Leading by example and working alongside her team, Betsy is providing the tools and resources necessary to assure the franchise community of Duck Donuts is successful.
We also talked about what the future looks like for Duck Donuts, and the exciting growth plan for the brand that is on the horizon! Betsy also shared her thoughts about the industry and what she is curious about as we exit COVID and look to the future, and how Duck Donuts is prepared to respond to the ever changing landscape of our industry.
You don't want to miss this exciting and fun episode with Betsy. We hope you are as inspired as we are!
Today on The Cutting Onions Podcast, Myles Gift and we have a terrific conversation to share with Tory Bartlett, MBA who serves as the Chief Brand Officer for Moe's Southwest Grill! Tory told some amazing stories about his growth as a leader, how it all started on a basketball court and in the dish pit at Hooter's, not quitting when things get tough, and how his journey has continued on as a senior executive for some iconic brands.
Tory also shared the competitive advantage that Moe's has over its competitors and how they are trying to leverage that in the communities in which they operate. And of course we talked a lot about culture and its impact on every restaurants ability to be what it wants to be.
One month into his new role, Tory is already out there building relationships and making an impact.
This was an incredibly inspiring conversation that we cannot wait for you to hear. You can check out this conversation with Tory wherever you consume your podcast content. #podcast #cuttingonions #mylesgift #bobbyshaw #torybartlett #moessouthwestgrill #leadership #culture #restaurants #leader #growth
This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app
We are so excited for you to listen in to this conversation with Ali Kraus, Director of Franchise Marketing for Entrepreneur Media. This was a super fun and informative conversation where Ali shared her incredibly inspiring story as she transitioned from teaching into being a full-time entrepreneur. She shared her passion for Women in Franchising, what true mentorship looks like, and her desire to help brands of all sizes leverage their resources and accomplish their hopes and dreams as an entrepreneur through developing new tools and resources at Entrepreneur Media.
As an 1851 Franchise Report 2021 Young One To Watch, Ali also talked to us about the future of franchising and why we should be optimistic about what lies ahead and challenges us all to do things differently to get different results. While so many companies still focus on digital and pay per click, Ali talks about being innovative and doing things new and exciting to attract people to franchising, including taking discovery days on the road. This was an incredible conversation and we cannot wait for you to hear it! Please share this on your channels and with your friends and co-workers. This is a message we all need right now!
You can find Ali on LinkedIn and on the Franchise 500 TikTok account!
Today on The Cutting Onions Podcast we talk with Author, Podcast Host, and Mindset Coach Heather Hakes. Heather challenged so much of the conventional wisdom about what it takes to live a great life. She walks us through the cycle of Thoughts, Emotions, Actions and Results, as well as talks about the 80/20 rule but it is not what you think. It's 80 percent Mindset and 20 percent Strategy. Not the other way around.
Heather is a champion of positive mindset and and believes, as we do, that mindset is everything! She’s reached tens of thousands of people through her podcast Mind Over Matter where she specializes in helping people get out of their own way by tapping into their potential to create a great life.
On our podcast we talk with leaders and celebrate amazing cultures that develop great people, but none of that can happen without a positive mindset.
We loved this conversation and think you will truly enjoy it as well.
You can find out more about Heather and connect with her on all of her channels including her Mind Over Matter podcast and at heatherhakes.com. Be sure to also check out her book Take The Leap. #positivity #mindset #coach #cuttingonions #heatherhakes #mylesgift #bobbyshaw #podcast #leaders #strategy
This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app
Welcome to a milestone on The Cutting Onions Podcast! This is Episode 50 and we could not be happier to still be hanging around trying to create meaningful content and engage in conversations that help us all get better, together. Today's conversation is centered around Danny Klein's excellent article "Why The Pandemic Only Made Fast Casual Stronger" where he touches on some incredibly important learnings from the pandemic including Drive-Thru's, Culinary, Labor, Technology, and Restaurant Design. About 2/3 way through the conversation Myles and I started thinking about the technology aspect and wondered out loud if the industry is doing enough to connect with staff inside the restaurants...the ones who are making it all happen.
We think there is a hole here that needs to be addressed. How can we connect with our staff to increase retention and build loyalty that goes both ways? How can we help our teams feel like they are a part of something worth staying around for? These are important questions that as an industry we need to answer, and technology could play a big part of the solution.
This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app
Today we are thrilled to have Meat & Bread Owner/Operator Ernie Villarreal on the Cutting Onions Podcast! We had a fantastic conversation talking about Ernie's incredible restaurant journey over the years. From his start as an Assistant Manager at Chipotle, to GM, to Restaurateur and wrapping up a successful 12-year career there, to his time as a Managing Partner with Raising Cane's to a stint at Velvet Taco where he honed his culinary skills, and now onto his journey as an Owner/Operator with Meat & Bread where he is about to open his first restaurant in Austin, TX where he has master franchise rights.
