Restaurant Leadership Podcast: Overcome Burnout, Embrace Freedom, and Drive Growth
Welcome to the Restaurant Leadership Podcast, the show that teaches you how to overcome burnout, embrace freedom, and drive growth
Your host, Christin Marvin, of Solutions by Christin.
With over two decades of extensive experience in hospitality leadership, Christin Marvin has successfully managed a diverse range of concepts, encompassing fine dining and high-volume brunch.
She has now established her own coaching and consulting firm, collaborating with organizations to accelerate internal leadership development to increase retention and thrive.
Each week, Christin brings you content and conversation to make you a more effective leader.
This includes tips, tricks and REAL stories from REAL people that have inspired her-discussing their successes, challenges and personal transformation.
This podcast is a community of support to inspire YOU on YOUR unique leadership journey.
This podcast will help you answer the following questions:
1. How do I increase my confidence?
2. How do I accelerate my leadership?
3. How do I lower my stress as a leader?
4. How do I prevent burnout?
5. How do I improve my mental health?
So join the conversation and listen in each week on spotify and apple podcasts and follow Christin on LinkedIn.
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L. Connor Voice - LConnorvoice@gmail.com
Artwork by Solstice Photography, Tucson, AZ.
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Restaurant Leadership Podcast: Overcome Burnout, Embrace Freedom, and Drive Growth
80: People Over Process: The Leadership Shift That Changed Everything
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The gap between chaotic success and sustainable excellence often comes down to one thing: intentional leadership.
In this episode, Brett Russell, Director of Operations at Golden Mill, shares how he transformed a high-volume food hall by focusing on frontline insights and a people-first culture.
In a fast-paced restaurant environment, balancing leadership with the right technology is crucial. Smart tech solutions help streamline operations, track performance, and empower teams. Looking for scalable solutions? Check out RTI’s restaurant technology resources for tools that support labor management, financial visibility, and more.
Brett’s journey proves that understanding your people first—before financials or efficiencies—creates game-changing results. By training in every position, conducting one-on-ones, and mapping the guest experience, he uncovered insights no spreadsheet could reveal.
What makes this conversation so valuable? Brett’s practical, immediately applicable strategies. He shares how small systems changes—like defining guest greeting responsibilities or revamping interviews to identify natural hospitality skills—created massive improvements. His insight: "I'd rather teach the technical side to someone who knows how to make people happy than try to teach engagement"—challenges conventional hiring wisdom in the best way.
The transformation wasn’t easy. Brett discusses a full management team turnover, offering insights on balancing giving people opportunities with making tough decisions. The results? Engaged employees, consistent growth, and a team that proudly calls their workplace 'the best in town.'
Whether you're improving an existing operation or elevating your team’s performance, this episode delivers concrete strategies for building a people-first culture. Try one of Brett's approaches today—you might be surprised by the impact.
Resources:
The Hospitality Leader's Roadmap
More from Christin:
Grab your free copy of my audiobook, The Hospitality Leader's Roadmap: Move from Ordinary to Extraordinary at christinmarvin.com/audio
Curious about one-on-one coaching or leadership workshops? Click this link to schedule a 15 minute strategy session.
Podcast Production: https://www.lconnorvoice.com/
Today I've got an extraordinary guest on the show, brett Russell, who is the Director of Operations for Golden Mill, which is a very successful, high-volume food hall in Golden, colorado. Brett is going to share with us today his process and roadmap transitioning into an existing business on how he has been able to impact the culture of the organization and just produce some incredible results. His process starts with people and he's going to give us some very specific tools and strategies that he's been able to use in this instance and in addition to his entire career of managing restaurants and managing teams and growing teams. These processes and these strategies are really really really simple, basic and something that you can immediately take and apply. So even if you take one little nugget of wisdom from this show, it can really make a big impact in your restaurant. Or you can take 50. There's just this. This episode is action packed with so many valuable resources, so hope you enjoy.
Speaker 1:Welcome to the Restaurant Leadership Podcast, the show where restaurant leaders learn tools, tactics and habits from the world's greatest operators. I'm your host, kristen Marvin, with Solutions by Kristen. I've spent the last two decades in the restaurant industry and now partner with restaurant owners to develop their leaders and scale their businesses through powerful one-on-one coaching, group coaching and leadership workshops. This show is complete with episodes around coaching, leadership development and interviews with powerful industry leaders. You can now engage with me on the show and share topics you'd like to hear about leadership lessons you want to learn and any feedback you have. Simply click the link at the top of the show notes and I will give you a shout out on a future episode. Thanks so much for listening and I look forward to connecting.
