Living The SIX Tenets Of Agile Hospitality Episodes

Shawn Askinosie left a successful career as a criminal defense lawyer to start a bean-to-bar chocolate business – Askinosie Chocolate. It is a small batch direct trade chocolate maker in Missouri, sourcing 100% of their cocoa beans directly from farmers. Shawn’s commitment to fairness, sustainability, minimal environmental impact, and community enhancement is undeniable. It was great catching up with Shawn to learn more about his work ethic and advice on leading purpose-driven initiatives. Tune...

Today’s guest, Dan Simons, co-created and co-owns Farmers Restaurant Group, which includes seven restaurants in DC, Maryland, Virginia, and Pennsylvania, including Founding Farmers, Farmers Fishers Bakers, Farmers & Distillers, and their distillery, Founding Spirits. The company supports over 1,500 employees and continues to grow. Dan blogs regularly @Dan Simons Says about restaurants and hospitality, personal productivity and time management, developing partnerships and brands and environmental...

Joining me on the show for the second time is Ari Weinzweig, the co-founder of Zingerman's Community of Businesses. You have probably heard me reference Zingerman’s on the show about how they are true trailblazers when it comes to building a business that make sound financial results as well as a positive impact on people, society and the planet. Ari has written a range of books and pamphlets including ‘The Guide to Good Leading Series - Part 1, 2, 3 & 4’ – and today we will be diving into the...

With over 30 years of innovating and leading, Mats Lederhausen has a strong belief and commitment to a more long term and more impactful capitalism. Born in Sweden, Mats began his career with McDonald's and worked for The Boston Consulting Group. Now based in the US, he is now the CEO and Founder of Be-Cause, a platform for investing and building businesses with a purpose bigger than their products. I am a huge fan of his weekly blog and newsletter called In Pursuit of Elevation, which is a gre...

Paul Hargreaves is the CEO at Cotswold Fayre and Flourish, and author of two inspirational books – ‘Forces for Good’ and ‘The Fourth Bottom Line’. As a B Corp Ambassador, he often speaks to leaders who want to change the world through better business. It was powerful to learn more about his personal and professional journey that’s taken him to where he is today. Paul joins me today to share what we can learn from his businesses – they are great examples of how you can build a financially sound ...

Creating a green and equal world needs to be a mission for all companies, not a side project. But it’s a courageous mission that can feel overwhelming, so there is a great book that can give you that much-needed direction –‘Net Positive: How Courageous Companies Thrive by Giving More Than They Take’ by Andrew S. Winston (Consultant on corporate strategy) and Paul Polman (ex-Unilever CEO). The authors show business leaders how to take on humanity's greatest and most urgent challenges—climate chan...

I’m super excited to speak with Thom Elliot co-founder of Pizza Pilgrims, who makes authentic Neapolitan pizzas in Central London and beyond. Pizza Pilgrims started life in 2011, after Thom and James drove a three-wheeled Piaggio Ape back from Italy on a 6 week ‘Pizza Pilgrimage’ of discovery to learn everything there is to know about pizza. I love their latest venture, the Pizza Academy, which is designed to inspire young people to choose hospitality as a career and be a center of excellence f...

Roland Horne’s approach to the pursuit of mastery is fascinating. He entered hospitality because he was a disgruntled customer. Fast forward to today, he is the founder and CEO of the Central London specialty coffee chain WatchHouse. From day one it has been the company’s vision to grow and offer great coffee to great communities. This was a truly remarkable conversation where we find out how businesses should give more than they take. If you want to learn more about growth, then this one's for...

Mark Cribb is the host of Humans of Hospitality podcast and Director of Urban Guild – a local, independent hospitality company based in his hometown Bournemouth, UK. From his travels on the road, it’s been his mission to bring an inspired, energetic, creative environment to his hometown where the wonders of people and the world could be embraced and shared every day. 17 years on, Urban Guild is now made up of the Urban Beach hotel, The Wood Oven & Urban Reef, Jenkins & Sons restaurant and Urba...

What makes a place ‘special’ to work at? I’m excited to share with you a conversation I had with an expert in this field. David Dressler is a leadership coach, strategic advisor to purpose-driven entrepreneurs, author of ‘Ten Year Plan’ and one of the co-founders of Tender Greens – a successful and purpose-driven restaurant chain in the USA. In this candid interview, David shares how to form a ten year business plan, making a difference in your community, the current restaurant ‘Renaissance’, a...

How can you involve your people in building a better culture? Find out from Mel Miller, Director of Marketing & Business Development at Pathfinder Hospitality, about how they do this by operating as a people-first company. The organisation develops hotels and also manages hotels for third-party investors by leveraging its talented workforce, relationships with major hotel brands, and buying power with major hospitality-focused vendors. Join us as we discuss their philosophy around growth – an...

Hawksmoor is a British steakhouse and cocktail bar chain founded by Will Beckett and Huw Gott in 2006, after they set out in search of the perfect steak. Fast forward to today, they run nine steakhouses based in London, with a recent new opening in New York City. Will joins the show to share how they have built a business that they are proud of. This is a truly enlightening conversation where we explore how Hawksmoor makes their customers feel special. We also discuss prioritising your staff, h...

