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February 10, 2026

587: How To Apply Insights To Your Coffee Bar

Podcast

Coffee shop insights and resources abound! We have innumerable platforms, tools, and ideas that all have a certain amount of value…if only they are adopted and applied well and consistently to your shop On today’s episode, we will be tal...

Comments0
February 3, 2026

586: How to Dial In Your Cafe

Podcast

When we think about dialing-in, we automatically think about coffee. Changing the grind, the recipe, and other inputs and variables all to obtain an ideal outcome. Your coffee shop is not just about coffee though, and that means that oth...

Comments0
January 20, 2026

583: Unifying Teams Across Multiple Cafes

Podcast

When you have multiple cafes and a distributed staff, getting everyone on the same page in the operations can be very challenging. In fact, it happens to be the number one reason why businesses with 2+ locations start to see a downturn i...

Comments0
December 23, 2025

579: How to Really Care For People in the Cafe

Podcast

How we care for people through our work should be the primary focus. From healthy and strong relationships and systems the help support them, we get healthy and strong businesses and a real chance at a long term sustainable operation.  ...

Comments0
December 18, 2025

SHIFT BREAK! New Things are Overrated

Podcast, Shift Break

Do you feel the pull, the itch, the compulsion to add more, buy more, and create specials and new things for your customers all the time? You are not alone. The industry is filled with cafe that are stuck in a never ending cycle of makin...

Comments0
November 3, 2025

570: Myths Baristas Believe Part 1

Podcast

At this show we believe that the onus for setting people up for success and being the chief servant of those above them is squarely on the leader or owner of the cafe. they have more power, say, and responsibility. With that said we must...

Comments0
October 15, 2025

SHIFT BREAK! When To Break The Rules

Podcast, Shift Break

The great Danny Meyer said, “Policies are nothing more than guidelines to be broken for the benefit of our guests”. I come back to this idea often when trying to balance the tension between the need for structure and boundaries, and the ...

Comments0
October 13, 2025

566: The Problem With Systems

Podcast

Systems are a necessary part of running a great coffee shop, but they do not make the shop great. As much as I talk about systems and structures on this show, the truth is, there are some problems with even the best systems when they are...

Comments0
September 15, 2025

561: How to Motivate Baristas

Podcast

This is a question that seems to be answered by many with desperate incentives and what amounts to just brute force to get their staff to do the things they want them to do in the way they want them to do it. In many ways, it’s a favorit...

Comments0
August 18, 2025

556: Myths Coffee Shop Owners Believe Part 1

Podcast

What we believe is often a mixture of what we heard , what we have experienced, and what is convenient for us in the moment. The truth is, we are desperate for certainty and as our desperation grows, our ability to be reasonable and disc...

Comments0
August 18, 2025

556: Myths Owner Believe Part 1

Podcast

What we believe is often a mixture of what we heard , what we have experienced, and what is convenient for us in the moment. The truth is, we are desperate for certainty and as our desperation grows, our ability to be reasonable and disc...

Comments0
August 11, 2025

555: 3 Ways to be Better Cafe Manager

Podcast

Becoming a great manager is as much for other people's benefit as it is for your own. In order to do this you have to see it as a practice that incorporates certain mindsets and habits that contribute to developing you into the kind of...

Comments0
July 2, 2025

SHIFT BREAK! Seasonal Staff

Podcast, Shift Break

I have talked to many clients as well as Key Holder Coaching Group members who employ seasonal staff. There is a big challenge when looking to hire, train, and manage them since the term of their employment is short and they are either...

Comments0
June 29, 2025

548: Cool Ideas For Customer Engagement

Podcast

The landscape of retail is cluttered with messages, distractions, gimmicks, and desperate bids for scraps of customers attention. After a while, it all starts to look, sound, and feel the same. How do you stand out for the right...

Comments0
June 23, 2025

546: Tools That Every Coffee Shop Should Have

Podcast

In this ever cluttered world of tips, tricks, methods, eqipment, and tools it can be hard to know what to employ in the cafe to really make a difference. I am of the opiniion that the best tools are not necessarily physical, but are...

Comments0
June 16, 2025

545: Breathing Life Into Your Coffee Shop

Podcast

Have you ever walked into a shop and noticed right away, this place is different. The hospitality, the quality, the feel, the energy, and the comfort and confidence you and the staff feel together is a synergy born from purposeful work...

Comments0
June 2, 2025

543: A Philosophy On Employee Turn-over

Podcast

Everybody leaves. That is the constant of working in coffee shops. How they leave and how you respond to their absence for their good, the team that remains and for your business is a question of how much intentionality you bring to...

Comments0
May 26, 2025

541: Repetition, Reminders, and Guidance

Podcast

If you are like a lot of owners or managers you might find the idea of reminding and repeating yourself to be at the top of the "most annoying things I should not have to do" list. To a degree you are right. But only partly. It really...

Comments0
May 19, 2025

540: The Good and Bad of Job Descriptions

Podcast

On average, when I look into a cafe's operational materials and systems, one of the main things that is either not developed well, developed but not updated, or just not there at all, are job descriptions. For many coffee businesses,...

Comments0
May 14, 2025

SHIFT BREAK! Vendor Hospitality

Podcast, Shift Break

Who we are when nobody s looking is really who we are. There are variations of this phrase and for most it is convicting and motivates us to increase the integrity of how we move in life and work. In the cafe, we talk a lot about...

Comments0
May 1, 2025

SHIFT BREAK! Small Wins Build Trust

Podcast, Shift Break

Once we get a little bit of authority as a trainer, manager, or leader in the coffee shop we tend to dream about and focus on all the things we want to change. Unfortunately the projects that we know will improve things often do not...

Comments0
April 21, 2025

536: What It Means to Set Up Staff For Success

Podcast

The world of cafe management is full of great ideas that, if applied well, would indeed change things for the better. The idea around leader ship role being primarily about "setting people up for success" is one of those principles....

Comments0
April 3, 2025

533: Principles of Quality Control

Podcast

The quality of your product matters. Some might get the idea that if only we are kind and hospitable then all will be forgiven or overlooked when it comes to quality fumbles. Actually, quality and the delivery of excellence in the...

Comments0
March 30, 2025

532: Start with Hospitality

Podcast

The question we sometimes ask interviewees is, "What is more important, quality, or hospitality?" Spoiler, it's a trick question and the answer we like to hear usually is "Both".  Well, today on the show we will dive into why the...

Comments0
January 27, 2025

520: Tips For Great Workflow and Bar Presence

Podcast

Workflow and bar presence are the necessary foundation on which coffee shines. Lately I have been doing a lot of cafe design and training work. One of the central themes of training and design is that both the space and the people...

Comments0
January 22, 2025

SHIFT BREAK! Cortado Confusion

Podcast, Shift Break

As most of you know, Starbucks has once again coopted a traditional drink and introduced it to their menu as a part of their "Back to Starbucks" campaign. The cortado, a 4 oz espresso and milk drink originating in Spain, has been a...

Comments0
January 15, 2025

SHIFT BREAK: Don’t Rely on Brand Identity

Podcast

Does this sound familiar? "You should shop here because we are local! ...or we support this cause! ...or we have this association!"? While our identity and associations in the community are beautiful and add depth to what customers...

Comments0
January 6, 2025

SHIFT BREAK: Back to the Basics

Podcast

The value proposition of a coffee shop is not a complicated one. Kind service and hospitality in a clean and well organized space serving consistently great coffee. Boooring! At least that what it seems like we must be thinking. Why...

Comments0
January 1, 2025

SHIFT BREAK: The Delegation Dip

Podcast

Delegation is a difficult, but necessary part of growing your coffee business. It is critical in helping you grow as well. Delegation of responsibility and authority is a response to the growth of the business that, while promising to...

Comments0
December 24, 2024

SHIFT BREAK: Keeping the Shop

Podcast

Let's face it, the look, feel, and functionality of the physical coffee shop will always be an important part of showing hospitality to our guests. The issues we are faced with is one as old as time. We meticulously set up our spaces...

Comments0
December 20, 2024

515: 7 Areas to Pursue in the New Year

Podcast

It's that time of year where we are collectively setting our sights on both the past and the future. What will this next year of 2025 hold for you and your coffee shop? The answer to that question is that your tends to be made up of...

Comments0
December 19, 2024

SHIFT BREAK: Adjusting Our View of Labor Cost

Podcast

Labor cost is probably the number one most worried over metric in the cafe. Of course, like any other metric that signifies the health of the business, your labor cost needs to be something you pay attention to and control. But the way...

Comments0
December 10, 2024

512: The 5 Non-Coffee Books You Need to Read!

Podcast

Ideas are like green coffee seeds. They are bundles potential cultivated by earnest hands that are then received by others who take them and develop them further. The final rendering of that seed can and does often result in something...

Comments0
October 14, 2024

502: Creating Meaningful Coffee Experiences

Podcast

We all say that guest experience is the most important thing. I would agree, but exactly what do we mean by this? In today's marketplace we are hyper focused on efficiency over effectiveness. The result is that what passes for what we...

Comments0
September 10, 2024

SHIFT BREAK: Don’t Celebrate Unhealthy Wins

Podcast

We have to overcome many challenges in the day-to-day operations of the coffee shop. Some of these challenges are inevitable, and our ability to grow from our experiences with them is a mark of maturity that we can celebrate, but many...

Comments0
September 10, 2024

496: Hard Decisions and High Standards

Podcast

Much of what gets written regarding the reasons behind declining standards in the coffee shop focuses on the leadership and what they can do to facilitate success. Here at KTTS there are dozens of interviews and solo episodes dedicated...

Comments0
August 28, 2024

SHIFT BREAK: Embrace Your Space

Podcast

Designing your coffee shop can be one of the most exciting parts of the opening or scaling process. Exciting, that is, until we come up against resistance to our great ideas in the form of space limitations, quirks, historic...

Comments0
August 22, 2024

492: How to be The Best Coffee Shop

Podcast

What is the "Best" coffee shop? As long as coffee and coffee shops have been around, us humans have been rather preoccupied with what the best coffee of coffee shop is. We have our own personal scale of judgment, then there are local...

Comments0
August 12, 2024

SHIFT BREAK: Setting Staff Up For Success

Podcast

 When we talk about our employees it is common to talk about "setting up staff for success", but what does that really look like. Talking about it can sometimes wrongly convince us that we are actually doing it.   On today's Shift......