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Speaker 1:Number three they help you ensure consistent food quality. Fresh oil means better tasting food every single time. They help you monitor your oil usage remotely with ease. Number four enhance safety. Reduce fire risks and injuries by eliminating the need to handle hot oil. Number five promote sustainability Join the eco-friendly movement by recycling used oil into biofuel. And number six maintain a clean kitchen. Imagine no more spills, pests or messy cleanups. The result a safer, cleaner, more efficient kitchen that saves you money and keeps your team happy. Ready to see why over 45,000 restaurants, from small independents to large multi-unit concepts, trust Restaurant Technologies? Visit rti-inccom to learn more. Brett, let's jump in. So let's go back a couple of years to when you first transitioned into Golden Mill and give listeners a little bit of background, real quick, on what Golden Mill is and what you guys do.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so the Golden Mill. We are a food hall, we have five different food vendors in our space, we have merchandise and we've got about 12,000 square feet interior and then a large outdoor space and we're in Golden. Colorado. It's a really great location. We're along Clear Creek, where everybody comes in tubes and kayaks. And then we overlook the Coors Brewery, so it's a real experiential place, right.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you guys do so much with community. It's just a packed house all the time, gorgeous rooftop, great, great food. I mean you've got some of the best of the best in Denver when it comes to food and just a killer experience.
Speaker 2:So, yeah, yeah it's. We've been really lucky to have some great operators in there and we have 56 tap self-port beer, wall beer, wine, spirits. It's a lot of fun.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you got some good NA stuff in there too.
Speaker 2:We do. Yeah, we've been focused on that and we've seen that segment grow.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I love it. So let's go back to your transition in as director of operations. Would you kind of paint the picture of what Golden Mill operations looked like at that time?
Speaker 2:Yeah. So you know, my, my, I've got kind of a bit of a convoluted story with Golden Mill in that I was part of the operational team before when it was being built and then left for a couple of years before we ever got open. That was right in the middle of COVID, you know there was some uncertainty there. But I left and then came back at the beginning of 2023 in a consulting role and initially my approach there, my charge, was to come in and identify opportunities. You know, I think that really the Golden Mill is a great success story in that the volume and demand from the day they opened the doors far exceeded what their initial expectations were, which is, you know, it's a great problem to have. But I think the first year to two years it was a lot of kind of hold on, get through the day and then, you know, recoup to just get through the next day. It was a little overwhelming.
Speaker 2:Ownership had recognized that there was, there was, there was opportunity there that you know they wanted systems built and a focus on hospitality, and really it was kind of a recognition that we have this amazing thing. But if we are not intentional and if we don't invest in in our, in our operations. It could go away Right Like we could. We could. We could could lose this lightning in a bottle that we found. So you know, initially it was coming in and observing and then presenting, you know, my recommendations. At that point they engaged me to execute on those observations and then that pretty quickly and naturally led to this DOO role, and that was June of 23. So it was about a six, seven month process to go from hey I'll take a look and tell you what I see to hey, can you please take all these things and make them happen?
Speaker 1:Right, I love it. I don't know if I told you this, but when I was just out for your guys' retreat, we were all that last night sitting at the dinner table that amazing dinner that you had coordinated for everybody and there were stories going around with the ownership team I don't know if you were listening in or if you were near, but stories going around about those first couple weeks in operation and how crazy that demand was and how they were like we have no idea what we were doing. We've never done this before. And so they were talking about trying to be the bouncers and how much of a catastrophe that was, and then hiring security just to keep up with the flow of people coming in. So I love that they brought you in as the expert.
Speaker 2:I think they thought they were turning on a garden hose and it turned out to be a fire hose, right?
Speaker 1:Totally, totally. That's great. Unlock the skills to transform your leadership with the Hospitality Leaders Roadmap. Move from ordinary to extraordinary Pact with practical strategies to lead with confidence and create lasting impact in your restaurant. Visit kristinmarvincom slash audio to download your free audio book today audiobook today. So what were some of those initial opportunities that you identified that needed to go?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean, you know there was, I would say, like a lot of things. A lot of it came down to people right, to accountability, to bringing in the right people, to setting clear expectations and then to have the systems and leadership team in there, that that we're able to do that as well. You know, I won't go into the weeds with it, but like, for instance, one of the first things I noticed is at the Golden Mill we have two kind of primary front of house facing positions. Right, we have a host and they're at our host stand checking people in, explaining how the process works. We use RFID cards so it can be a little confusing to somebody that hasn't been in there before. So their job is to welcome them in, explain how everything works, get them set up to enjoy the experience at the Golden Mill.
Speaker 2:And then we have what we call beer wall ambassadors. They are along our self-pour wall and their job is to show people how to use it, recommend beers and really, at the heart of it, it's a way to inject welcoming hospitality into a self-serve model. That's been a focus since before I was there. It's been a goal. But really, how do we inject hospitality into a self-pour beer, self-pour model and self-serve model so that it doesn't feel transactional right. We think that hospitality is just as, if not more, important in our model as it would be in a full service.