Ernie doesn't shy away from the tough stuff in this conversation and you will hear him talk about the struggles of opening a restaurant in the age of COVID, how he has battled through and the lessons he learned in the early days of Chipotle and at Raising Canes that continue to be the bedrock foundation for what he does and how he continues to create a strong culture that has always been a hallmark of Ernie's restaurants.
We could have talked to Ernie all day, and as you can hear from the podcast, this was a very fun conversation! So much fun that we are making a trip to see Ernie in Austin in the near future, and may just have a bonus episode heading your way.
Enjoy this amazing conversation and please share it on your social channels. If you were as inspired as we were and want to reach out to Ernie you can find him on Instagram at @meatandbreadatx or drop him an email at EVmeatandbread@gmail.com.
This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app
We are thrilled to have Chris Wunder from Leap Hospitality on The Cutting Onions Podcast where we talk about all things recruiting! There is not a topic more important right now in the restaurant and hospitality industry than recruiting and staffing and we can’t wait for you to hear the conversation with Chris.
A little background first. Leap Hospitality is an executive recruiting firm specializing in the multi-state operational companies with expertise within Hospitality, Food & Beverage, Retail, Cannabis, and Health & Wellness Industries with strong relationships within private equity, venture capital and family offices. Leap supports public companies, family owned and growing private companies.
Chris joined Leap Companies in 2016, then Leap Hospitality, as an executive recruiter and since then has helped build the recruiting business and M&A division. He has a unique background spanning management experience within television broadcast operations, human resources and fitness/retail, holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics and an Associate’s Degree in Psychology.
Under Chris’s leadership, Leap works with some of the best clients in the Industry including Franchisors, Franchisees, Private Equity Groups, Management Companies, Emerging Brands and Start Up Groups, and are always looking to connect with like minded organizations to see where we can add value.
If you would like to explore working with Chris as either a candidate or a company looking for top talent, reach out to Chris at chris@leapco.com.
This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app
In this episode Myles and Bobby tackle the question of incorporating a touchless experience in restaurants that virtually eliminates all human interaction and the effects that might have on a restaurants ability to build true loyalty. The reason for moving in this direction is all in the name of streamlining operations, but are there better ways to do that without eliminating the human equation and making it just a transaction?
We would love for you to weigh in with your thoughts. Enjoy the episode!
This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app
We hope you enjoy this conversation with LEAP Hospitality founder Pat Phelan as much as we did. Pat did an amazing job talking about how to build culture, create relationships, and work through adversity. Pat shares the story of how he founded LEAP in 2006 and then immediately battled through the recession, and then how he made the pivot from providing furniture, fixtures, and equipment to recruiting services and how that pivot helped catapult LEAP into the industry leader it is today.
This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app
Thanks for joining us for this fun conversation where Myles and Bobby talk about what they learned in 2021 and what some of the Tech Trends are in 2022 that we can all leverage to help us serve our guests and our teams in the restaurant and hospitality industries. Happy New Year!
This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app
Today on The Cutting Onions Podcast we are so excited to feature our conversation with Brian Jackson, founder of Mighty Missouri Coffee Company in Bismarck, North Dakota! Brian is an entrepreneur through and through and in this conversation we cover his journey from a marketing executive to starting to Mighty Missouri Coffee, roasting coffee, opening his own storefront coffee shop, and creating Barista Party which provides everything coffee shops need to succeed in their business and in their communities.
Brian shares the valuable lessons he learned along his 10-year entrepreneurial journey and some behind the scenes history of how the brand took off, even after being told no to carrying his coffee by a major grocer in North Dakota, thanks to a little assist from Grammy-award winning artist Matthew West!
This was a fun conversation and we cannot wait for you to hear it! Enjoy!
This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app
Today's topic on The Cutting Onions Podcast is Conscious Competence, which is all about being aware of the things that have made us successful so that we are able to teach the next generation how to achieve great results. We loved this conversation because so many times in the restaurant industry learning happens by osmosis and we are not as intentional as we should be when we are developing our teams.
Myles and I had a great time discussing how we can be more conscious as we teach, the four levels of teaching, and the art of asking questions to help people find the answers they are looking for. Thanks for joining us today and we hope you enjoy this conversation.
Join us next week for a great conversation with Brian Jackson, founder of Mighty Missouri Coffee Company in Bismarck, North Dakota.
Cheers!
This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app
In this episode, my co-host Myles Gift and I have a spirited conversation around culture in the restaurant industry, and ask and attempt to ask a very important question from Joel Barker's excellent 1992 book Paradigms.
"What do I believe is impossible to do in my field...but if it could be done, would fundamentally change my business?"
We would love your feedback, comments, and input on how we attempted to answer this question on The Cutting Onions Podcast.
This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app
This was my first episode with my new co-host Myles Gift and it was an amazing conversation. We discussed the labor issues we are all experiencing in the restaurant and hospitality industry, how the customer is not always right, and how to better support our teams by checking in on them with intentionality and truly making sure they are doing as well as they can. We discussed the excellent August 2021 report from Blackbox Intelligence titled "The Post Pandemic Employee: Who Wants to Work and Why" and dug deep into some of their data and research. It was very good and we highly suggest it as recommended reading for all restaurant and hospitality professionals.