Comments0
August 7, 2024

SHIFT BREAK: Reassessing Growth

Podcast

Growing the business is probably the number one concern in the cafe industry. In general we tend to look at growth as either scaling the size of the business physically, or the revenue and profitability. What if I told you there was...

Comments0
July 24, 2024

SHIFT BREAK: Don’t Give Up

Podcast

Seeing results form your efforts is what motivates most all of us. In the coffee shop you are engaged with a dynamic intersesion of moving and living communities that take your efforts and reward you with sometimes obvious and...

Comments0
July 17, 2024

SHIFT BREAK: Don’t Manage by Crisis

Podcast

Managing in a cafe is one of the ultimate forms of leadership. Part of leading as a manager is planning for, responding to, or avoiding altogether, problems with people, operations, and quality. But instead of spending our best...

Comments0
June 27, 2024

SHIFT BREAK: The Best Marketing Strategy

Podcast

We only have so much energy, time, and money to give to marketing our coffee shops. There is a lot of stress related to having the right strategy for getting people to become aware of you cafe and then visit and keep visiting. To make...

Comments0
June 20, 2024

SHIFT BREAK: Stop Talking, and Start Doing

Podcast

It is easy to talk about the things we want to improve, fix,  and institute in the cafe. Trouble is that in all the talking of doing the how we need this or that, we tend to leave it there and wait until an opportune or ideal time...

Comments0
June 16, 2024

480: Focus on What Your Customers Love

Podcast

Your customers count on you to create a wonderful cafe experience everyday. That is the implied or explicit promise of our marketing and what most of us aspire to deliver. The way we get there is by paying close attention to what our...

Comments0
June 5, 2024

SHIFT BREAK: Why You Need Exit Interviews

Podcast

Try as we might, the reality is that eventually even the best staff will leave our shops for another job or career. How they leave is largely up to us as leaders. Some will exit on bad terms for reasons related to bad management or...

Comments0
May 30, 2024

SHIFT BREAK: When Numbers Lie

Podcast

Numbers tell a story, but not the whole story. Though the number of times someone purchases an item on your menu may indeed mean that they prefer it to other options, what data cannot tell us is whether or not customers who generate...

Comments0
May 8, 2024

SHIFT BREAK: Feedback is Not a Lecture

Podcast

Too many times we confuse giving feedback with lecturing our staff which easily shuts down the person we were intending to communicate with. Feedback is critical to your culture but, As past guest and friend of the show,Tom Henschel...

Comments0
May 1, 2024

SHIFT BREAK: Evil Owners and Lazy Baristas

Podcast

How many times have we fallen prey to assumptions about one another in the cafe that end up creating needless strife and hold back progress at maybe the most critical point in the supply chain? Answer, too many times to count. We...

Comments0
April 24, 2024

SHIFT BREAK: Beyond the Metrics

Podcast

Business success leaves clues. Metrics such as labor percentage, COGs, Employee Turnover Rate, and more are all measurements we use to both guide how validate past decisions and guide future decisions. But what about the intangibles...

Comments0
April 18, 2024

SHIFT BREAK: Minding Our Business

Podcast

How do we help? A few thoughts have been swirling in my mind since the SCA expo in Chicago, and one of them has to do with the best contribution we can make to help each other in the industry with our respective parts of the supply...

Comments0
April 17, 2024

469: Unremarkable Hospitality and Cafe Terroir

Podcast

When we read about amazing hospitality stories in restaurants, it can (and should) inspire us to pursue hospitality in our our coffee shops. Trouble comes though, when in our pursuit of the next level hospitality experience we can...

Comments0
April 11, 2024

SHIFT BREAK: The Art of Letting Go

Podcast

In order to progress, you need to let go. For coffee shop owners this is hard to do because so much on the initial business is based on personal work and many "firsts" that bring with them a sense of nostalgia and preciousness that can...

Comments0
April 9, 2024

468: How to Be a Shift Lead

Podcast

The Shift Lead position is one of those roles that is very misunderstood. Often a title given to baristas for whom the boss wants to retain or established as a position to police a shift that has problems that run deeper than merely...

Comments0
April 4, 2024

SHIFT BREAK: Embracing Problems as Blessings

Podcast

A mentor to Danny Meyer once told him "Business is Problems". This was said to point out that challenges are not only inescapable, they are actually a part of the fabric of what we do. Unfortunately many of us are consider the problems...

Comments0
March 28, 2024

SHIFT BREAK: How to Fine Tune Your Coffee Bar

Podcast

There is no neutral. Only forward or backward. Your coffee shop is not a static thing that will simply take care of itself. The people, space, product, and culture all need to be given care and attention to prevent breaking down over...

Comments0
March 11, 2024

463: Tips on Having the Right Meetings

Podcast

If there is one thing most people agree upon, it is that they hate meetings. Have you ever considered why that is? Usually we hate meetings because they seem like a waste of time that only brings more confusion rather clarity. Poorly...

Comments0
March 7, 2024

SHIFT BREAK: You Don’t Want Loyalty

Podcast

Many people want their customers to be loyal to their shop without providing much incentive for that loyalty. In fact we often will all but demand loyalty by virtue of our status rather than based on what we deliver. Customers all over...

Comments0
February 28, 2024

SHIFT BREAK : Trends You Can Ignore

Podcast

Marketing can be good, and bad. At it's best it exposes you to resources that help you mindfully build your business. At its worst it takes advantage of your insecurity and fear of not know how to build that business and turns your...

Comments0
February 20, 2024

SHIFT BREAK: How to Take Criticism as a Barista

Podcast

It is very difficult to take criticism. Especially when you may be fully aware of the imperfections of those offering the feedback on your performance. Trust me, I have lived the rage of those moments in full, and have come to see how...

Comments0
February 19, 2024

460: What to Look for in a Manager

Podcast

People don't leave jobs, they leave managers. This is an old but still true saying that, for me, underscores the importance of selecting the right person to take on a management role in the cafe. A bad manager makes the work miserable,...

Comments0
February 14, 2024

SHIFT BREAK : 2 Tips for Bar Design

Podcast

There is nothing as frustrating as working on and getting served from a busy bar that was not designed appropriately. From size, placement, equipment selection, and more, there are many areas to consider when designing a space that...

Comments0
February 8, 2024

SHIFT BREAK: No Cell Phones

Podcast

It's the age old question, "Should we be able to use our phones behind the bar?". Simple right? Well, yes in some ways but the way we approach answering this question has downstream impact on the overall experience both our staff and...

Comments0
January 31, 2024

SHIFT BREAK: Too Many Managers!

Podcast

Can you have too much of a good thing? When it comes to managers and bosses in the coffee shop the answer is a resounding and exasperated YES! Why do we do needlessly multiply leaders in the shop like Oprah giving our free cars and as...

Comments0
January 25, 2024

SHIFT BREAK : The Scourge of Nitpicking Bosses

Podcast

If I could pick one way to absolutely decimate your culture and drive your employee's morale into the dirt, while also making your customer's squirm, it would be passive-aggressive reactionary nitpicking masquerading as leadership. I...

Comments0
January 18, 2024

SHIFT BREAK: Questions Are Not Threats

Podcast

In order to have engaged baristas, owners and managers must first be willing to engage. Unfortunately we have a habit of stifling questions and feedback from the group of people who live closest to the systems we create and treat...

Comments0
January 17, 2024

453 : The Craft of Operations

Business, Management, Podcast

When we think of the craft of coffee we tend to think only in terms of the bean and beverage itself. The whole value chain of coffee has benefited greatly from continued emphasis on transparency and today we have the ability to track dow...

Comments0
December 28, 2023

SHIFT BREAK : Evolution Through Small Steps

Podcast

When we set goals it is usually because we have come to realize a need for change. In the cafe this can result in making a large scale transformational effort that can often fall flat, We want to evolve and grow our cafe or even...

Comments0
December 18, 2023

SHIFT BREAK: Embracing Your Constraints

Podcast

You can't always get what you want. In fact, getting exactly what you want may hinder your growth and creativity in the long run. Most of us in the cafe space work within constraints of budget, time, space, and capacity, and that is...

Comments0
December 1, 2023

SHIFT BREAK: We Need Inconvenient Coffee

Podcast

We are obsessed with innovation that tends to solve problems that are increasingly inconsequential to the customer. A race to put coffee in virtually any context all in the name of convenience may bring coffee to more people, but what...

Comments0
November 23, 2023

SHIFT BREAK: The Weight of Relationships

Podcast

The coffee shop environment is filled with more that just coffee. It is a swirling mix of emotions, thoughts, expectations, communication, action, interpretation of actions, and everything in between. In other words...Relationships....

Comments0
November 16, 2023

SHIFT BREAK: Make Customer Feedback a Priority

Podcast

Do we care what our customers think? If so, how do they know? When you talk to almost any operator of a cafe you will hear them say that they value the customer and their feedback. The question though is how are the customers supposed...

Comments0
November 14, 2023

442 : We Need Confidence, Celebration, and Joy!

Podcast

You hear it everywhere. Owning and running a business is hard, taxing, a battle even. And while there is truth to this, it is not the whole truth. In the entrepreneurial journey we have accepted, with no degree of irony, that it is a...

Comments0
November 2, 2023

SHIFT BREAK: Quality Still Matters

Podcast

Quality is subjective. What is not subjective though, is that quality matters. That begs the question, how should we define quality and pursue it in an age of coffee where we want both excellence and inclusivity of expression of...

Comments0
October 31, 2023

440 : What Should Scare You About Coffee

Career, Podcast

Working in coffee, you come across a lot of unexpected career pitfalls. Things that you may not have expected that can lurk just around the corner and lead us off track in our careers and our businesses. That should scare us. At least it...

Comments0
October 19, 2023

SHIFT BREAK: Making Minimum Viable Changes

Podcast

Once we see that there are changes that need to be made tyo improve our shops, we can tend to either freeze under the enormity of the task, or we can respond by going all out in a fast and intense bid to fix that area. In reality,...

Comments0
October 13, 2023

SHIFT BREAK: Rest and Meaningful Work

Podcast

As we focus this week on balance and taking stock of the levels of energy and effort we put into our cafes, we must also consider the type of work we are taking on and how it alligns with our values and how we find meaning in it.  On...

Comments0
October 5, 2023

SHIFT BREAK: I Learned it from Watching You!

Podcast

Whether or not you are familiar with the 80's anti-pot commercial this episode references or not, the fact is that those who we lead are looking at the example we give them in our own performance. Even if we are not doing the same...

Comments0
September 27, 2023

Defining Excellence and Success

Podcast

We love to talk about setting each other up for success and pursuing excellence in what we do. In some ways we are like the person trying to order food in english to a server who does not understand the language, instead of...