Speaker 2:So we have these beer wall ambassadors that are there to welcome, show, help, recommend, and when I came in I noticed one of the first things I noticed is that everybody was just lumped into front of house and so we might have 10 people scheduled but nobody was assigned to a position or a location and it was just kind of disorganized when they walked in. Expectations were difficult there and accountability was really difficult. You know, my question to the management team at the time is hey, I noticed that nobody is at the host stand, while we have people waiting to be greeted. Whose? Whose responsibility is that? Because I see 10 names but I don't know who. Who is supposed to be up up here, right? Um, so, so just kind of some basics.
Speaker 2:There is, you know, assigning, assigning roles and responsibilities, building clear expectations on what a greed is into the training, building a training program. You know, with your background, I'm sure you've seen amazing training programs and you've seen the training where it's like, hey, this is Tim, he's going to train you for the next three days, just kind of watch what he does and try and do the same thing. Right, and we were kind of on that barometer. So, shifting to clear, concise training, structured, making sure we're really laying out the expectations and giving our people the support and tools to meet those expectations. So that was a big deal.
Speaker 2:And then in doing that. You know it's kind of like a rabbit hole. You look into that and you go, okay, we need training, we need tools to train with, we need systems. What's the best tool out there? We brought in Opus so that we can do, we, we can structure the training there. We've created SOPs. We, you know we've we've built to train the trainers program. You know, we're actually right now in process this year for the first time of of doing a essentially an application and interview process for trainers. So rather than saying, hey, this person would make a great trainer, let's throw them in there. Um, we're asking our staff to to express interest in being part of that um and interview, apply an interview for the position and then um investing in their training as well to to do so. So, nice.
Speaker 1:I'm curious to know why you're like what was important to you about starting with the people component? Because you could have looked at the P&L and started cutting some costs and really dug into the back end of things. But what was it about the people focus that made you want to start there?
Speaker 2:Well, you know, I think that there's a few answers to that question. So high level, I would say you know, I don't think you can ever save your way to success, right? So it's not to say that efficiency and eliminating waste and watching your bottom line isn't important. But I've always been a big believer that if you want to succeed you've got to really focus on driving top line. And you know the bottom line comes with that on a kind of a level of the day to day operations. You know, I think anything when you, when you look at it, we're a big, a big space that's big volume. When you look at it, we're a big space that does big volume. It does start with the people, because if people aren't bought in and they're not motivated to really execute that vision and you know, when we talk about wanting to provide warm and welcoming hospitality, I can only be so many places.
Speaker 2:The owners can only be so many places, like, if our team isn't bought into that vision, isn't an extension of that vision and mission, it just doesn't work right.
Speaker 2:They need to understand why that's our vision, they need to get it and they need to feel supported in doing it too.
Speaker 2:Right there, there can't be a a situation, I think, where where our employees, our team, feel that they are separate than than leadership. We're, we're all in it together and they they have to be just as bought in. Yeah, you know, one of the things we talked about early on felt like a big, heavy lift is like what's really really important to me and one way to kind of put success in this is I want everybody that works at the Golden Mill to be proud of working at the Golden Mill to where you know. I think the way I phrased it early on is I said you know, when they walk into a different business or something anywhere, when they're talking to somebody, I want them to say I work at the best place in town to work at. You know, I work at the Golden Mill and really preach that versus we've all been around people where they're like oh yeah, we're here and you know, and they launch into everything that's wrong, right yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, totally. So what were some of the strategies that you used to get the team bought in, and did you start with leadership first or hourly? What did that look like?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean it started with leadership Right and kind of understanding what their challenges are. You know, there's when I came in both as a consultant and then later when I transitioned into a DO there are courses of trepidation from current employees.
Speaker 2:Right, there's people that are there that are going. What does this mean for me? What's going to change? Who is this person right? So at the beginning it's a lot of observing. I think it's understanding where everybody's coming from. So it's one thing to have your vision to say, hey, this is where we want to be, but it takes time to understand the best way there and the way there that brings along the team to do that. So, you know, it's really kind of empathizing and seeking to understand where some of these breakdowns have occurred. It's showing that you're willing to invest in your people.
Speaker 2:And then frankly, I mean it's kind of making expectations clear at a certain point, because some people aren't willing to come along.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:And and being able to make those, have those conversations and make those decisions too, is important. Right, if you're, if, if, if you're trying to create change, I think there is an obligation to give everybody an opportunity to get on board and be part of that change. But if people aren't willing to get on board, then the ship still needs to leave the harbor. Right and focusing. If the idea is that you're afraid to ruffle any feathers, I think you wind up never being able to move or grow or do anything. So you know it's a people business. It's bringing along the people that want to come along and supporting them and really demonstrating that you're just, you're invested in their success and development as well. Right, and there's a lot of ways to do that. Um, and then it's also it's from that point on, really investing in the people.