Join me today for a special bonus episode of The Cutting Onions Podcast this week as I talk with Matt Peppes, founder of Cuvee KC, a full-service digital marketing agency that transforms ordinary websites and social media channels into engaging, relationship-building assets.
I have had the privilege of working with Matt for the last three years at Sheridan's Unforked, the Kansas City-based fine casual restaurant concept, and he has created some amazing content that has helped our little brand tell the story of what makes Unforked special in some incredible unique ways.
Matt’s agency works with some incredible Kansas City companies and we are lucky to have Cuvee KC on our team! From web design, social media management, content creation and more, Cuvee KC is all about helping their clients succeed.
For Spotify listeners, I have also dropped in a poll on what the biggest challenges you are facing in the restaurant industry and also what topics you would like to see us talk about on The Cutting Onions Podcast in future episodes.
This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app
I am so excited to have Matt Plapp, CEO of America's Best Restaurants, on The Cutting Onions Podcast today! Matt and I had a great conversation about his new book "Restaurant Marketing That Works: Back to the Basics" which talks about restaurant marketing before, during, and after the pandemic.
Matt's book is excellent and is jam packed with real-life examples of tactical strategy that Matt has deployed with his clients. He shares some great success stories of clients who not only sustained their sales through the pandemic, but actually grew their sales! He shares the lessons from that experience and they mean just as much now as they did in the beginning of the pandemic. We talked about Marketing Basics, Consultative Selling, Awareness Marketing, Meaningful Engagement, and so much more!
Matt is the real deal and it was a pleasure to speak with him! I know you will all enjoy this interview as much as I did!
This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app
On today's episode I share the audio from my first webinar where I discussed 5 Ways To Attract And Retain Top Talent. This is a message we need more than ever as restaurants, hotels, and many other service companies are reopening dining rooms and facilities as we emerge from the global pandemic. The 5 things I talk about in this podcast will help you take an honest look at where your organization is and what you can do to create or recreate the culture you want to have that supports your mission, and bring your team along with you. If you would like a copy of the video portion of the webinar, please send me an email at bobby@bobbyshawconsulting.com.
This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app
Welcome back to The Cutting Onions Podcast! As promised here is a second volume of solid gold wisdom that has been shared on my podcast during these last couple of years. As I was getting this episode ready and listening back, I am just incredibly grateful that these amazing leaders shared some of their valuable time to have a conversation with me about culture and leadership.
Here are the incredible leaders you will hear from on this episode:
- Former McDonald's franchisee Art Phillips
- HR Manager Chris Cargill
- Crack'd Owner/Operator Danny Azzarello
- Restaurateur, Hotelier, and Non-Profit Founder Steve Mangano
- Raising Cane's GM Jacob Shaw
- Zalat Pizza COO Jason Brooks
- Chef, Restaurateur and Author Jeremy Barlow from Nashville TN
- Consultant, Coach and Food Safety Expert Luay Rahil
- Chief Storyteller for Dodo Brands, Max Kotin
- Culver's Franchisee Matt Mitchell
- Consultant and Halal Guys Franchisee Paul Tran
- Chick-Fil-A Franchisee Priscilla Mendoza
Enjoy this episode!
This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app
Today I am circling back to a conversation I had with Matt Plapp, CEO of America's Best Restaurants, on his podcast a few weeks ago. Matt was gracious and had me on to talk about a few key concepts of my book "Cutting Onions: Leadership Lessons Learned From the Restaurant Industry". One of those ideas was the concept of Generational Differences and we had a great conversation about that and I wanted to unpack it a bit more on this short podcast. I hope you enjoy it.
Welcome to the Cutting Onions Podcast! In this episode I go into the archives from the past 34 episodes and pulled some amazing wisdom that some of the various guests I have had on the show over the last 18 months. It was fun to go back and listen to these incredible leaders. They inspired me all over again, and I think they will inspire you too! If you hear something that grabs you, make sure to go back and listen to the full episodes wherever you consume your podcast content. I will be doing another Best Of compilation soon so be sure to subscribe!
This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app
This episode of The Cutting Onions podcast features my conversation with Dan Fogarty, Founder of Call Fogarty, an agency that helps cool companies become cult brands. Dan was also one of the earliest Marketing executives at Chipotle, first on the agency side, and then working directly for Chipotle for many years creating the iconic brand voice we had in those early days. He was responsible for leading the team that created the legendary advertising and branding messaging that resonated with our guests in ways we could have never predicted, and connected marketing directly with the culture we were building. And they did it on a shoestring budget.
For me, as a young multi-unit leader back in 2002, getting to experience the way Chipotle approached Marketing impacted me forever, because it was the first time I looked at Marketing and Operations as being interconnected. They were then, and they still are today.