Comments0
September 24, 2023

433: How to Earn Loyalty

Podcast

How do I find loyal staff and win loyal customers? This question and many like it has been asked thousands of times as we deal with incredible amounts of turn over in our shops. We have tried tricks, incentives, benefits of all kinds...

Comments0
September 22, 2023

You Need to Prioritize In-House Training!

Podcast

Cafe standards are often a jumble of various people's ideas sourced from both far flung areas of the industry and the past habits of new staff. We are in a constant cycle of sending people away to outside places to learn what to do...

Comments0
September 14, 2023

Raising Your Hiring Standard

Podcast

The world of hospitality is filled with people who are either a great fit for the field, or not. Problem is that, for the number of coffee shops in operation today demand for great people is way higher than the supply. So how do we...

Comments0
September 9, 2023

Pull Out The Fridge

Podcast

Ever wonder what's behind the fridge? Most of us have had the unique "pleasure" of finding out. The build up of cup lids, loose change, grime, and other organic matter / creatures is a great illustration of how we tend to avoid things...

Comments0
August 31, 2023

Insecurity in Management

Podcast

Now that you are the boss, manager, trainer, or leader, there is a lot of pressure to perform and prove yourself to those your lead AND to yourself. It is easy to question your legitimacy and fall prey to imposter syndrome. "I need to...

Comments0
August 25, 2023

For Here or To-Go?

Podcast

What would you think if you went to a sit down restaurant an hour before close where, after seating you, they brought your food out in doggie bags "because we are closing soon and we don't want to have to do dishes". My guess is that...

Comments0
August 10, 2023

Generate More Urgency!

Podcast

So many things vie for our attention in the day-to-day work of the coffee shop. In the midst of the fires we need to put out, questions that need answers, and ideas everyone has (both good and bad) we have a general idea of what we are...

Comments0
August 3, 2023

Faithfulness and Honesty

Podcast

It is easy to get discouraged in running a cafe. There are a million things to do and the temptation to despair becomes worst when we hold an idealized version of ourselves and our work in our heads everyday. What are we working for...

Comments0
July 27, 2023

Three Questions for Better Cafe Decisions

Podcast

Everyday we make decisions about both small and large things in the coffee shop. Often those decisions are made in a reactive way that is more born from a sense of urgency and FOMO than intentionality and right fit.   Today on Shift...

Comments0
July 21, 2023

The Courage to Correct

Podcast

While we always want to assume our staff are aspiring for the highest standards, we know that they (just like us) need help. In the course of the day there are many opportunities to speak into the lives of your baristas as a coach and...

Comments0
July 14, 2023

Who Are We Creating Our Standards For?

Podcast

Serving our customers well means being able to give them our best. This can only be done if we are constantly seeking to improve what we do. But not at the expense of who we are doing it for. Today on Shift Break we will be chatting...

Comments0
July 11, 2023

420: Meaningful Roles in the Cafe

Podcast

You see it all the time, a barista is promoted to a role such as trainer, manager, cafe lead etc, but they quickly find that there is very little preparation that has gone into this role. They are either simply not doing much, but now...

Comments0
July 5, 2023

Are YOU Using Your Manual?

Podcast

I hear it all the time, "My baristas just don't use the manual!" Of course it is frustrating to work into a document and resource only to have people forget or disregard it. Before you get too bent out of shape, you may want to ask...

Comments0
June 29, 2023

Focus on Your Manager Culture

Podcast

In all the building of systems and curating of culture we do, the one culture that tends to get short changed is the managers. Whether it is just you and one manager or a team of admin staff, the relationship between leaders in a...

Comments0
June 21, 2023

Resentment in the Cafe

Podcast

If we work with people long enough, we are going to face frustrations and challenges. Too often these normal relational issues go unresolved and solidify into something called resentment.  Today on Shift break we will be talking about...

Comments0
June 16, 2023

Bottling Your Best Barista

Podcast

All of us have had the conflicted emotions of having baristas that are simply amazing but then also knowing that those baristas will eventually leave the coffee shop. Try as we may, most staff will not be long term and this can either...

Comments0
June 9, 2023

Seeking to Learn Across Age Divides

Podcast

Especially important for the younger generation is access to the wisdom and experience of those who have gone before. Older coffee professionals can also benefit from the drive and perspectives of the younger. Problem is that we tend...

Comments0
June 1, 2023

Menu Simplicity as Hospitality

Podcast

I mean, I like variety as much as the next person, but overly complex menus are overwhelming and create confusion for customers who rely on us to curate our offerings that meets their needs in a way that delivers quality over...

Comments0
May 25, 2023

The Myth of Hands Off / Automated Leadership

Podcast

There is a shortcut for everything these days. Automation, templates, and other tools would give you the impression that you can automate of be hands off with your leadership and that your aim is to continually seek more ways to remove...

Comments0
May 18, 2023

Don’t Forget Relationships

Podcast

The foundation of the building determines the stability of what is built on it. When it comes to building a coffee shop business your growth cannot out pace the degree to which you invest in the relationships and the culture at the...

Comments0
May 11, 2023

Embrace the Fallout

Podcast

It is not so much the fear of change that keeps us from moving forward in the areas we know are necessary. It is the fear of what will happen when we implement the change. The fall out, we imagine, is too much to handle and so we stay...

Comments0
May 4, 2023

Avoid These Cafe Meeting Mistakes

Podcast

Like you, I have been to and conducted my fair share of cafe meetings. And also like you, I have seriously questioned the effectiveness of these get togethers. In fact, in many cases meetings can hurt more than help. How do we avoid...

Comments0
April 27, 2023

Coffee, Integrity, and A.I.

Podcast

Today we have an incredible number of options to increase efficiency and outsource everything we do, including the things that people would normally assume come from you as a creator. This presents a problem that I believe is based...

Comments0
April 20, 2023

Things the Owner Can’t do for You

Podcast

When it comes to leadership, the power and authority that is inherent in the position creates a need for higher degrees of responsibility to facilitate and support those being led. Be that as it may, for those who are being led, this...

Comments0
April 12, 2023

Pitching your Ideas to Your Boss

Podcast

"If only the boss would listen to my ideas this coffee shop would be so much better!" We all have ideas for how to improve different aspects of the cafe. Many times I have been frustrated when my really great ideas were not met with...

Comments0
April 5, 2023

Baristas Are Not Magic

Podcast

There are no shortcuts to creating something meaningful, dynamic, and sustainable. But that does not stop us from thinking that that there are! Whether you are leaning on the idea that you just need the perfect or award winning barista...

Comments0
March 30, 2023

Service, Spite, and Compromise

Podcast

I was having a conversation with my wife and son about the practice of "decafing" customers and when anyone would take it upon themselves to do that. Ultimately it boils down to a decision we make in the moment to maintain integrity...

Comments0
March 22, 2023

Stop Glorifying Chaos

Podcast

Ever find yourself saying or hearing things like "Well, we go through it!" or "That was so crazy, welcome to Saturdays!" or "That's just the way it is here!" and many other phrases that draw attention to some very difficult situation...

Comments0
March 15, 2023

More Power To Them

Podcast

Your staff need you to empower them. We like to think that we do this but many times it amounts to surface level communication and resourcing that is out of step with the day to day reality your staff live.  In today's Shift Break we...

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March 9, 2023

Are You Open?

Podcast

This is not just a question asked by an over eager customer haunting the front entrance 10 minutes before you open the shop. It is also a question a customer asks to themselves when they encounter a lack luster, apathetic, and...

Comments0
March 2, 2023

Slow is Fast?

Podcast

You have heard this many times from managers and trainers alike. The idea being that if you want your work to go at a quick and consistent rate then you have to work with purpose.  On today's Shift break we will explore this idea and...

Comments0
February 23, 2023

Loving Where You Are

Podcast

It is all too easy to throw shade at your current state. It is also because of that easy path to bating yourself up that we find it difficult to find the good and even great things about where we are now in our career or business. On...

Comments0
February 15, 2023

Right Tools, Wrong Job

Podcast

You might have the perfect checklist, SOP, policy, and plan to apply to you current situation, it might even make things technically better, but if you are in the wrong place, position, or even career then those tools can easily become...

Comments0
February 9, 2023

Two Tips on Hiring an Outside Manager

Podcast

The ideal for cafe management is that you can raise up and promote a barista from within the shop. Unfortunately that cannot happen in all circumstances and shop that needs to delegate management is forced to seek outside help.  On...

Comments0
February 2, 2023

Community as Avoidance

Podcast

Community is an incredibly important part of our industry. In fact it is the number one thing cited by professionals as the main reason they love coffee. Unifying around a common love is so powerful and helps us all become better...or...

Comments0
January 26, 2023

Values At The Heart of KTTS

Podcast

I am helping my clients establish values all the time. Having a clear understanding of what is important to you and your business is incredibly important because it informs everything you put your hand to. For this show, and in my...

Comments0
January 19, 2023

Leaner Teams, Better Results

Podcast

The future of staffing our cafes depends on how effectively we hire and set up our teams for success. Rather than having an unsustainably low or high number of staff working, we need to create lean and effective teams of thoroughly...

Comments0
January 12, 2023

Making Yourself More Valuable

Podcast

Professional development and opportunities for betterment and advancing are areas that operators must bake in to the business as much as possible. If you are a barista, manager, trainer etc and you want to take advantage of those...

Comments0
January 4, 2023

Handling Staff Complaints

Podcast

Nobody is perfect. No coffee business is perfect. Therefore there will inevitably be complaints that staff have about the business. This could be anything from the schedule and state of the bar, to the performance of co-workers and...

Comments0
December 29, 2022

Focus on These Areas in the New Year

Podcast

Every year we have the opportunity to invest our time and attention into many different things. In a coffee shop it can be overwhelming and toward the end of the year we tend to look back and determine way to improve how we invest our...

Comments0
December 22, 2022

Avoiding Toxic Loyalty

Podcast

We all want our customers and staff to be enthused and exhibit what we tend to consider loyalty. Trouble with that word is that it is loaded with assumptions that go beyond reasonable expectations. In fact, many operators are guilty of...

Comments0
December 14, 2022

Authenticity and Performance

Podcast

Sometimes it is hard to reconcile our desire for authenticity with the performance and responsibilities that we take on while working in the cafe.  In fact, for many baristas, their distaste and inability to embrace anything that seems...

Comments0
December 7, 2022

Should You Hire Back a Fired Barista?