Speaker 2:I'll give you another example. I said in one of the interviews for an hourly employee right out of the gate, and it was like it, the interview was about 98 just telling this person kind of how the golden mill worked and what it meant for them. I don't know that one question was asked of this individual, right? So we weren't seeking to really, we weren't investing in finding the right people that fits for that. Coincidentally, that person got hired and they wound up being a great employee, so we got um you can edit that out.
Speaker 1:No, I'm just kidding.
Speaker 2:Um it, it. It was one of those things where it's you know, I I really believe that you have to. You have to invest in that process, on finding the right people and then in bringing them in and making sure that that they understand the culture and the mission and investing in their training again.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think that's a really great point. You're just giving me a moment of insight that I haven't really thought about, just thinking about the interview process as a moment to invest in somebody. There's so many. You're so right that there I've been through a lot of interviews where people have just talked at me or I've brought a resume to an interview and somebody looked at it and said what is this?
Speaker 1:And I'm like you know, I'm trying to tell you about me and and you know what, what experience I could bring to the table, and I think it's it's so important to have a good balance of letting somebody know what the expectations are but then also really getting to know them and making sure that they're a great cultural fit and, like you mentioned, that they match the mission and the vision that you have for the organization. That's um. Looking at that as an initial investment is um is really really special, and I I would challenge anybody listening to this to go back to their interview process and and really ask yourself like, are we investing in people out of the gate? Because it is such an important first impression about how that employee is going to be treated and developed in and invested in down the road with the organization. So kudos to you for looking at that.
Speaker 2:Absolutely. I'd even take it a step further, kristen, in like defining what will make that person successful in the role. So, like we were, you know one of the things that our team was really looking at early on. You know that I say, hey, what do you look for in an employee? You know, when you're sitting down and you're looking at resume and one of the biggest things that initially I was being told was, hey, experience. I want somebody that's got a ton of experience.
Speaker 2:Well, when you define what we're looking for in a role, I mean our beer wall ambassadors. They're along the beer wall and the main thing they're doing is engaging and talking to people and making them feel welcome, right, well, no, 20 years of bartending experience doesn't necessarily translate to that. Like some one of my, one of my most hospitable people that I have on the beer wall is a football coach. Right, he's just a big, gregarious guy. I can teach him what the different beers are and how it works. Like.
Speaker 2:That is not difficult. What, what is? What is a very difficult process. Almost impossible is to take an introvert that doesn't enjoy speaking to people and say, hey, you're going to be on this wall and I need you to talk to a thousand people today, right? So really defining what makes somebody successful in that role, it doesn't mean that this 20-year bartender that's really focused on like craft cocktails and mixology is a bad person or a bad employee. It's just saying that I don't know that that person's going to be successful in our role or happy and satisfied, right? So you know, it's as much finding people that will be happy and satisfied in the role as it is finding people that we believe can do it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I think you know, when you say you know we want to hire somebody with experience, I think it certainly depends on the role that they're playing. But that's also a very old school way of thinking. You know, back in the early 2000s there were a plethora of people out there used to post jobs and get hundreds and hundreds of applications of people that had been in the industry for a long time, and that's just not the case these days. And so people, if they're hanging on to that, it's going to be a huge roadblock and be very challenging for them to find people, which is just going to take longer to fill those spots. So again, like adaptability is per position, you know is is is. I think what you're, what you're getting at here, is like looking at the role and then finding the person that matches that role, not trying to find somebody who's already done that job.
Speaker 2:A hundred percent and if, if the market is and I would say a lot of people in the market are looking at that. They're looking for people, experience, right A lot of us were taught growing up.
Speaker 1:You know, coming up in this industry.
Speaker 2:You look and how many years serving experience do they have? How many years experience they have here for people that are passionate and are hospitable and enjoy making people happy. It gives you a competitive advantage in hiring in the market because your pool has just increased dramatically, right, and then you just have to focus and invest in teaching those people the specifics of the job. But that just takes me right back to. I would rather teach somebody the technical specifics of a job that already gets how to make people happy than try and take somebody and teach them how to engage people right.
Speaker 1:So hey there, podcast friends. I hope you're enjoying these impactful conversations and leadership insights I'm bringing you each week. Before we dive back into today's episode, I want to take a moment and reach out and ask a small favor. That would go a long way in supporting the show. If you've been loving the content I'm providing, please take a moment to leave a rating and review. Wherever you listen to your podcasts, Not only does it make my day, but it also plays a pivotal role in helping the show grow. Your reviews boost my visibility, attract new listeners and encourage exciting guests to join me on the mic. So if you want to be part of my show's growth journey, hit that review button and let me know what you think. Thanks a million for being awesome listeners. How are you identifying hospitality in the interview process with somebody?
Speaker 2:And let me know what you think. Thanks a million for being awesome listeners. How are you identifying hospitality in the interview process with somebody you know a lot of? It is just focusing on authenticity and I would say like if we're talking challenges there, right.