In this amazingly fun conversation Dan unpacks so many things including:
- How Marketing and Culture are connected
- Using every medium we had to communicate with the guest: What Dan calls the “cereal box strategy”
- Using our food as currency
- Marketing to solve a problem
- The importance of a words and tone of voice and how they add a whole other dimension
- How a brand is a chair, music, napkin, and the bathrooms
- Teaching people how to cook
- How we advertised before Facebook and Instagram
- Teaching people you could get great food served fast in a time when most restaurants were focused on cheap price points
And so much more.
Dan and I talked at length about the early lessons that we learned at Chipotle and how those early marketing decisions helped influence how we built the brand. This was such a great conversation, truly showing that culture and marketing are one, and completely connected to operating a great restaurant.
It was so great getting to revisit the history of Chipotle marketing in the early days, and then realizing how much of that approach still resonates in today’s marketplace for any brand out there. If you are a small brand, you can do these things, and I highly recommend you listen to Dan’s advice and implement some of these tactics where you can. They may look a little different in 2021, but the spirit of this approach is timeless.
Stay tuned at the end for a couple of bonus radio spots that will bring a smile to your face…”Chicken Man” and “Salad Kountry”.
This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app
Thanks for joining me for this episode where I speak with Restaurant CMO Tim Hackbardt.
Tim is a 25+ year restaurant industry veteran who has served 25 restaurant chains across QSR, Fast Casual and Full Service Restaurant categories. A few of these brands include Del Taco, BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse, Rubio’s, Pieology, Steak ‘n Shake, Johnny Rockets, and Lucille’s Smokehouse Bar-B-Que.
He is currently Chief Marketing Officer for Del Taco where he oversees brand strategy, marketing and menu strategy. Del Taco (NASDAQ: TACO) is the second largest Mexican quick service restaurant chain with over 600 locations in 16 states.
Previous to his role at Del Taco, he was the CEO of the consulting firm BrandTrip Partners. His firm served restaurant chains primarily in the areas of distressed turnarounds, brand reinventions and new restaurant concept development. One of his most interesting projects during this time was to develop a new pizza chain in the Middle East for a multi-national company located in Saudi Arabia. Today there are eight Turnstone Pizza restaurants open around the city of Riyadh.
Tim is originally from Michigan and is a graduate of Central Michigan University with a BAA in Broadcast & Cinematic Arts. Today, he resides in the San Diego area with his wife of 31 years.
When he is not eating for his job, he is usually burning off the calories training for endurance races. A 2X Ironman, and 5X 70.3 Ironman, he also enjoys ultra trail running and cycling adventures in the Pyrenees, Sierras, Rocky Mountains and Dolomites to name a few.
Tim can be contacted and followed here:
linkedin.com/in/timhackbardt
www.oldguywhotris.com
https://www.facebook.com/oldguywhotris
https://www.instagram.com/oldguywhotris/
This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app
Here is my amazing conversation with Max Kotin, Chief Storyteller for Dodo Brands. Max shared so much great information about Dodo Brands, how they started, and how they have created the fastest growing pizza concept in the world according to Technomic. Dodo Pizza now operates more than 700 pizza shops in 14 countries, including its first US unit located in Oxford, Mississippi. But Dodo is so much more than pizza. They have developed a portfolio of digital-first QSR brands including DrinkIt, Doner42, and Dodo Pizza.
This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app
Welcome to the Cutting Onions Podcast! Please enjoy my conversation with Chef Jeremy Barlow. Jeremy has been an innovative force in Nashville's chef scene for over 18 years and has several amazing concepts including Tayst and Sloco.
Jeremy has also been a champion of food sustainability and creating accountability around sourcing and how the supply chain is managed. He walks us through the evolution of the food system. As he says, everything happens around the table. I loved hearing about what Jeremy has been doing in Nashville over the last several years!
We had an amazing conversation that covered a wide range of topics including:
-
The magic formula of pop ups and how they work
-
Are events worth it?
-
Finding efficiencies in the QSR segment and combine it with the fine dining world to define what the next food system will be
-
Why food policy matters
-
And his exciting new concept, Fryce Cream, which has been in development on 12 South in Nashville and has already gotten rave reviews!
You do not want to miss this inspired conversation! He also tells a hilarious story about putting pork belly on the menu about two years before it was trendy to do so and he couldn't sell it! Now of course it is everywhere!
You can find Jeremy on Instagram as well! Check out his channels:
@slocosammies
@the_green_tayst
@frycecream
This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app
Welcome to The Cutting Onions Podcast! In today's episode I chat with Jason Brooks, Chief Operating Officer of Zalat Pizza in Dallas, Texas. My conversation with Jason was so inspired and I think you will be too. Zalat Pizza is committed to not only serving amazing hand-crafted pizza out of their ghost kitchen model, but also to creating a strong culture for his employees.
This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app
About a year ago I found a picture of myself as an employee of the McDonald’s in Blue Springs Missouri back in 1984. Since then I have been thinking about my sixteen-year-old self and what I was dreaming about back then. Where I thought I was going. Who I thought I would become. What I thought my life would be like.