Podcast

Boy oh boy this is a hard question. The initial reaction you might have to this will depend on your position in the cafe, your knowledge of the circumstances around the firing, and your ability to consider more than just the individual...

Comments0
November 30, 2022

Ineffective Training

Podcast

It happens all the time. We create and conduct training sessions, programs, and systems that contain a lot, but do not produce a lot.  We end up with staff that are ill equipped for handling the day-to-day work and challenges that...

Comments0
November 24, 2022

Thankfulness and Giving Energy to the Positive

Podcast

Thankfulness, positivity, affirming others, and seeking out the good can easily be things that get pushed aside in favor of the problems, stresses, and challenges of this life. As a result we develop a lob sided perspective in reality....

Comments0
November 16, 2022

Imperfect Action and Finding Time

Podcast

"Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good" This quote from Voltaire has been passed around a lot over the years, even still it seems we always find ways to procrastinate on starting things because we either want it to be perfect,...

Comments0
November 11, 2022

The Insult of Sink or Swim Training

Podcast

It's wild to me that this still exists in coffee. The idea that we can throw a new hire in to the mix of a shift in a new cafe and expect that they will prove themselves as being valuable based on if they fail or thrive.  On today's...

Comments0
October 27, 2022

Some Tips on Signature Drinks

Podcast

It is that time of year where cafes are all but expected to have the ubiquitous PSL in their menus. But there is so much more. Beyond this staple drink specialty cafes around the world have developed both wonderful signature creations...

Comments0
October 13, 2022

A Shift Break…on Shift Breaks

Podcast, Shift Break

Finally. It is time to get meta and have a Shift Break conversation about...shift breaks.  We all go to work with a finite amount of energy to use on that days tasks and responsibilities. Trouble is that we also tend to work well...

Comments0
October 4, 2022

How Should Managers be Appraising Staff?

Podcast

I got a great question in from a listener. "How should managers be appraising staff?" I love it because it gets beyond the trope of the holy trinity of delegation (Schedule + Inventory/ordering + Shift coverage) and assumes correctly...

Comments0
October 4, 2022

371: Baristas, Don’t Be A Hero

Barista Craft, Podcast

We all are susceptible to the siren song of trying to fix a place or a person to our own detriment. In the moment it seems like the right move and there is a sense higher calling an nobility pushing us forward. The reality though is that...

Comments0
September 29, 2022

The Wrong Way to Improve Morale

Podcast

One of the top questions I get asked is about how to improve employee morale. As someone who has conducted and sat through his fair share of meetings designed around this issue,  I can tell you with a fair degree of certainty what does...

Comments0
September 22, 2022

Make Your Problems More Specific

Podcast

There is always a general sense of anxiety present when it comes to running a coffeehouse. Part of the reason for that is that problems are always popping up and we need to then deal with them. The other reason for why this anxiety...

Comments0
September 16, 2022

Your Bathroom Stinks

Podcast

When we promise our customers a specialty experience in our shops they would logically assume that promise of quality might extend to the bathroom. Alas, it is not so. Not at least for many shops.  On today's Shift Break we are going...

Comments0
September 8, 2022

Investing in Financial Education

Podcast

It is critical to pay baristas and staff from a place of generosity. We like to say "Pay what you can, not what you can get away with". In many cases though there is a lack of knowledge of how to manage income once it is paid. If we...

Comments0
September 1, 2022

On “Quiet Quitting”

Podcast

There has been a lot of publicity around the phrase "Quiet Quitting" in the last few weeks. In short this is explained as employees doing bare minimum and as giving up on their jobs without explicitly quitting. It would be easy to...

Comments0
August 25, 2022

Why You Need to Back up Your Policies

Podcast

One of the most common complaints I hear from owners and managers is related to staff not following policies of the shop. In many cases it is not just a simple mistake but a habitual ignoring of directives. Obviously this kind of thing...

Comments0
August 19, 2022

Increase Costs? Increase the Value!

Podcast

As we all experience increased costs in the coffee shop the cost of our drinks and products will also need to increase. The major worry that many of us have is how customers will respond to this. On today's Shift Break we will talk...

Comments0
August 12, 2022

Managing Expectations in Systems

Podcast

This week on KTTS was basically "Logistics Week". When we talk about logistics and systems we naturally think about forming rules for how work is done that others can rely on for a predictable outcome. Trouble is, change is always...

Comments0
August 4, 2022

Excellence In The Things We Hate

Podcast

"I just want to make coffee!" That thought has crossed all our minds at some point in our barista careers. In fact I remember clearly being reprimanded for my hyper-focus on the espresso machine at the expense of pretty much everything...

Comments0
July 28, 2022

Language Barriers and Understanding

Podcast

"We don't speak Starbucks" I cannot tell you how much damage phrases like this have done over the years. More than just creating hostility at the register with customers who don't speak the same "coffee language" as us, it also sets...

Comments0
July 22, 2022

Vanity Metrics

Podcast

In coffee, we like to see ourselves making progress and we check our state against certain metrics and goals that we believe, once reached, will transform our business and as bring satisfaction. Today on Shift Break we will be...

Comments0
July 14, 2022

Don’t Hire on a Trial Basis

Podcast

It happens in cafe all over the world. Baristas are hired on a trial basis to see if they are a good fit for the business. On the surface, this practice seems logical and, no doubt, may yield some positive results. But...I believe the...

Comments0
June 30, 2022

Using Slow Times Well as a Barista

Podcast

We all hate when a shift is slow. It can feel demoralizing, boring, and frustrate even the best barista. What if these times on the bar are not all bad though? What if instead of seeing these times as a waste, we saw them as an...

Comments0
June 23, 2022

Turning Radius

Podcast

How long does it take to see a change take root in you coffee shop? Well, turns out it all depends on how long you have been operating and how large the company is. When we don't take the dimensions of our business, trying to make a...

Comments0
June 16, 2022

Four Steps to Inspiring Your Staff

Podcast

How do I motivate and inspire my baristas? I get asked this question a lot by owners and managers desperate to see excitement and vibrancy in their cafe culture vs aone of slow, uninterested, and minimal participation and engagement. ...

Comments0
June 9, 2022

Sacrificing Productivity

Podcast

It feels like we need to constantly be growing and producing something new or else we risk looking like a failure, or that we lack ambition. The idea that we always need to be expanding and taking on new things is a flawed one that...

Comments0
May 26, 2022

Doing What You Want -vs- Doing What is Needed

Podcast

Management absolutely means you have the opportunity to affect change in the coffee shop. It also mean you have a responsibility to make sure the current operation is running smoothly and that the basics are taken care of. Often we...

Comments0
May 26, 2022

Special Message: Love and Sacred Space

Podcast

In the wake of tragedy and heartbreak we find ourselves looking for ways to heal and make sense of the chaos around us. The recent violence, racism, and evil that took place in the U.S. took place in spaces where people should not need...

Comments0
May 19, 2022

Specific Expectations and Due Dates

Podcast

For some reason we tend to think people can read our minds. When we communicate generally but expect specific results we are setting ourselves and everyone else up for a  lot of tension and confusion.  On today's Shift Break we will dive......

Comments0
May 12, 2022

The Importance of Debriefing

Podcast

After a rush, an event, or any situation where there is tension and the need to perform well as a team (pretty much any time) there are always a lot of thoughts and emotions that people have. Unfortunately we tend to simply carry on as...

Comments0
May 5, 2022

Messy Can Be Beautiful

Podcast

Some of the reasons we do not take the next step to delegate management or take the next step in our business is because we feel we are not ready. It seems embarrassing to not have it all together when you've over authority to someone...

Comments0
April 28, 2022

Making a Decision Pipeline

Podcast

It's one thing to make decisions when you work alone, but quite another thing when you work with others and your decisions have far reaching impact on different employees, leaders, and departments. What e and to do is force change into...

Comments0
April 14, 2022

Are We Giving our Best to the Least?

Podcast

I witnessed a heartbreaking scene unfold while at SCA EXPO in Boston. The situation was a common one in most of our cafes but in this context it really impacted me and inspired this Shift Break.  What are we doing in specialty? Is our...

Comments0
April 7, 2022

Don’t Force Vulnerability

Podcast

We love the idea of developing a culture of trust. A place where it is safe to open up and be honest without worrying. Vulnerability is the new metric (among others) by which we judge how successful we are as leaders and I am happy...

Comments0
March 31, 2022

Getting Them In By Getting Out!

Podcast

How do we get people to come to our shop? This is the question at the root of most of our marketing efforts. So many of us have stories of how customers will tell us, even after years of business, "I never knew you were here!". It's...

Comments0
March 24, 2022

Flexibility for Owners and Managers

Podcast

Giving up control and taking on a new role can be scary. As a result a lot of owners and managers rely on rigid and controlling way of leading that ends up doing more harm than good. In today's Shift Break we will be talking about the...

Comments0
March 17, 2022

In Praise of Long Term Imperfect Employment

Podcast

We have talked a lot about your career development on the show and for the most part I would say this show advocates that you find a place that is right for you. There are times though, when we are in what could be considered the right...

Comments0
March 10, 2022

When Patience is not a Virtue

Podcast

A them of this show has been to infuse grace and patience into your leadership. For the most part, when we exercise patience and extend grace to baristas in the cafe it is a good thing that brings about positive results. There are...

Comments0
February 23, 2022

How to Talk to Each Other

Podcast

Do you have an agreed upon way that you and your staff talk to each other? Poor communication is one of the most cited issues in exit interviews yet we rarely end up doing much to address it specifically. Since we have been focusing on...

Comments0
February 10, 2022

Customer Caricatures and Inside Jokes

Podcast

When the customer first walks in the what do you think about them? Well chances are your immediate thoughts will be based on your assumptions formed in conversation with fellow baristas and the inside jokes we have at their expense....

Comments0
February 3, 2022

Two Reasons to Not Install a Manager…Yet

Podcast

One of the questions I get asked a lot by consulting clients is when they should instal or think about hiring a manager. I see lots of coffee shops get into the mindset that they “should” have a manager but I don’t often see people give......

Comments0
January 27, 2022

Irresponsible Encouragement

Podcast

As we set out in our coffee journeys as either entrepreneurs or professionals within a company, we tend to seek out and cultivate groups of people around us who offer affirmation almost exclusively. Not matter what we are doing, the...

Comments0
January 20, 2022

Pre-Closing Madness

Podcast

We have to get the shop closed! Fast! Question is, at what cost? For most of us we engage in pre-close with an aggression that lies our stated commitment to hospitality. Customers are frequently put off by how we go about re-closing...