Speaker 2:One of the biggest challenge in interviewing for hospitality, I think, is some of us get overly focused on how just quick and easy they talk to people and what you wind up missing is people that get nervous in interviews, right Like. I've had some really amazing employees that are super engaging and really good people provide amazing hospitality. That frees up in interviews a little bit, right.
Speaker 2:I had a friend tell me one time, or a mentor one time, they're like people that interview really well, interview a lot. That's not necessarily a good thing, right. So kind of digging through there and having the patience with people, making them comfortable so you can see kind of who they are, giving them a safe space to open up and be themselves in that interview, it's a skill for sure. And balancing that with also kind of digging in because I'm not a huge fan of just a pure conversational interview, right Like. I do think you need to dig a little bit and and uh and kind of find out what their core values are, um, but do so in a way that you can kind of see glimpses of who they are when they're when they're comfortable.
Speaker 1:So let's go back to your again. When you were kind of transitioning in was there? Did you go in with a plan of like I'm going to observe for 30 days, 60 days, 90 days and then I'm going to start implementing, or did you just kind of know when that moment was?
Speaker 2:where you needed to stop observing and start jumping into action. What did that look like? Yeah, you know it was. I think initially we were. We were on a 60 day plan, right? So it was hey, I'm going to observe for 60 days and by observe I don't mean I'm standing in the corner with a notepad taking notes.
Speaker 2:I went through a training program at each, at each position. You know. I said hey, I'm a new, I'm a new quarter. What? What's the process? Right? Who do I train with? What does training look like? Put me on dish, I want to. I want to learn how a dishwasher is trained. I want to learn how a beer wall ambassador is trained. So, definitely hands on, but not expressing opinions, Right, it was a lot of one on one. So interviewing all the managers, sitting down with them, getting them comfortable, sitting down with just different people on the hourly team, sitting down with our licensees and finding out what the pain points for them were. It was a process of learning and understanding and then putting together this proposal right, and I apologize, I don't remember exactly. I think we were a little ahead of schedule.
Speaker 2:I don't think it took 60 full days to get there to the observational piece, but we essentially led to a presentation with a proposal and I came at it with the ownership and said here are my recommendations and here's what I would do if I were in your shoes. Here's what I would do if I were in your shoes, if I was the sole owner of the Golden Mill. Here's what I would do and here's how I would prioritize these initiatives. And then my approach was if you'd like, this can be it, I can hand this off to you and you can run with this, or I can help you execute and implement these. And thankfully they said we'd love for you to implement and execute these. And I think we spent there was probably an initial 30 to 60 days where I was focused solely on that.
Speaker 2:And then, from a consultant standpoint, you get into some some kind of weird areas where I'm like, hey, this isn't really in my scope of work, but it feels weird to say not my, not my problem, right, um, and those conflicts I think. I think we understood on both sides so pretty quickly. It led to hey, let's just, let's just get you on board and go Right. And so it was, you know it was. I feel fortunate that we've got a great ownership team. I think we all. You know everybody brings kind of different things to the table, but everybody's aligned in what the ultimate goals and mission are. So it always, even when everybody's in a room and you might disagree on the pathway there, you're never doubting that everybody has the same goal right.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah. How did you, out of all those initiatives that you identified, how did you know how to prioritize those?
Speaker 2:You know it's part of it is one starting starting with people, right? So, so it's. It's kind of like building a house, right, you, you, you don't, you're not worried about the pain on the walls before you poured the foundation. So it's like, hey, we need a great team that's invested, understands our mission and feel supported, so that we can utilize this team to start driving these initiatives. Right? So, you, you, you focus on, on building the tools that are going to help you, um, kind of build the rest of it. Um, and then and then also, you know it's not a perfect science because, as we all know, in this industry, you know it moves fast and you know you're trying to grab opportunities. So I can't say, hey, in three years we're going to provide great hospitality, right, you go, hey, we need to focus on building this foundation, but we also have to address these immediate concerns so that we're not losing ground in terms of our guests and demand and top line.
Speaker 2:So it's a little bit of a balancing act and you have to be able to to one move fast and you have to be able to focus on multiple, multiple things and, honestly, part of it is really, I think, being vulnerable and transparent with your team and going. We're going to try a bunch of things and not all of them are going to work, and we want your feedback and we're listening to you. We want to know what's working and what isn't, but you're going to have to, you're going to have to know this is an imperfect kind of process to get where we want to go. Right. We're not going to bat a thousand on every single thing we do, but what we will be committed to doing is always hearing feedback, reevaluating and pivoting when we need to. You know we're not going to just say, hey, here's the plan and, no matter what, we're going forward Right.
Speaker 1:Yeah, totally. Did you share that initial plan with the entire leadership team?
Speaker 2:We did. Yeah, yeah, we did we, you know we went in. We did. Yeah, yeah, we did. We, you know, we went in, went in with ownership. So there was there's a presentation to ownership, and then the next process was was sitting down with the leadership team and saying our management team and saying, hey, here, here's our observation.