My life since that picture taken at age sixteen has been working in my chosen profession: the restaurant industry. And it has changed my life in so many wonderful and profound ways. It created opportunities for me that I wouldn’t have dared to dream about back then. At age 16, I was excited. I was passionate. I was dreaming. I felt connected. I found a family I didn’t really have at home at the time. I knew I wanted more of all those feelings.
And here I am. All these years later. Still excited. Still passionate. Still dreaming, and hopefully a bit wiser. I consider it my life’s work to create opportunities for others that otherwise might not exist, and pay forward the generous investment that many different leaders have made in my development over the years, and create those same feelings I had at age 16 for other young leaders. And that work has been, and continues to be, very fulfilling...
This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app
In this short episode I do something a little bit different. Instead of interviewing someone in the industry, I read the introduction to my new book, Cutting Onions. It was super fun to do and there's a fun story in there about one of my early leadership influences and it may surprise you to hear who it was. Hint: It was a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame drummer!
This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app
One of the questions I like to ask in the midst of a challenge is:
“What does this make possible?”
That’s an important question to ask during times like these, when the media is bombarding us with all of the negative around COVID-19.
This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app
Welcome to the Cutting Onions Podcast, where we celebrate culture that develops leaders. This is Episode 26.
In this conversation I sit down with Chris Cargill. Chris is a long-time HR professional with a passion for creating strong people cultures and connecting with people in a genuine way to help them accomplish their hopes and dreams.
The work Chris has done in Human Resources has covered retail, restaurants and professional services and he has made an impact everywhere he’s been. He has razor sharp instincts and intuitively understands people, which has helped him build strong relationships within the organizations he’s been a part of that transcend what people normally think of when they think about HR.
Starting his HR career in 1997 after working in customer service he immediately saw the correlation between customer service and HR and went to work. Working with two different startups and having to build the infrastructure from scratch, it helped Chris figure out how to connect with people and keep it real.
Chris is one of the most authentic people I know and sees the work he does as a calling and not just a role in an organization and I think that’s where the magic happens. He didn’t start out to be an HR professional and his journey to where he is today is an incredible inspiration.
Fun fact: Chris has a passion for music and also produced the amazing track titled Walking Strong that I use for the intro and outro of my podcast.
This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app
Welcome to The Cutting Onions Podcast where we celebrate culture that develops leaders.
In today’s episode of The Cutting Onions Podcast I sit down with Libby Balsiger, founder of Chica Communications, where she is passionate about advancing socially conscious efforts that underscore corporate integrity and global responsibility.
Libby was also one of the early marketing leaders at Chipotle when it was all about grassroots and field marketing strategies. She did some incredible work in building the brand in those early days when sales weren’t great, there was doubt about whether we’d make it in California, and the moment that changed everything.
Libby and I talked about how her work at Chipotle influenced her in the important work she is doing now around growing creative startups, many of which are led by female entrepreneurs and helping them market their businesses.
Libby is an incredible leader and is continuing to make a huge impact in organizational culture and in the lives of those creating that culture. She is an inspiring mentor for so many leaders looking to do big things.
It was such a pleasure chatting with her. She’s the real deal.
Here is my conversation with Libby Balsiger. See you on the other side.
This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app
Welcome to The Cutting Onions Podcast, where we celebrate culture that develops leaders. This is Episode 24. In this week’s conversation I sit down with entrepreneur, hotelier, and restaurateur, Stephen Mangano.
Steve is a passionate leader known for his ability to bring a creative perspective to business and seeing value where others do not. He is a disruptor and challenges the status quo across the wide range of ventures he is involved in.
Steve founded CurEat, an app that allows diners across the country to post pictures and what they love about their favorite restaurants. It’s a positive, constructive way to share the love of food as diners travel from city to city.
Steve also co-founded the North Carolina Partnership for Childhood Nutrition (NCPCN) which partners with local restaurants to raise money for healthier lunches in public schools, which has made a huge impact on students and given them an ability to focus on learning. This is an amazing organization and I’m grateful to Steve for sharing what they are doing to end childhood hunger in public schools.
I am including the links to CurEat and the North Carolina Partnership for Child Nutrition in the show notes.
This was such an inspiring conversation and I am excited to share it with you.
https://cureatapp.com
https://www.ncpcn.org
This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app
Welcome to the Cutting Onions Podcast, where we celebrate culture that develops leaders. This is Episode 23!
In this conversation I speak with Leadership and Business Coach, Luay Rahil, who lives in the Dallas Fort Worth area. Luay started his career washing dishes in small restaurants before joining IHOP where he washed dishes, became a server and then a restaurant manager.
Luay went to college and graduated as a health inspector. From his experience in restaurants Luay recognized that the relationships between health departments and restaurants were strained. He wanted to change that. He wanted it to be a partnership, so that’s what he did.
During his time as a health inspector in the cities of Coppell and Ft. Worth, TX, Luay changed the game and improved those relationships with restaurant by treating them as partnerships by working alongside them to address issues and not just being an inspector. He then took things to the next level where he started a food safety company.
Luay then figured out he wanted to expand his influence even more and started Lead With Integrity, a leadership community where high capacity leaders join Luay on the journey of creating your best life at work, and at home.