Comments0
January 13, 2022

Taking Offense to Critique

Podcast

Customers have opinions that we disagree with. This is a forever truth of running a business. They have preferences and sometimes they will be disappointed in their experience and take to Yelp to voice their opinion. That can be very...

Comments0
January 6, 2022

Hiring for Future Leadership

Podcast

Hiring baristas can bring a lot of uncertainty. It is because of this we tend to go for people who may not make great leaders but default to following. Problems come when it is time to appoint a manager or have people take on. more...

Comments0
December 30, 2021

Expectations for Growth

Podcast

Chances are good that if you are listening to this podcast, you want to grow in your career or your business. That makes sense especially since that is one of the goals of this show! That said, there are some problems with growth and...

Comments0
December 23, 2021

Limiting New Things

Podcast

One of the ways we like to make our mark as leaders is by introducing various ideas, initiatives, items, and changes to the shop that we hope will make an impact. I know I have certainly seen putting new things in place as my main...

Comments0
December 16, 2021

The Key to Up-Selling

Podcast

We love to train our baristas to up-sell as a way to increase our over all ticket amounts. The way we do this tends to be focused more on getting money in the short term for our benefit than helping customers get things they will like...

Comments0
December 9, 2021

Ignorance vs Preference

Podcast

Are you open minded when it comes to coffee? How open minded do you need to be? What is the difference between being ignorant or dismissive of a type of coffee and simply having a preference?  Choosing the right and best coffees to...

Comments0
December 2, 2021

Why DIY

Podcast

Small businesses like coffee shops are known for their ability to be resourceful and get things done with what they have. However, when you set out to open a shop or create a new initiative in an existing coffee bar, there can be a...

Comments0
November 30, 2021

317 : Encore Episode: Death by Comparison

Business, Podcast

What happens when we allow ourselves to get caught up in comparing ourselves and our businesses to those around us? The simple answer is that we stifle growth and kill off the joy of what we have and who we are doing it all for. Way back...

Comments0
November 25, 2021

Priorities and Deep Thankfulness

Podcast

This time of year I am thinking about what I am thankful for and also I am thinking about how hard it is to enter into thankfulness vs other more accessible emotions and mental states. So much of this, to my mind, has to do with the...

Comments0
November 18, 2021

How You Show Up

Podcast

In competition we stress about the performance and we practice the skills repeatedly in order to be able to do well on the day. While this approach is needed, there is another approach to preparation that goes deeper and helps ensure...

Comments0
November 10, 2021

Getting Over Guilt

Podcast

Hustle culture teaches us that we should be working pretty much all the time. In order to succeed we need to sacrifice a lot and where the limit is nobody quite knows. What happens too often is we only really start to back off when we...

Comments0
November 4, 2021

Metrics Mindset

Podcast

How we think of money and its place in our coffee shop's culture will have huge implications for how your staff either engage or disengage with the success of the store. The first step is to examine our mindset and then connect the...

Comments0
October 28, 2021

Exclusivity is a Bad Strategy

Podcast

"We are the only coffee shop in our town that serves this!" I will bet that you have thought or said this, or some version of this phrase, yourself as you have planned or run your business. Being the only one to have something is...

Comments0
October 21, 2021

Passive-Aggressive Management

Podcast

Confrontation and difficult conversations are things we tend to avoid. One of the outcomes of this is an increasingly passive-aggressive style of management that seeks to take care of the issue without having to face it.  Today on...

Comments0
October 14, 2021

Do You Need Experience to Open a Coffee shop?

Podcast

This question gets brought up often when people are discussing their plans to open a coffee shop. The answer, as you might expect, is not as easy as saying yes or no. Ultimately we need to explore what is behind the question. Why is it...

Comments0
October 7, 2021

You Can’t Automate Quality

Podcast

It seems like we as an industry want two conflicting things. On the one hand we want baristas to create excellent drinks and to come to work with the mentality that they will not just be on autopilot and phone it in. On the other hand,...

Comments0
September 23, 2021

Small Steps = Big Impact

Podcast

Looking out into the world of specialty coffee and the sheer number of complex problems both locally and globally that need to be addressed, it is easy to get overwhelmed. The question of, How can I make a difference? Is often left...

Comments0
September 21, 2021

Sustainability Series #1 : The Farm

Podcast, Supply Chain

Welcome to the Sustainability Series from Biocaf and Keys to the Shop! To kick off this series we will be exploring sustainability where all the potential of a coffee and the foundation of our industry is concentrated. The farm. How we d...

Comments0
September 16, 2021

Make Everything Like Latte Art

Podcast

Baristas are obsessed with it! The question we have to ask is, why?Most of us don't need to get people interested in latte art. In fact many of you probably wish your baristas would focus on other things. Contrary to what we might...

Comments0
September 9, 2021

Study the Rules

Podcast

If you want to do well in competition you have to study the rules. Without this you are flying blind and will probably get a less that stellar result for your effort. The same thing is true for your career.  Today on Shift Break  we...

Comments0
September 2, 2021

The Quality Standards Equation

Podcast

If your shop does not have specific standards for the products your serve and the way you serve them, then you are leaving a lot of the success of your coffee shop up to chance. Question is, how do you go about setting standards? Where...

Comments0
August 24, 2021

Hard Work is Hard

Podcast

At work there is unnecessary difficulty and then there is just…necessary difficulty. The trouble is that sometimes we can blur the line between the two and generally will default the thinking all difficulty is to be avoided or is a...

Comments0
August 19, 2021

Care Assurance is the New Quality Assurance

Podcast

Quality control and assurance is common in most well established coffee shops. Even if it is not a dedicated position, it at least is an area where we invest a lot of time and effort. What we don't see very much of is a focus on care....

Comments0
August 12, 2021

Encore! Curbing Their Enthusiasm

Podcast

On a daily basis we have opportunities to take a customer's genuine curiosity and excitement and either affirm it and guide them or to stamp it out and push them away. In coffee shops all over the world the former scenario play out but...

Comments0
August 5, 2021

Motivating Staff Through Culture

Podcast

How do I motivate my staff? This was a question I received at Coffee Fest regarding managers and I believe the answer is applicable both to baristas and to managers. Heck, it's pretty much true for anyone. It starts with culture.  In...

Comments0
July 29, 2021

Helping Managers Avoid Burnout

Podcast

Here's some good news...Burnout is usually a result of a long string of unaddressed stressors that build up until they reach critical mass. Why is that good news? It's good because it means with a few shifts of our thinking and...

Comments0
July 22, 2021

Skewing Positive

Podcast

It is a blessing and a curse. Being in a position of management or any type of authority means you likely can see when things are wrong or don't quite fit the ideal. That is a valuable skill set that is worth cultivating. As a result...

Comments0
July 15, 2021

Ignoring the Customer

Podcast

On some level we all can justify ignoring customers in our coffee shop. Seems pretty crazy right? I mean, why would we do that knowing how important it is to give a great experience to the one keeping the lights on?And yet it happens...

Comments0
July 8, 2021

When Experience is a Liability

Podcast

Don’t hire someone with experience! At least that is what I hear quite often. The idea being that you won’t have to untrained old habits. I many people’s mind experienced employees are more of a pain than they are willing to deal...

Comments0
June 30, 2021

Tips on how to Replace a Manager

Podcast

Turnover is inevitable. Even though we expect it, it's not easy. When it comes to replacing managers though, it becomes  10x as difficult because they occupy a specialized position and typically possess a certain skill set that made them......

Comments0
June 24, 2021

When Small Problems Grow Up

Podcast

The day is full of issues calling for your attention. Most of the time there are a few urgent problems that need to be addressed and once they are, new ones seem to rush in to fix the void. Where do big problems come from?  On today's...

Comments0
June 17, 2021

Reasonable Expectations

Podcast

Baristas are often the subject of much complaining from leadership. "They just don't get how hard it is" we hear them say. We talked about this last week in the Shift Break "Understanding and Bitterness". Baristas however, are also...

Comments0
June 10, 2021

Understanding and Bitterness

Podcast

On this show we have talked about how leaders are typically seen by staff with some degree of skepticism and/or suspicion due to leaders having authority and how, over time, that gap is closed through building trust and empathy. If...

Comments0
June 3, 2021

Hiring Friends and Making Enemies

Podcast

Hiring your friends or relatives can seem like a very convenient solution to the problem of staffing. After all, you know them well and trust them right? What more is there to consider? Well, as it turns out, a lot more. On today's...

Comments0
May 27, 2021

Over Optimization

Podcast

Systems, efficiencies, and optimizations of your business are needed elements to make sure it is healthy and thriving. There is, however, a dark side of optimization. When taken too far and left unchecked it becomes obsessive and...

Comments0
May 24, 2021

283 : 5 Bad Reasons to Open a Coffee Shop

Business, Podcast

  People open coffee shops for many reasons. Some good and some-not so good. It really all depends on how you approach the “why” behind your business that determines your success. In a time where the barrier to enter the coffee house spa...

Comments0
May 19, 2021

Curse of the Favorite Barista?

Podcast

Every shop has that one barista that seems to attract more attention the the rest. The comment is made by customers often about this person that they are my "favorite" barista. The question is, is this a good thing or a bad thing? Well...

Comments0
May 16, 2021

282 : How to Listen to your Customers

Business, Podcast

Running a coffee house is all about making sure you are able to serve the needs of your customers and to do so consistently. In order to do that you need to be able to not only listen to them but you need to know how to then respond to w...

Comments0
May 13, 2021

Exercising Self-control as an Owner

Podcast

We like to be in control. The shop is your baby and you have all the authority in the world to assert yourself into the operations and correct things you see that are off. Trouble is that this is not always helpful and often can create...

Comments0
May 6, 2021

Turning the Ship

Podcast

When we seek to change things in our coffee shops we often underestimate the amount of time and investment it will take to actually turn things around. I have experienced this both in my consulting as well  throughout my career in cafe...

Comments0
April 29, 2021

The Problem with “Should”

Podcast

Ever get frustrated that your staff are not doing things the way you want? I'm guessing you have. In fact if you are like most leaders presented with an issue in the shop you have probably also said, "That "should" not be like that."...

Comments0
April 27, 2021

278 : Making great Hiring Decisions

Business, Podcast

A lot of how successful a shop is depends on the people who work in it. In the specialty coffee retail industry we can tend to hire based desperation, convenience, or nepotism. What we end up with then is problems in the work and culture...