Speaker 2:I learned some lessons in doing that. You know, I think if my advice to somebody, if somebody was in that same position, I underestimated or maybe overestimated that management team's understanding of what my role was and what, what this is. So you know, I'm going in expecting everybody to this management team could be really excited about some of these changes and I think there was an initial trepidation because they're naturally they're going oh, how does this impact me? Right, and I think there's there's a bit in that situation. I was, I was probably, if I was to go back, I would be a little more delicate with that to not make them feel like, hey, these opportunities are a reflection of the job that you've done. I think I underestimated the impact of that, right?
Speaker 1:So yeah, it's tough, right, you go in, you're excited, you see opportunities, you know you can do the job, you know what the end result is going to be and what the impact is. But it's really difficult to get a younger team to get on the same page when they have not experienced that before.
Speaker 2:Absolutely, you know, absolutely, and yeah, you know. I think it's natural in that situation for somebody to go oh, how does this impact my role, particularly if they're aware that they're not performing well, right? So yeah.
Speaker 1:So let's, let's talk a little bit about leadership. So you, you, you know approached everybody. You let them know about the vision. You gave them opportunities to buy in Did. Did they buy in? What was that experience like? Did they buy in? What was that experience like? Did they push back? Were they all on board?
Speaker 2:There was pushback. Initially. We had you know, it was a small management team at the time, right? So we had kind of three salaried managers at that time full transparency. None of those three people are still with the company. At that time Full transparency. None of those three people are still with the company. I think we got some buy-in. We had to part ways with the general manager at one point and I think that shook the other two. There was a relationship there.
Speaker 2:All in all, in that, I feel like we gave everybody a great chance to get on board and ultimately, I think they just it wasn't the spot for them, right, whether it was the change was was something that they weren't into, whether it was our vision they weren't able to buy into. But but we didn't get there. Now, during that process, we brought on two more salaried managers. They're both. They're both kicking ass. I mean, they're doing great and since then we've now expanded to, we've got a five person manager team. That that we're now going into. We're getting close to turning on a year of continuity with those people. So, yeah, we feel really good about where we are today and the people we've been able to bring on and, honestly, looking back. Like you know, it took a little while to build, but it was worth the investment.
Speaker 2:And there were times, Kristen, I know you've been there we're like, we're sitting there, we're interviewing for a position. We're in, like, month three of interviewing for that position. I've invested, you know, a hundred and something hours and you start to feel like man, are we ever going to find this person? You start questioning, you know, am I being too picky here? Am I over filtering? Are my expectations not? Are they too big to not match the market? But ultimately you always, when you do find that right person, all that gets dispelled. We always have to keep learning that lesson Totally. But, like, when you find it, you're like oh yeah, this is why. This is why I waited, you know, and this is why I trusted my gut and held fast to my principles.
Speaker 1:Right, yeah, I mean you know, when we were together for your leadership retreat last year, you know it was all about being a world class business and offering world class hospitality, and that comes with a lot of systems and a lot of accountability, like you said, and a lot of expectations and and and some pressure there right To identify opportunities and to keep learning and keep growing all the time, which can be really fun or can seem really daunting and exhausting to people Right and exhausting to people right. So it's Hi, everybody. We're taking a quick break to offer you an exciting opportunity. If you're a restaurant owner or manager looking to enhance your leadership skills, I invite you to join my 12-Day Leadership Challenge. In just 12 days, you'll receive a guided packet with actionable strategies to transform your leadership in less than five minutes a day. Join the challenge and the community and grab your copy at kristinmarvincom slash 12 days.
Speaker 1:Now let's get back to the show. It's difficult to you know. I just commend you for, you know, doing the work that you've done over the last couple of years. Having 100% management turnover it's not. That's not the goal when you go in right. You and I worked together for a long time, like I know how much you invest in people and how you really truly believe in what you do. And when you present a vision to somebody, there's that, that hope and goal, that that everybody buys in, that everybody shares that same excitement too. Right, and it's, it's difficult because you know I wonder how, like how much time did you give each person to buy in? Or or until you made the decision that it just wasn't going to work, or did they make that decision for you?
Speaker 2:Yeah, no.
Speaker 1:I mean.
Speaker 2:I mean a little of both Right. So. So, like it was, we, we essentially fully turned the management team that was in place about a year in right Over the course of that, over the course of that year, you know, talking about the retreat, I had a conversation with somebody about the retreat that you did Right and and they were asking like hey, do you have that go? Was it worth it? And one of the questions they asked on the on the what was worth it is, they found out they said so you know, two of the four of your managers were gone a month after the retreat. Do you feel that that was a waste of resources to to have them go through that retreat? And my response to them I was like, actually I think it was an amazing use of resources because it really showed me and made me feel confident that, yeah, no matter what we invest in these people, this just isn't the place for them. Right. It made it abundantly clear and it made it clear to the rest of the management them. Right. It made it abundantly clear and it made it clear to the rest of the management team right, the two that are doing so well today.