It’s been an inspiration to get to know Luay and I know you’ll be inspired as well. So here’s my conversation with Luay Rahil.
See you on the other side.
This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app
Welcome to The Cutting Onions Podcast, Episode 22. In this conversation I sit down with Priscilla Mendoza, a multi-unit operator for Chick-Fil-A in Austin. Priscilla's journey with Chick-Fil-A started at 16 years old and she recently opened a second location in the Austin, TX market.
Priscilla has developed high performing teams and a strong people culture that has allowed her to expand her influence within the Chick-Fil-A brand and in the lives of countless people that have worked in her organization.
Priscilla has an amazing story, personally and professionally, and I am excited to share it with you.
This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app
Happy Thanksgiving! Welcome to The Cutting Onions Podcast, Episode 21. In this special episode I sit down with the person responsible for me giving me my first opportunity in the restaurant business, Art Phillips.
Art is a legend in the McDonald’s system. His accomplishments are too numerous to mention but we discuss a few of them here, including the order by number system. Yep, that was an idea Art shared in a meeting over three decades ago ended up getting pitched to McDonald’s Corporation upper management and the rest is history.
In this podcast interview we had a wide-ranging conversation about his career, his love for the McDonald's brand, saving for that first restaurant, identifying talent, and investing ahead of the business to build a strong culture. We discussed his incredible impact on not only the Kansas City Region but the entire McDonald's system.
From his first job at Steak 'N Shake as a carhop, to the start of his nearly 50-year career with McDonald's on March 1, 1966 making $1.00 per hour, to buying his first store in 1978, to becoming an iconic operator for almost 40 years.
Enjoy this conversation with Art Phillips.
This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app
Welcome to Episode 20 of The Cutting Onions Podcast. In today's conversation I interview Erin Levzow, VP and CMO of Marcus Hotels and Resorts. She has such an inspiring story and her journey of how she got to where she is today will encourage you to chase your dreams!
An aspiring actress, Erin started her career in HR, transitioned into Internet Marketing, and then became a highly sought after expert in the realm of social and digital media. Erin's career has taken her all over the country and she has used her influence to make an impact across many different organizations, including at Freebirds World Burrito where she served as my VP of Marketing.
I know you will enjoy this conversation with Erin and the lessons she shares around standing up for what you believe in and never giving up.
This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app
For this bonus episode, I go back to 2017 and the talk I gave at the Restaurant Franchising Innovation Summit in Dallas, TX. In this short talk, I talk about the evolution of leadership development, how we develop leaders, and who is developing you as a leader?
I hope you enjoy this bonus episode and that it challenges you to look at the topic of leadership development in a new and different way.
This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app
Welcome to Episode 18 of The Cutting Onions Podcast. I am super excited to sit down on the podcast today with my son, Jacob Shaw. Jake is a GM for Raising Cane’s in the Kansas City Market. I love talking to GM’s about their passion for the business, how they develop leaders, and why culture matters. The icing on the cake is when that GM happens to be your oldest son.
In this hour long conversation, Jake and I cover a lot of ground. He talks about systems and routines that help him be successful. Jake also talks so passionately about his people, the opportunities that Cane’s gives them, and the culture he’s building to create such a dynamic team that is achieving some special things in a very special brand.
This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app
This is the first in a series of bonus episodes where Jim Howard, of Renegade Authors, interviews me about my upcoming book, "Cutting Onions". In this first conversation leading up to the book release in March 2020, we do a deep dive into how the book title came to be and the correlation between cutting an onion and leadership.
This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app
I recently had the chance to have a conversation restaurant executive Dan Lowe.
I had the privilege of working with Dan for over 10 years at Chipotle Mexican Grill. During those 10 years, Dan grew into the position of Operations Director where he operated 65 restaurants in Minnesota & Wisconsin as well as restaurants in New York and New England where he grew sales to over 100MM. As you can tell from those numbers, Dan had an incredible impact on the Chipotle brand.
After leaving Chipotle, Dan took the VP of Operations role for Luna Grill in San Diego, where over the course of 3 years he oversaw global operations and helped the brand scale.
Following Luna Grill Dan started his own consulting practice where he coached business leaders and restaurant operators to help their organizations grow.
Dan is currently with Eurest Compass Dining Group where he oversees major corporate dining sector accounts.
I know you will enjoy this conversation with Dan as he walks us through his journey as a leader and those pivotal moments in his career that have helped make him who he is today.
This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app
In this bonus episode I travel to Nashville for a conversation with Blood:Water Development Officer and Grammy-award winning musician Dan Haseltine.
You may be asking yourself, “What does a Grammy award winning musician and a non-profit organization have to do with leadership development and building a strong culture?”
Well, as you’ll hear in this wide ranging conversation, they have a lot to do with those two things.
Dan is lead singer of the band Jars of Clay, who is known for songs like “Flood”, “Worlds Apart”, “Crazy Times”, and “Inland”. The band, who has won 3 Grammys, began to hear stories about the clean water and HIV/AIDS crises in Africa about 10 years into their career as a band.