Comments0
April 22, 2021

Eliminating menu items Humanely

Podcast

Even though you might want to, you can't just chuck items in the garbage willy-nilly. I have been there, done that, and suffered the wrath.  There is a better way to keep the menu fresh and get rid of items  humanely and with deference to......

Comments0
April 15, 2021

Positive Doubt

Podcast

In conversation with employees we are often too quick to accept the first answer or the first explanation of and issue. In order to help we need to have the right information. Unfortunately, often due to the power difference between...

Comments0
April 8, 2021

Who do we Serve?

Podcast

When we serve coffee, who are we serving? If you were to listen in on many conversations about coffee over the counter you would think we are just serving ourselves based on the narrow range of coffees we tend to favor as...

Comments0
April 1, 2021

You need an Owners Job Description

Podcast

When we want to delegate authority, install a manager, or hire a barista we rely on a job description. We know the power a well formed and detailed job description has for setting up expectations and communicating clearly the what and...

Comments0
March 25, 2021

Keep Systems Simple!

Podcast

We need systems in the coffee shop. As we pursue them it can be easy to complicate the process and end up with something that was meant to be helpful but ends up being intimidating or not useful at all.  Today we are going to talk...

Comments0
March 18, 2021

Scaling Values

Podcast

Going from a single store store to multiple locations brings with it the question of how to replicate the culture and values across the shops. Making continuity between your various retail expressions a reality will take some...

Comments0
March 10, 2021

The Myth of the All-Star Team

Podcast

Hiring a great team is the aim of every cafe. Often when we look for the right person we end up looking for the perfect individual vs the perfect fit for the team and culture of our shop. We want an all-star team but what we get can...

Comments0
March 4, 2021

Commit before you Communicate

Podcast

Talking about, even announcing to our staff, what we are going to do and what we intend to do is a behavior displayed by leaders under the title of "Casting Vision". The question must be asked though, how many of those plans actually...

Comments0
March 1, 2021

269 : What to Focus on after you Launch

Business, Podcast

Starting a coffee bar means you have to focus on several hundred different things at once. It can be maddening! All of this to get to the point where you can open the doors and finally let people enjoy what you and your team have created...

Comments0
February 25, 2021

Speed is not the Goal

Podcast

How people experience the service we provide them has a lot to do with the pace we keep in the process. Sometimes we go too fast! Sometimes we go too slow! What is the balance here?  Today we are going to talk about how to properly...

Comments0
February 23, 2021

267 : The Power of Delegation

Management, Podcast

  We have a control problem. Specifically we don’t like to give up our control of the processes and operations of our cafes out of fear for what might happen when others take the wheel. The difference between a successful shop that has c...

Comments0
February 18, 2021

Are you Excited?

Podcast

I hear all the time how we want baristas to be excited, motivated, up-selling, engaged etc. Those are all great ideals and goals. The problem is that we tend to expect that to just appear out of thin air.  How we invest into those who...

Comments0
February 11, 2021

Two responses to Accountability

Podcast

One of the most needed but conspicuously missing pieces of the coffee shop puzzle is accountability. Both leaders and baristas need accountability in order to thrive but we neglect to put in place as a real process because we are...

Comments0
February 3, 2021

How to talk to Customers about Coffee

Podcast

I get it. You love coffee! You listen to this show after all and you cup, brew, read about, and live coffee. Your customers however, do not. Mostly they just drink it and if we are honest, that sometimes bothers us. How we talk to...

Comments0
January 28, 2021

Paving the Way

Podcast

All of us want to wake up, look around, and be happy with where we are and what we're doing. How we accomplish that is often thought to be in the "big breaks" and in exclusive opportunities. But in most cases, who we become and what we...

Comments0
January 21, 2021

Be honest with your Wholesale Accounts

Podcast

In the relationship between wholesale coffee roaster and client, there are things that do not get talked about as much as they should. Largely this is based the desire to maintain the relationship and any harder or awkward...

Comments0
January 18, 2021

261 : The Basics of Managing Managers

Management, Podcast

When we set up a manager in the cafe we are not just delegating authority and freeing up some of our time, we are setting up the business for failure or success. All of it boils down to how we manage and lead them in their responsibiliti...

Comments0
January 14, 2021

Training TMI

Podcast

We love to talk about coffee! So much so, we often fail to give people the information they need to be successful on the bar. If you have ever gone off on a tangent about extraction science and esoteric processing methods with a new...

Comments0
January 6, 2021

Digital Hospitality

Podcast

Your customers are not just in the shop. They are not even just in your city. They are anywhere your digital footprint treads and how you manage that experience will determine the quality of the experience people have with your brand. ...

Comments0
December 31, 2020

6 Things to Focus on in Your Coffee Shop

Podcast

Last Shift Break of 2020! As this year wraps up and we set our sights on the next there are a few things I believe we would greatly benefit from focusing on in order to build resiliency and a thriving business. Today we will be...

Comments0
December 19, 2020

Slowing down your Response Time

Podcast

One of the most counterintuitive ways to make progress in the right direction just may be slowing down your decision making and response time. We are bombarded with pressure everyday from all sides to make decisions about a myriad of...

Comments0
December 17, 2020

The Difference of Deference to your Staff

Podcast

Making decisions on the way things go on the bar can seem like a pretty easy thing to do once you are convinced as the leader or owner. The trouble is when you do not make your decisions with empathy and deference to the barista and...

Comments0
December 10, 2020

When “Going above and Beyond” goes too Far

Podcast

Oooh boy - This is a phrase frequently used often in coffee to determine whether or not an employee is exceptional or not. It is also a mentality that we use on ourselves to determine if what we are doing is worthy of praise or earning...

Comments0
December 3, 2020

The pain of Detoxing your Work Life

Podcast

Sometimes, when we are convinced that something needs to change in how we do things, the biggest obstacle is the pain of the change process. In effect it is the discomfort of detoxing and introducing something new or better that...

Comments0
November 25, 2020

Not just “One of the Gang”

Podcast

It is very easy for us to slip into a place where we start to seek approval from employees through trying to just be "one of the gang". Put another way, we want to be likes and as a result we become ineffectual bosses creating...

Comments0
November 18, 2020

The Impact of Absence

Podcast

We all have a collection of little things the annoy us, and the customers in our shops. What we don't talk about very much is the result of all of the little problems accumulating over time and what it would be like if they were not...

Comments0
November 12, 2020

Just re-make it!

Podcast

There comes a time in every service encounter where we need to decide to take the high road. Re-making a drink when there is a mess-up is one example of many that highlight an attitude we need to have toward service that will produce...

Comments0
November 4, 2020

The Neighbor’s Tree

Podcast

As the saying goes, "The grass is always greener on the other side." We all know this to be true in one or more areas of our lives. In the coffee bar we can tend toward always comparing our selves against what others have or have...

Comments0
October 31, 2020

Special: Grossest Stories from the Bar

Podcast

Part of the work we do entails some pretty gross things. In today's episode I will be reading 8 selected stories submitted by listeners about the grossest things they have experienced while working to bring great coffee to the people. ...

Comments0
October 29, 2020

The Dark Roast Night of the Soul

Podcast

Stay in coffee long enough and it will happen to you. The assumptions and dogmas we make when we first get into coffee are challenged or destroyed, and we are sent into a dark place of wondering who we are, and what we really even know...

Comments0
October 21, 2020

Promotion Commotion

Podcast

BOGO! 10% off! Get any item of equal or lesser value free!  We love to offer promotions and discounts in the coffee retail space. When numbers are down we go for deals, offers, and discounts... maybe a little too often. Combine this...

Comments0
October 15, 2020

Good Baristas aren’t born, they’re Made

Podcast

"I wish they would just get it!" Does this sound familiar? Whether you have said this out loud or just ruminate on this and similar ideas, the frustration is very real. In today's episode we will explore this thought that pits a quick...

Comments0
October 13, 2020

244 : Top 10 Ways to Lose Employees

Podcast, Uncategorized

  Now ore than ever coffee shops should be building stable and resilient teams to give them the best chance at success in an unstable market. Unfortunately there are many needless problems and practices that plague cafes and are catalyst...

Comments0
October 8, 2020

Keeping it Real

Podcast

The truth can hurt. In our minds, when we thing about "keeping it real" we are usually about to engage in some form of uncomfortable, confrontational interaction. In today's episode we will be exploring this idea and how an alternative...

Comments0
September 30, 2020

Lack of-Self-Awareness

Podcast

One of the main ways that coffee shops fail has a lot to do with the  level of self awareness leaders. So many issues we experience can be traced back to this skill. It is a skill we need to practice in order to set up everyone in the...

Comments0
September 24, 2020

Prep for Performance Reviews

Podcast

Performance reviews have become a place where we tend to unload on the barista all the issues we have been seeing over the past months. They tend to be frustrating because they include some surprising bits o feedback that are news to...

Comments0
September 17, 2020

Poaching and Hiring from other Shops

Podcast

It can sometimes be hard to find qualified employees and when we see great baristas at other shops we "can't help" thinking of offering them a job in our place. But there is a bit of an ethical problem here. When we cross a certain...

Comments0
September 10, 2020

Shifting the Shadow Shift

Podcast

When we onboard new baristas we usually schedule them for a "Shadow Shift". he intent is that they are to learn the ropes, observe and absorb how things are done, which will help prepare them for work on the bar. That's the hope.  In...

Comments0
September 3, 2020

My #1 Interview Mistake

Podcast

Hiring is already a daunting process. There is a lot at stake for both the employer and prospective employee. That said, we tend to find ways to make make it harder to find the right person than it has to be. In today's Shift Break we...

Comments0
September 1, 2020

237 : Thoughts on Post -COVID Coffee

COVID-19, Podcast

There are a ton of opportunities to create resiliency and a better normal through how we approach out our mindset, leadership, staff, business, and customers. As the COVID crisis is still upon us, the question remains, “What happens afte...

Comments0
August 27, 2020

You are not your Competition

Podcast

" Hey! Did you see what so-and-so is doing?" "Oh! look at what _______ is starting to sell?" It's comments like these that are often a sign that we are a bit too obsessed with our competition. What do we gain from this preoccupation?...

Comments0
August 20, 2020

Your Employee Handbook is Worthless

Podcast

We have developed a mentality that if we can just get the right manual, the best onboarding, the most effective hiring process then all will be well and staff will magically fall in line and our shops will run smoothly. The truth? It's...

Comments0
August 12, 2020

Bridging the Values-Actions Gap

Podcast

We have a problem. Dreaming up a vision and writing out our list of core values, missions, etc. is an exciting and crucial part of any business. The problem is that most cafes stop there. The list of ideals an noble pursuits never make...