Speaker 2:I think it showed them. It made it abundantly clear like there's a separation here, right, there's the people that are like let's go, let's have a really great business, let's be part of something bigger than ourselves, let's invest in our people and like, let's take pride in what we do. And then there and then there were people that are like I don't, I'm not, I'm not here for this, right, so it was, it was a real aha moment. Where you're, you know, I think, anybody that really cares about their people, you, where you're, you know, I think, anybody that really cares about their people, you, you wrestle and struggle with having to, having to, to to move somebody along, right, to turn somebody. It's if, if, if you're quick and easy with that, then, um, you know, I think my dad told me one time he's like firing somebody should be the hardest thing you ever do, and when it, when it becomes easy, maybe do something else, right, so, so, like that, that retreat in that moment, really, it really kind of unraveled that struggle for us.
Speaker 2:Where we go, okay, we, we now know, right, like we feel really confident that this just isn't the place for, for, for these people, and uh we're able to make that decision confidently, without any kind of uh, regret or or, or, you know, second guessing, if, if it was the right move, so uh.
Speaker 1:I mean it's interesting, right, because with the retreats that we've done, it organically comes up right, like you have the pain points. You know we design the content, we know exactly what the agenda is going to be for the two to. You know four days that you're spending with that team, but you don't know until you get everybody in the room and then you're delivering that content. You don't know who's going to be engaged, you don't know who's going to be bought in, and you see it. You know it's different to have like one meeting and see who's speaking up and who's excited and where the body language is and what questions come up during the conversation and then what action is taken after that. But to see that over a two or three day span and then watch that person consistently show up in a certain way is really really telling. I mean that's a very special moment that is really difficult to duplicate, I think, in the day-to-day chaos controlled chaos of the restaurant industry.
Speaker 2:That's a great point, right. You can observe your team. For a lot of times it feels like minutes at a time in the chaos of the day-to-day. But putting them in a room for six to eight hours for two or three straight days it's. It's a little harder to hide in that Right Like yeah.
Speaker 1:So, yeah, and especially, I mean you know it's not like you're grilling them for three days. There's great meals and lots of great food and fun and laughs and activities and all that, and lots of great food and fun and laughs and activities and all that. So, so focused on people. You've talked a little bit about the interview process. You've talked about the training. You've talked about coaching, the one-on-ones, the observations. You know, fast forward now two years.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Paint a picture of what a day in the life of Golden Mill looks like now.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so you know, essentially we bolster our management team. We've really our kind of goal this year is to invest in having our higher level managers, giving them the bandwidth and opportunity to work on the business as well as in it, and kind of utilizing those resources. We have these great resources, the bandwidth and opportunity to work on the business as well as in it, um, and and kind of utilizing those resources. We have these great resources, um, and great people that are passionate and talented. So giving them time and space to add to the business and and build the framework of the business and continue to drive it forward, um, in a way, that's hard to do If you're the sole person on to do, if you're the sole person on the floor the entirety of your week. But being able to trust them is great. Being able to give a project and say, hey, here's our desired outcome, here's our objective, I'm here to support you, but you go run with that. That's something that we have today that we didn't have a year ago. Right, was that ability? So? And that's where it kind of exponentializes that growth and that drive forward with the business, right? So now, instead of me being the sole driver of it and then having to delegate tasks, I can actually delegate projects and objectives, right? Nice, I mean, that's been huge.
Speaker 2:We've built a lot of systems and brought in a lot of systems as well. Right, we changed our payroll company. We brought in Opus. We've really utilized some of the tools we already had, but expanded what we can do. Gotab, our POS, seven Shifts is our scheduling platform. We've brought in a lot that allow. We brought in Triple C for events kind of doing these things that allows people to do more with their time, spend less time just doing tasks and more time driving programs right, so, really, really investing in those tools.
Speaker 2:And then I say, investing in those tools, investing in utilizing those tools to their maximum capability, is big too. Right, I've been guilty of this plenty of times in my career, where you bring something in, you roll it out and you don't have time to come back to it and you're you're utilizing 20% of what it does. Yeah, no, I, you know we. I'll give you an example that just happened the other day where we were, you know we're talking about like different audits and tasks.
Speaker 2:You know, we're trying to trying to get a tool to, uh, to come where, say, our managers can go through our bathrooms in the morning check off, hey, this is done, this is done, this is done, this is done. And my first inclination was like, hey, I know this I auditor tool and we can use this. But then you look and you're like wait seven shifts which we already use and is already on everybody's phone has the same functionality. So really digging into the tools you already have and making sure you're utilizing them to their capability, I think is a big thing. That's easy to lose sight of right? You?