Brindisa has been the home of Spanish food in the UK for over 30 years. It was set up by Monika Linton in the 1980s to share her love for quality Spanish produce to the UK, and her aim has always been to bring excellent food and ingredients from the most remote parts of Spain to Britain and to champion selected smaller producers and their skills. It was amazing to learn how she structures her business with 120 employees through open-book management. We explore working with small producers, grow...

Today we’re joined with the Founder of The Pioneers, Matt Grimshaw. The Pioneers are a team of culture engineers who help scale-ups to design and build the People Operating System they need to drive rapid and sustainable growth. It was great having Matt on the show to discuss how your company culture is a source of competitive advantage. We explore how to avoid burnout when scaling, meta cultures, having the courage to be different, open book management, defining growth – and lessons learnt fro...

Today’s guest David Lockwood has been involved with the British cheese scene for 25 years – and is currently the Managing Director of Neal's Yard Dairy. The artisanal cheese retailer works with about 40 cheesemakers. They select, mature and sell farmhouse cheese from the UK and Ireland. Their secret to their success? Always have a clear, long-term plan in mind. I had a great time meeting David in person, checking out their dairy in London. Tune in to our conversation as we explore the history o...

Mary Sue Miliken is one of my personal heroes. With over four decades of experience working in the hospitality sector, she has created a true legacy through her sustainability, social and culinary goals. Mary is an American chef, restaurateur, cookbook author, activist, and radio and TV personality. She is best known for Border Grill restaurants, trucks, and catering, which she runs with her business partner of more than 35 years, Susan Feniger. In this conversation we discuss what it’s like to...

This is the first face-to-face conversation I’ve had since the pandemic, and I’m super excited to meet the co-founder of Honest Burgers, Tom Barton, in Brighton – where the business was conceived. Starting from humble beginnings, they now have burger restaurants in London, Reading, Bristol, Cambridge, Cardiff, Brighton, Manchester and Liverpool. They make British beef patties in their own butchery, and most of their ingredients are homemade. We discuss what it means to be honest, being an ‘anti...

Tim Foster joins the show to help arm you with your recruitment tactics. Tim is Head of Being Awesome at the Yummy Pub Co, which operates pubs in London and Surrey. Yummy Pub is a boutique pub company founded in 2007 by Tim, Anthony Pender and Jason Rowlands. They’ve learnt how a hospitality business can survive and thrive amidst a pandemic, through adaptability, staff engagement, and a resilient mindset. Tim’s drive and ambition to succeed is infectious. In this discussion, Tim shares how he u...

It has been just over a year since Marco Reick joined the show to discuss company values during a crisis. A lot has happened since for both hospitality and Marco, so I can’t wait to catch up and reflect what we’ve learnt. Marco is now the Director of People & Talent at QOOT Co. – an investment and management company in the world of hospitality. Their portfolio of market-leading brands and restaurants include The Gentlemen Barista, The Lebanese Bakery, Chestnut and 19th Century Burger. In this c...

In celebration of the Hospitality Mavericks Podcast’s 100th episode, I’m excited to share with you today an interview I had with a true hero of mine – Chip Conley! He was Airbnb’s Head of Global Hospitality and Strategy for four years, and is currently their Strategic Advisor for Hospitality and Leadership. He also founded Joie de Vivre Hospitality, which created and managed over 50 boutique hotels. He is currently the Founder of Modern Elder Academy, a wisdom school dedicated to helping people ...

Back in January 2016, Pim de Morree and Joost Minnaar quit their corporate jobs after their workplaces were too filled with too much inertia, bureaucracy and a lack of motivation. They started the blog Corporate Rebels and have been travelling the world to visit the most inspiring workplaces. I’m super excited to finally have Pim on the show as I’m a huge fan of their book, Corporate Rebels. As we know, hospitality doesn’t work in a linear way, so why do so many organise themselves in such a to...

I’ve wanted to have today’s guest on the show for a while now, and the day has finally arrived! Naimesh Patel is Co-Founder and CEO of Manju's, the family-run Indian restaurant in Brighton. Manju's is named after their 84 years old mother who is a chef at the restaurant – a lifelong dream now fulfilled. This was a deeply grounding interview where we unpack the importance of having an internal North Star. In our conversation we discuss their recruiting process, having on small menus, the reasons...

Connecting all the way from Bangkok, Thailand, I’m joined by Deepak Ohri, CEO Lebua Hotels and Resorts. Deepak is a real truth-seeker, so I really enjoyed hearing his gems of knowledge. As he mentions in this episode, “people are assets, not costs” – we need to look after our staff now more than ever. Deepak is an entrepreneur, business leader, public speaker, guest lecturer, and mentor. He joined Lebua Hotels and Resorts in 2003, where he helped drive its ambitious growth by keeping the human ...

In this episode, the guest is Neena Jivraj Stevenson Chief Cultural Officer of Point A Hotels, which is more than just a hotel with rooms - it’s a place where everyone receives heartfelt hospitality, no matter their budget. They now have hotels in London, Edinburgh and Glasgow. Neena and Michael talked about life in hospitality and being part of a family business, how Point A Hotels are navigating the pandemic by putting people first, and their approach to leadership and culture. Neena shares...