Comments0
August 6, 2020

Tips on Job Descriptions

Podcast

Writing a job description is the first step in getting the right people in the right positions in your shop. They seem pretty straight forward but there are some elements that you need to consider when creating these documents that, if...

Comments0
July 23, 2020

Don’t Stress about Stress

Podcast

There is an abundance of stress to go around right now. I'd say it is likely the most tense and uncertain time I have seen in coffee in my 20 years of working in retail. Stress leads to more stress and as someone who is prone to...

Comments0
July 20, 2020

229 : 7 Tips for New Managers

Management, Podcast

Entering into a new role, or even just taking over a new cafe or team, is a daunting challenge. Many burn out and the experience leaves a bitter taste in their mouth and a lot of destruction in their wake. In the midst of the reshuffling...

Comments0
July 16, 2020

Work Alchemy

Podcast

Not everything we do is fun. Actually, there are a lot of dirty, time-consuming, repetitive tasks that we have to do everyday on order for the cafe to function. Even though these tasks seem rather dull, we can transform them into...

Comments0
July 9, 2020

No News is Bad News

Podcast

We assume that if nobody is complaining and life seems to be going along smoothly that all is well. We enact the popular mantra of "Well, no news is good news!" In reality though, "no news" is bad news. Why do we think this way?  Today...

Comments0
July 2, 2020

Long-game Management

Podcast

Nobody likes to feel bad. In fact in management we are somewhat obsessed with avoiding negative emotions, confrontation, and challenging our staff out of a sense of self preservation or keeping the peace. We believe that if things feel...

Comments0
June 24, 2020

Who you are & What you Do

Podcast

We all can have a difficult time with serving the public. These days we may be putting on a literal mask, but if we are honest, we have been wearing a metaphorical mask for a while now. Much of how we show up on at work has to do with...

Comments0
June 18, 2020

The Right People?

Podcast

Making hasty decisions about who you put into what position has always been the Achilles heal of the cafe. As we work to put our shops back together we are going to be under even more pressure to fill positions throughout the...

Comments0
June 11, 2020

Higher Degrees of Imperfection

Podcast

You won't get it right...at least not right away. This is the nature of our pursuit in coffee and the relationships we have within it. These days we are surrounded by opportunities to engage in ways that can lead to greater depth o of...

Comments0
June 4, 2020

Encore Episode : 6 Truths about Power

Podcast

In this time we need to take a good look at ourselves and how we are using the power we have been given. In the cafe, authority and power is a gift that is meant to be you used for the benefit of others. Yet, just we have seen in...

Comments0
May 28, 2020

The COVID Communication Bubble

Podcast

Everyone in the shop is on high alert! Updates and changes to rules and regulations are happening almost daily and we are, as staff, very tuned into to the landscape of how things should be done in the shop. What about the customers...

Comments0
May 7, 2020

3 Keys to Building a Better Normal

Podcast

Operations, People, and Quality. These are three areas I focus on with all of my clients. Each on contains a myriad of subjects and components that we explore in detail to bring the whole business to a higher level. Today I want to...

Comments0
April 30, 2020

In this Together, but for how Long?

Podcast

The way we have seen people rise to the challenge, amp up communication, take on a sense of urgency, solve problems, and create a culture that is agile and empathetic is truly inspiring. It's the stuff that defines being "In this...

Comments0
April 23, 2020

You’re not Letting People Down

Podcast

Within the fight to stay open there is a pervasive sentiment that we are "letting people down".  I have seen and heard this from many sources of late, including from myself. This is a pretty familiar feeling for those of us in customer...

Comments0
April 15, 2020

Keep or Throw Away?

Podcast

Does this spark joy? Better said, do the components of your business give life to the business and are they sustainable?  Many new programs and tools have been adopted by coffee shops in an attempt to stay in business during the...

Comments0
April 9, 2020

Grace and High Standards

Podcast

In the middle of all of the upheaval we are fighting for some sense of normalcy and even more so, a sense of grounding. As we iterate and pivot business models and things change all around us, some of the normal conversations around to...

Comments0
April 3, 2020

Development in a Crisis

Podcast

We are shaped by hardship more than times of ease. How we are shaped and who we become after it is largely up to us and will help define our business for the foreseeable future. Today we are talking about the opportunity presented in...

Comments0
March 26, 2020

Leading and Understanding Staff Bitterness

Podcast

Hurt feelings and processing grief are all too familiar to us right now. As an owner you have had to make some tough decisions for the sake of helping the business survive this time while also trying to do good by your staff and...

Comments0
March 19, 2020

On a Resilient Coffee Community

Business, Podcast

These are hard times. It is difficult to know where to begin in discussing the COVID-19 crisis and its impact on our industry. I have, like many of you, spent countless hours trying to process this and attempting to help in any way possi...

Comments0
March 12, 2020

It’s not You, It’s Me

Podcast

Managing poor performance is one of the more frustrating parts of being a leader in the coffee shop. While in NYC for Coffee Fest I receive this great question, "What do you do if your manager or barista is not fulfilling the...

Comments0
March 5, 2020

Fear and Trust

Podcast

Our default in management can often be to live in the extremes. Either we are suspecting everyone and everything as a potential problem or we are way too trusting and offer no structure in order to avoid conflict. Both scare away your...

Comments0
February 27, 2020

Facilitating Success

Podcast

Mindset is at the heart of our effectiveness as leaders. As the work of the cafe piles up it is easy to forget about what your role's primary responsibility is. Today we are going to be chatting about how facilitating success of the...

Comments0
February 20, 2020

Customer Loyalty

Podcast

We seem to be addicted. Not to coffee, but to coffee loyalty programs. Whether it's a card or points on the POS, we can't imagine running a business without them. But what if cards and programs don't actually create loyalty? Today we...

Comments0
February 13, 2020

Prioritizing your Work

Podcast

It can be hard to organize all the responsibilities you take on when in a leadership role in the cafe. When we don't order our work well it leads to giving too much time and energy to things that seem important in the moment only to...

Comments0
February 5, 2020

Don’t Waste Problems

Podcast

Problems come up all the time in the cafe. We deal with them as best we can but often we are leaving a lot of value on the table with the ways we attack the issues we encounter. Today we are chatting about how get your problems to work...

Comments0
January 30, 2020

3 Keys for Work-life Balance

Podcast

It is easy for us to be consumed with work. Especially if you are passionate about it and desire to achieve great things, to move the needle in the company, and to help those you lead. Trouble is hough, we tend to blur the lines...

Comments0
January 23, 2020

Asking for Help

Podcast

On bar, things get stressful. We are not just managing the physical space but we are also managing and navigating our emotions. It's all too easy to let our pride keep us from asking for help when we most desperate need it. In this...

Comments0
January 15, 2020

Example > Words

Podcast

How do you inspire people? This was a question I was asked recently while conducting a day-long workshop for a group of cafe managers. The answer is easy to give, but hard to live. You can think of this also as policy -vs-...

Comments0
January 9, 2020

Empowering Staff to make the right Call

Podcast

It's easy to create an environment in the coffee shop where staff feel they are bound by tight rules and restrictions. In this environment we don't get to see much creative hospitality in the form of solving problems for customers....

Comments0
January 2, 2020

Building Trust-Credit

Podcast

The hardest part about building a team is building trust. It does not happen overnight and requires patience, but more than that, it requires consistency in small and big ways. Today we are going to talk about how you can cultivate...

Comments0
December 26, 2019

The Power of “No”

Podcast

When you start or run a coffee bar you are going to be faced with a ton of options for what products and ideas you will adopt. Saying yes to any and everything can get you and your business in trouble  down the road. Today we are going...

Comments0
December 19, 2019

How to ruin a Game of Telephone

Podcast

Most everyone has had fun playing this game as kid. While it's a great game parties, it's not so great for the coffee shop. Today we talk about how this game gets started in the cafe and what we can do to "ruin" it before it creates major......

Comments0
December 12, 2019

High Expectations + Low Control

Podcast

In the coffee shop there are so many expectations placed on us but often the results of the work are not fully within our control. When you combine these two things it is a recipe for stress and burnout. Today we are talking about how...

Comments0
December 10, 2019

190 : 6 Tips for better Scheduling

Management, Podcast

Writing the schedule is one of the hardest things a manager has to take on. It is also one of the primary ways to care for the staff and the success of the cafe. It determines labor cost, quality of service, consistency of standards and ...

Comments0
December 5, 2019

In Praise of the “Transactional”

Podcast

The idea of transactional is not what most of us have in mind when we think about hospitality. We tend to think of that more in relational terms and hold the transactional out as the antithesis to hospitality. What if we are wrong?...

Comments0
November 21, 2019

Source vs Supplement

Podcast

Ignore your baristas, but listen to podcasters. Ignore your staff, but listen to authors. It is too easy for us to immediately turn to outside resources and , in the process, discount and overlook the resources we have under our very...

Comments0
November 14, 2019

Being the Point of Clarity

Podcast

Managers are looked to all day long as agents of clarity. Questions are a constant and this aspect of management is core to being able to drive results in creating a great culture and a successful bar. That said, it can be frustrating...

Comments0
November 6, 2019

Build it for the Business, not the Person

Podcast

Creating a new role in a coffee shop is often done when we face the prospect of losing on of our key staff members. We scramble and promise the world if they would just stay. This is missing the mark in several ways and today we will...

Comments0
October 30, 2019

Blood Sucking Bosses!

Podcast

This is a truly scary reality that so many cafe employees have had to deal with. Symptoms of getting bit by these bosses looks like overloaded schedules, no boundaries, burnout, stress, and unhealthy self-sacrifice to "prove" yourself...

Comments0
October 23, 2019

The Customer Service Pro is not Always Right

Podcast

Sometimes we can overestimate how bad the customer is and in the process make ourselves out to be so very righteous. It is a reality in every bar I have seen that we are blind to the double standard for what we accept from the customer...

Comments0
October 17, 2019

Systems as Care

Podcast

We tend to have a mindset toward systems that breeds a lack of clarity, break downs in communication, and generally an unpleasant and even toxic environment in the work place. Today we are going to chat about viewing systems as a...

Comments0
October 10, 2019

Sink or Swim

Podcast

Bringing a new employee onto the bar is often a hasty effort. Unfortunately, when we do this, we end up paying for it in the long run.  Today we chat about the sink or swim mentality of on-boarding and what managers need to practice in...