Speaker 2:start using it for a very narrow functionality and never come back to see all this cool stuff it can do.
Speaker 1:Yeah, 100%. That's great Great tip for anybody looking at your tech. Think about this cool stuff you can do. Yeah, a hundred percent. That's great Great tip for anybody looking at your tech. Think about everything you want it to do first, and then jump in.
Speaker 2:I think you had a recommendation, kristen, the other day and I felt this. I was like, yeah, this is, you're absolutely right. Like not spreading yourself so thin with tech, like not you know, I think if you have 10 different logins and use blah, blah, blah, like people just get lost in that and then you're not, you're not using it. So, really trying to to get the most out of fewer solutions, versus, hey, I'm going to everything that's cool and fuzzy, I'm going to put it all in here and then we're not, nobody's really using it, Right.
Speaker 1:Totally, totally. That's great. Um, how has this, all the work that you've done over the last couple of years? How has it translated to the hospitality in the space and how's it? How's it translated to the bottom line?
Speaker 2:Uh, so, so, hospitality, um, our, our culture today and it's it's funny because you, it happens over a period of time, right, so the gains aren't always day to day, you know.
Speaker 2:You know it's like a, it's like watching a kid grow, right, like you don't. You don't every day go. Hey, you're a, you know, a 100th of an inch taller, but after a year and a half you're like, when did you get this tall? Like, when did this happen? Right, it feels a little like that. So, so, when we really look back and talk about some of the opportunities and that we had two years ago, and you're able to kind of visualize that versus where we are today, and you're able to kind of visualize that versus where we are today, I think we have a team that is absolutely committed to that hospitality. They're happy, they're engaged. It feels good to walk in the door, right, like, from my standpoint, it feels good to walk in the door. I think our owners have mentioned that. I think we've done away with most of the us versus them and the entitlement and all that stuff that goes with that, to where we're all on the same team, we're all collaborating and everybody understands, hey, we win together and we lose together and we're here to support everybody in the building and vice versa, right, and we need that support. So I think we've made a ton of inroads and a ton of progress with that hospitality and that culture. And you know, we just give you like an idea. We just posted a job for a training and hospitality manager. Right, it's an hourly manager position that comes in and it's somebody that can really help drive and execute our training program that we've built. And I just looked today and I've got, I think, four so far in one day. I've got four internal candidates that have applied for this job Year and a half ago. I don't think we would have seen that at all. Right, so that's a big win to to see that, see that engagement and that want and desire to grow and grow into opportunities with this company.
Speaker 2:Um, so, and from a bottom line standpoint, um, we've seen, you know we've continued to see year over year growth. Hopefully this year we will as well. You know, I think everybody's a little bit what's going to happen this year with everything, but we saw good growth for a few weeks in January. We've been kind of weather hobbled these last couple of weeks, so we'll see. We're fairly weather dependent, so it's tough to predict the future when it's five degrees outside, right, like that tells more of a weather story than a growth story. But we're confident that we can continue to do that and the bottom line has been great. We've seen continued growth there.
Speaker 2:And then I think one thing that I feel really fortunate to be a part of this company is our owners have a very long-term vision for our space. A lot of that bottom line gets translated back into investment, back into the space and the people. So, you know, every year we are, we have more tools, you know we have, we have more ability to continue to grow that top line, which just translates to more bottom line, right? So you know, whenever we're talking about capital expenditures or we're talking about, you know, should we add this or do this? It basically the conversation gets centered around does this improve the guest experience? Does this allow us to build a bigger sense of community? Does it, you know, does this drive our mission? And if it does, let's let's make it happen, right? So totally.
Speaker 2:Well. God no, you go ahead. I'm sorry.
Speaker 1:I was just going to say I, you know your story is extraordinary. You know, go ahead, I'm sorry, and you were super organized about the way that you felt like the initiatives needed to be executed, but also really exhibit a ton of flexibility and adaptability and knowing when things need to pivot right. And you are so good at the long-term strategy. And that takes a lot of time and energy right To coach and to continue to get people to buy in and look for the right people and make sure they're aligned with the core values and culture is really difficult to define and it's it's difficult to build and and it takes time. So I, you know.
Speaker 1:Thank you so much as you've done with your team. I saw your 2024 rap sheet of wins and it's just absolutely mind-blowing and incredible, and thank you for sharing your process today with the listeners too. I think the things that you're talking about are not revolutionary. It's about the basics and it's about the people and it's about setting clear expectations and being able to hold them accountable to those and constantly looking for ways to grow the team internally and externally, and you've got a great roadmap to show people how to do it. So great job.
Speaker 2:Yeah, well, and thank you for being a part of it, Kristen.
Speaker 1:Brett, again thanks for your time and being here and please, listeners, share this episode with anybody that you think could benefit from all the amazing nuggets of wisdom that Brett shared with us today. We will talk to you all very soon.