After traveling to Africa and seeing those stories in the lives of the people in those communities, they founded a non-profit called Blood:Water in 2004. The mission of Blood:Water is to gather support, come alongside, and equip African organizations as they work to address the water and HIV/AIDS crises in their communities.
In this interview we discuss using your platform to make an impact, creating culture, mentoring other leaders, social justice, changing the arc of someone’s story, and so much more.
This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app
I recently had the opportunity to have a conversation with Dee Ann Turner. Dee Ann is a Communicator, Consultant and Coach and began her own consulting company after serving 33 years at Chick-fil-A, Inc.
An early architect and advocate for Chick-fil-A's well-known culture and talent systems, she was Chick-fil-A's first female officer. Dee Ann served as the Vice President, Talent/Human Resources, for nearly 20 years. We talk about the selection process for franchisees and how Chick-Fil-A has achieved such great success around choosing the right people to operate their restaurants.
Her first book, It’s My Pleasure: The Impact of Extraordinary Talent and a Compelling Culture, reveals the lessons she learned and taught during her long tenure at Chick-fil-A as the company grew their revenue from millions to billions.
Dee Ann believes talent offers competitive advantage in any organization. Companies that recognize the value of extraordinary talent can succeed not just ethically, but financially as well.
Her second book, Bet on Talent: How to Create a Remarkable Culture and Win the Hearts of Customers was released in September, 2019 and is available now wherever you buy books and through her website, DeeAnnTurner.com.
We had a great conversation on so many topics around talent management and culture building and we even tackled the tough topic of ghosting employers and potential employees.
Dee Ann was so gracious in offering her perspective on her history with Chick-Fil-A and how the impact of talent creates a compelling culture.
This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app
This is Episode 13. Today I sit down with restaurant executive, culture builder, and entrepreneur, Mo Haq.
Mo has an amazing background in the restaurant industry that goes back to his early teen years when he took a job to help support his family when his father fell ill. From those early morning subway rides in New York to his start at Taco Bell and ascension to multi-unit leadership, to a VP of Ops role just a few years later, and then onto Chipotle and beyond, Mo exemplifies GRIT, HUSTLE, INTENTIONALITY, and DETERMINATION.
A proven developer of people, Mo shares his leadership journey and how that intertwines with his love for his family, to produce some incredible results, personally and professionally. Mo is a champion of the underdog, because he was one himself. He knows the value of investing in the people around him because as a young leader someone invested in him.
We talk about so many great concepts and ideas around leadership and culture including the difference between a manager and a leader, living your mission, and investing in the next generation of leaders.
This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app
In this bonus episode, I go way back to 2010 to the Chipotle All Manager Conference in Las Vegas where I spoke on how important it is to have the right people on the team, building a strong culture, and how to eradicate mediocrity. I am just as passionate about this talk as I was when I gave it 9 years ago and it is a message I refuse to let die.
Keep chasing excellence and don't allow mediocrity to derail your pursuit.
This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app
This is Part 2 of my conversation with author, chef, and hospitality consultant Andrew Craig. We ended Part 1 talking about how important being inclusive is, investing in the next generation, and developing those leaders at a high level.
We pick up Part 2 discussing why culture is important and we have such a great conversation about leadership, core values, living your vision, and also what Andrew is curious about. You don't want to miss this!
This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app
This is a bonus episode where I highlight a meeting I co-lead once a month with a group of leaders in Austin, TX.
This short teaching piece is from the Emergent Leader Initiative where we work with leaders who are building something and creating economic value. Using the Builder Profile curriculum from Gallup, we are trying to help change the national dialogue from “What do you do? (The question almost everyone asks a person they’ve never met before) to “What are you building?” That question elicits a very different response.
This is my 2nd year of partnering with Jeff Johnson with Austin Bridge Builders Alliance whose mission is connecting people with purpose and is sponsoring the Emergent Leader Initiative.
In tonight’s session I led a conversation around two important tools that support the Builder Profile 10 assessment which helps builders understand their top talents and how to leverage them. The tools covered in this session are the Personal Board of Directors tool and the Purpose Journal.
Tonight’s conversation covering the Personal Board of Directors Tool was all about surrounding yourself with people you trust that will speak truth into your life and support you as you begin to create something. Your personal board is made up of a coach, mentor, expert, complementary partner, role mode, and a person with shared interests.
The Purpose Journal part of the conversation was about seeing the links between your Top 4 Talents, the positive experiences you have, plans for the future, and provides a historical record of what you are connecting with as you are building your new venture.
This is a super fun group and it was a super fun conversation! I thought it would be fun to shake it up a bit and share something outside of the normal podcast I do each week.
This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app
Welcome to the Cutting Onions Podcast with Bobby Shaw, where we Celebrate Culture that Develops Leaders. This is Episode 9. In today’s episode I sit down with author, chef, and hospitality consultant, Andrew Craig for Part 1 of a great conversation.
