Office Hours: Acquire Talent, Don’t Nurture It

I’m Josh Kopel, a Michelin-awarded restaurateur and the creator of the Restaurant Scaling System. I’ve spent decades in the industry, building, scaling, and coaching restaurants to become more profitable and sustainable. On this show, I cut through the noise to give you real, actionable strategies that help independent restaurant owners run smarter, more successful businesses.

 In this episode, I dive into the critical aspects of restaurant marketing, the value of hiring top talent, and how to build a high-performance culture inside a restaurant. I break down why clear roles and defined outcomes are essential, how to financially justify investing in A players, and the role leadership plays in shaping team performance. I also share practical insights for restaurateurs who want to strengthen their operations and elevate their team dynamics.
 
Takeaways:

• Most restaurant marketing fails because it's built on guesswork.
• I've never seen an underperformer turn into an all-star.
• Early stage restaurants win by acquiring A players.
• We need to get clear and define roles around outcomes.
• Rescuing underperforming employees has hidden costs.
• A players are cheaper than B players in the long run.
• Your culture is what you tolerate, not what you preach.
• Every time you keep a C player, you teach A players that excellence is optional.
• Run the rehire test on your bottom 10%.
• Give your leaders a number to focus on and improve.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Restaurant Marketing Challenges

01:45 The Importance of Hiring A Players

04:39 Defining Roles and Outcomes in Restaurant Leadership

07:31 Creating a High-Performance Culture

If you’ve got a marketing or profitability related question for me, email me directly at [e-mail] and include Office Hours in the subject line. If you'd like to scale the profitability of your restaurant in only 5 days, sign up for our FREE 5 Day Restaurant Profitability Challenge by visiting https://joshkopel.com.