Comments0
October 3, 2019

2 Qualities of Quality Baristas

Podcast

There are many qualities that contribute to being a solid professional in the coffee shop. Today we are going to focus on two particular qualities that are very critical to get right in the beginning and can set you up for success in...

Comments0
September 26, 2019

Should You be Behind the Bar Right Now?

Podcast

There is a little problem we need to talk about that may not seem like a biggie but can wear away at morale and breed needless frustration. The bar area can sometimes attract a variety of staff members who are not on shift or are from...

Comments0
September 19, 2019

The Counterbalanced Barista

Podcast

When it comes how we divide our attention and energy we can tend to skew to one side or another. This leaves us with too much focus on one area and not enough in another which ultimately makes a sustainable coffee job impossible. Today...

Comments0
September 12, 2019

I’ve Got Your (bar) Back

Podcast

Bar backing is one of the most important roles in the cafe. Either as a dedicated position or as a set of responsibilities shared, when it is embraced and executed well, it makes the whole shift successful.  Today we chat about this...

Comments0
September 5, 2019

Your Customer’s Relational Baggage

Podcast

Customers impression of your business is going to be filtered through the lens of their past experiences in coffee.  Unfortunately that is too often a bad thing and the memory of bad experiences far outlasts the memory of a good one....

Comments0
August 29, 2019

Your Peers are not your Customers

Podcast

It is easy to be so focused on comparing yourself and your business to what you see in the industry that you end up ignoring your customers and the community your shop serves. Today we are chatting about this all to common mentality...

Comments0
August 22, 2019

Fear or Inspiration?

Podcast

Which one best describes how staff react to your presence in the cafe? The problem is that, no matter what, management will always be seen in a different light than a barista. The authority managers carry creates a certain tension and...

Comments0
August 15, 2019

Selfish Self-Awareness

Podcast

Being self-aware is over-rated. Why? Because without action following it up, self-awareness becomes useless and quickly creates a situation where we seek scoring status points for being aware and then never do anything about it the...

Comments0
August 8, 2019

The Currency of Urgency

Podcast

We communicate either care or apathy depending on how we conduct ourselves on the bar. The way we expertly handle all the work necessary to provide a great experience in the cafe is by nurturing a sense of urgency in all we do. This...

Comments0
August 1, 2019

Familiar Apathy

Podcast

When a customer comes into our bar they expect that they will be taken care of and the best cafes strive to get the details of the guests visit right. Over time though, there is a migration away from the details. The customer begins to...

Comments0
July 24, 2019

When You’re “Losing it”

Podcast

Sometimes it seems like everything is crashing down around you. You break a cup, your co-workers are annoying you, customers are frustrating, you're tired, you can sense that your are 2 seconds away from biting someone's head off, and...

Comments0
July 10, 2019

Exceptions to the Rule : Toxic Traditions

Podcast

Huge problems come up for staff and customers when we are not on top of the may unique situations that spring up on the bar. In spite of trying to be preemptive and plan for all possible scenarios you will have baristas who make drinks...

Comments0
July 4, 2019

The Broken Chair

Podcast

Caring for staff is one of the main functions of leadership. Unfortunately, the reality experienced by baristas the world over is that of a dysfunctional, ambivalent, sometimes toxic, or even abusive culture that disregards the welfare...

Comments0
June 27, 2019

Differentiation Takes Time!

Podcast

As your competition increases, standing out becomes more of a struggle. We chase ways to be unique and often we grab hold of trends, products, and concepts that end up looking more like desperation than authentic expressions of your...

Comments0
June 20, 2019

Customer Experience – vs – Coffee Quality

Podcast

Coffee is too cheap, and we all want customers to pay more for specialty coffee. How can we more effectively shift customers over to paying more, is it through higher quality or better experiences? Today we chat about why elevation of...

Comments0
June 12, 2019

Self-Betrayal and the Art of Action

Podcast

Everyday we have the opportunity to act on thoughts we have that would benefit others and never follow through. There is a whole world of encouragement lying dormant inside each of us that could greatly contribute to harmony within the...

Comments0
June 6, 2019

Would You Hire You?

Podcast

Sometimes we can give ourselves a pass when it comes to being the type of professional that we want employees to be. Practicing self-awareness is tricky when the work continually distracts you but it is necessary in order to not become...

Comments0
May 29, 2019

Don’t You Forget About Me

Podcast

Tracking staff performance can be difficult when you are putting out fires and being pulled in a thousand different directions. Things fall through the cracks and that means we miss growth opportunities with staff who end up feeling...

Comments0
May 22, 2019

The Agreement

Podcast

Communication is the cornerstone of a harmonious team. Problem is that we tend to see things that need correction and don't feel comfortable bringing them up to each other. Today we chat about how a mutual agreement between coworkers...

Comments0
May 16, 2019

Before you Expand

Podcast

Expanding to a second shop is exciting but it can complicate things when the move to grow is not based on a solid foundation. Today we are chatting about some helpful things to consider before you decide to make the leap. ...

Comments0
May 9, 2019

Endo / Exo Professional Development

Podcast

We all feel awkward and impatient when we start in a new position. How we develop in these times will determine who and what we become later on. Today on shift break, a bit of encouragement and perspective to help those of you who have...

Comments0
May 1, 2019

I Don’t Want to Talk to You

Podcast

Sometimes hospitality opportunities are just inconvenient. Often times we straight-up struggle to do anything more than the basic requirements of our job let alone talking to customers or extending ourselves past what we feel like in...

Comments0
April 23, 2019

Stop Lying

Podcast

It is something we all do in ways we don't really think of as damaging. Lying to ourselves and others comes in the form of often well-meaning affirmation but, in the end, holds people back and erodes trust.  Today shift break we talk...

Comments0
April 18, 2019

Unofficial Trainers & Fair Compensation

Podcast

"Just show them the ropes" is a phrase we use when giving baristas the extra responsibility of helping bring up a new hire. This usually is done with little warning and almost never with any extra compensation for the barista who now...

Comments0
April 11, 2019

People…not Objects

Podcast

It's easy to write off someone and treat them in a way that dehumanizes for the sake of convenience. We tend to make ourselves out to be better, and others worse. Today we chat about treating people you work with in the cafe with like...

Comments0
April 4, 2019

Learning -vs- LEARNING

Podcast

With an abundance of available resources we tend to horde knowledge and never truly apply it to our lives. Is our quest to learn getting in the way of our growth? Today on Shift Break we talk about how to learn and grow in a way that...

Comments0
March 7, 2019

120 : Social Media 101 w/ Jenn Chen

Business, Podcast

Social media is a vast landscape filled with both great and terrible representations of people brands. At best we enhance a customer’s view of us and create an even bigger fan -At worst we introduce confusion, boredom, or anger into the ...

Comments0
March 7, 2019

Empathetic Systems

Podcast

It is often the case that we create systems in the cafe and then lose connection with the real impact those systems have in the lives of the staff and customers. Today we talk about the need for empathy in developing systems that serve...

Comments0
February 28, 2019

100! Why YOU are the Key

Career, Leadership, Podcast

Wooo Hooo! It's the 100th episode of Keys to the Shop!!! Thank you so much for listening to and supporting this show! I can think of no better way to use this time than to highlight what a critical role you all play in the industry....

Comments0
February 27, 2019

079 : Interviews from Coffee Fest Baltimore

Career, Podcast

Hey! Coffee Fest Baltimore 2018 was fantastic and I got to visit and chat with three fantastic people for this KTTS episode. What are people looking for at an event like this? What are the things you, as a coffee retailer should be pursu...

Comments0
February 20, 2019

The Acceptance of Dysfunction

Podcast

Dysfunction in the cafe's functionality is something we all deal with and have to manage. Not everything works according to plan or the way it is supposed to. How we deal with this will determine how people see you as a leader and how...

Comments0
January 31, 2019

058 : Holiday Hospitality

Barista Craft, Podcast, Training

Holiday season in the cafe is predictably busy, intense, and stressful. Not just for us but also for the customers! Today we explore 5 things to do to take the stress out of the holiday season in the shop and to create an welcoming and w...

Comments0
December 13, 2018

Tips for Conducting Great Staff Meetings

Podcast

SHIFT BREAK #31 Regular staff meetings are one of the most important tools for energizing, equipping, informing, and affirming. In order to get the most out of these meetings we will be covering several tips that I have seen work...

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November 22, 2018

Thankfulness : The key to joy in the journey

Podcast

SHIFT BREAK #28 : On this years Thanksgiving I am so grateful for all of you listening to this show and for the amazing guests who have shared their knowledge and wisdom with us all! This is simply a note to remember gratitude as it is...

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August 30, 2018

Latte Art Expectations

Podcast

SHIFT BREAK #16 : Latte art competitions are fun and inspire us to greater heights of presentation and skill. They can also, when taken without context, frustrate and paint a literally unrealistic picture for aspiring baristas. Today I...

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August 23, 2018

Introducing Chaos

Podcast

SHIFT BREAK #15 : In spite of our best intentions, we who are leaders in the cafe can often introduce chaos through the way we act without consideration for those who will be affected by our decisions and example. Today we chat about...

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August 9, 2018

Spiders !

Podcast

SHIFT BREAK #13 : What can we learn about hospitality from spiders? Today on Shift Break we talk about just that. ...

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July 5, 2018

Laziness & the Most Important Decision

Podcast

SHIFT BREAK #8 : We all have a bit of laziness in us. Throughout the day there are dozens of opportunities to make decisions that will either pave the way to excellence or to compromise and mediocrity. Who we become as people and an...

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June 7, 2018

Making the Customer the Enemy

Podcast

SHIFT BREAK #4 : We are in the hospitality business and we recognize that the guest experience hinges on how they are treated. There is, however, a pervasive mindset and set of behaviors that make the customer an enemy in our minds and...

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May 31, 2018

My Favorite Interview Question

Podcast

SHIFT BREAK #3 : Hiring is one of the most important things you will do for the benefit of  the cafe and great questions are key in helping you decide who to bring on and who to not. Today I talk about my favorite interview question...

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May 2, 2017

023 : U.S. Barista Champion, KYLE RAMAGE! We chat with Kyle about his recent victory, details of his presentation, thoughts on specialty coffee, and lessons he’s learned on the road to winning the title

Barista Craft, Career, Podcast, Training

Fresh off his victory in Seattle, Kyle Ramage of Mahlkonig USA took some time to talk with us about the competition. We get into the details of his routine, his drinks, his presentations message, his dry ice frozen coffee and the challen...

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