From working as a prep cook to General Manager, to business owner and successful hospitality consultant, Andrew has built a career with a proven track record of culinary skills, business acumen, leadership and hospitality that has helped business owners and leaders to build their business by getting ensuring you have S.I.C.K. in place.
Based in Ottawa, Canada I had the pleasure of sitting down with Andrew and his son at North Italia restaurant in Austin, Texas where we had great conversation on the restaurant business, leadership, creating culture, and how to attract more young leaders into the business.
Along the way Andrew inspired me and I am sure he will inspire you too. His passion for the business comes through loud and clear during our conversation. His desire to help and coach other leaders in becoming better is palpable and it was an amazing conversation. Enjoy!
This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app
Today’s interview is with Myles Gift, Director of Operations of a Five Guys Franchise in Las Vegas. Myles is all about people development and understands team building at such an organic level. He embodies the people first philosophy that all great leaders have.
Myles grew up in Mid-Missouri at the Lake of the Ozark’s where he was heavily into sports and that is where his leadership attributes started to form. Myles went on to graduate from Central Methodist University with a double major in Accounting and Business Management.
After college he bought into a Midwest pizza franchise and spent the next 5 years truly cutting his teeth in the restaurant industry, learning the business from the ground up.
His journey has led me to Las Vegas and with a franchise group that shares the same viewpoint on business…that people are the most important part of our business, and that leading people is not a destination, but a journey.
Myles believes that as long as he continues to listen, his team will continue to teach me how to be a better leader.
This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app
Welcome to the Cutting Onions Podcast with Bobby Shaw, Episode #7. In today’s podcast I speak with founder, owner, consultant, and restaurant expert, Paul Tran.
Paul has an amazing background from starting his first restaurant, The Cajun Corner, as a college student in 2005 to his 10 year run with Fransmart as Senior Director of Development, to his 5 years as an exclusive franchisee for the Halal Guys, Paul is truly making the magic happen.
Over the last 2.5 years, Paul has been working with business owners and investors, creating opportunities on both sides of the transaction and using his startup expertise to help brands achieve growth. His energy, enthusiasm, and passion are infectious.
This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app
This episode is Part 2 of the conversation with Damon Biggins. We ended the conversation with Damon last week as he was opening Paris for Chipotle.
This week we pick up with Damon’s return to the US, how that transition looked for him, finding his passion again after leaving Chipotle, and the cosmic reset that helped him realize that everything he had learned, taught, and done still mattered.
This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app
In this week’s episode, I sit down with Damon Biggins for Part 1 of a two-part conversation where we discuss his amazing career, creating a culture, reproducing that culture internationally, and why culture matters.
In this wide-ranging conversation, Damon discusses his start in the restaurant business with McDonald’s and how that took him to a little known burrito joint in Austin, TX back in 2003.
We also talk about becoming a Restaurateur at Chipotle and the meeting I was in as a new Regional Director where I nominated him to open Canada as a part of Chipotle’s international expansion. From there Damon went onto open Paris and worked internationally for 7 years before returning home to the US and to the great state of Texas.
And this is just part one! You can probably see why I had to split this conversation into two parts!
I know many of you have been waiting for this conversation with Damon, so here is part one of an incredibly powerful conversation.
This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app
As I began to interview leaders for my Cutting Onions Podcast, my wife wisely told me I should explain why I am doing this podcast. So, three interviews in, here we go. This is a 3-minute explanation about why I started this podcast and what I hope happens a result. Early feedback has been good and I'm grateful to have this platform to elevate other leaders who have done amazing work around building a culture that has created high performing teams.
This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app
I had a chance to sit down with Kyle Hamilton at Rye Leawood for a great meal and great conversation. We talked culture, how restaurant leadership skills are transferable to any industry, how he could put the right person with a hotdog stand out on Johnson Drive in Mission, KS and make a million dollars (I believe him!) and a whole lot more. Kyle talks about the moment he realized he wanted to be a leader and I was lucky enough to have a front-row seat.
I had the pleasure of working with Kyle at McDonald's, Chipotle and Freebirds in the Kansas City market over the last two decades. When I hired Kyle as a GM at Chipotle, he had never been a GM before. I knew he was the right guy and he proved me right, over and over again.
Enjoy this conversation with a restaurant leader who gets it and is taking IT outside the industry to build a strong people culture.
This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app
I had a great time chatting with Danny Azzarello, co-founder of CRACK'D Kitchen & Coffee in Andover, MA. Danny's restaurant story started at age 10 when he worked in his aunt's restaurant, which is where he fell in love with the business. For Danny, restaurants are family and in this conversation, you will hear his commitment to building culture organically, creating opportunities for his team and his passion for this business. Danny's family, his upbringing, and his commitment to excellence have fueled his desire to create a culture that is positioning CRACK'D Kitchen & Coffee to do great things.
This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app
Matt Mitchell, a 37-year burger flipper, former McDonald's executive, and current Culver's franchisee, shares inspiration and real-world experience around a wide range of topics, including building a strong people culture, why culture matters, working a lifetime in restaurants and chasing excellence.
This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app