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Mariangel Babbel (00:01): Thanks for joining us today for our conversation with Jeff Weinstein, CEO of vit. We'll be discussing Jeff's best practices for creating growth opportunities for your team and your bottom line. Hang tight. We'll be starting soon. Hi, everyone. Welcome. I'm very excited about today's guest, Jeff Weinstein. Jeff is the CEO of Vital, a holding company focused on promoting health and happiness in their relationships with guests, team members, and the community. They currently own and operate 92 jambos and two Cinnabon bakeries. Jeff also serves on the board of Jamba Franchise Advisory Council, and on the board of directors of Second Harvest of the Greater Valley. Prior to serving as CEO, Jeff was the president and CEO of Intelligent and head of operations at Jamba Juice Company, supporting more than 800 domestic and international locations. His leadership spans roles in operations, category management, and specialty sales. So, Jeff, thank you for joining us today. Jeff Weinstein (01:05): Oh, thank you so much for having me. It's really nice to see you. Mariangel Babbel (01:08): Oh, great. Well, well, we'll just dive into it. But before I know, I know I just shared a little bit about your background, but before we dive into today's conversation, I'd love for you to share a little bit about your journey into becoming a CEO of a group that now operates almost a hundred stores. Jeff Weinstein (01:24): Absolutely. I think I think there are stories. There's sort of the tortoise and the hare stories. I think I'm, I'm probably more of a tortoise than than a hare. I've been in the restaurant business now for over 30 years. My educational background is not in business. It's, it's really in the humanities. And so I started though when I was going to school, working in the back of house, in full service restaurants, washing dishes, learning to be a cook. I did that in the Midwest before I moved to the West Coast, where I took a job working for Pete's Coffee. And I really kind of learned the business at Pete's. I was there for 12 years doing pretty much every job you can think of in the company from scooping beans behind the counter to managing a store and managing a district. (02:09): I learned sales and marketing and category management and operation services there. And I've had the, the good fortune of working for a couple of other companies along the way. I did some field operations work with Starbucks. I also spent quite a few years with Jamba Corporate. And then I sort of was able to take all that experience and, and, and had a sort of the first opportunity to run stores as a franchisee when my group of investors purchased a a good, good number of Jamba stores here in northern California back in 2015. We've grown since then. We're in western Washington now, and as you mentioned, in addition to running the, the Jamba, we also have a couple of Cinnabons and we're, we're in growth mode. So I've kind of learned the business from, you know, being in the business and kind of taking it one day at a time, and making a lot of mistakes along the way, which will probably be you know, good background for some of the best practices that we'll talk about today. Mariangel Babbel (03:11): Perfect. Well, I love it. I'm always one to dive into those, those failure stories, especially the, the concept of failing forward, right? Like, what can we learn? I'm a big believer that there's, that, that success and failure have one thing in common, and that's, that neither is permanent, right? So we've, we've gotta keep learning and keep trying to make sure that we're getting on the path that we wanna be on. So, with that said, oh, go ahead. I'm sorry. Jeff Weinstein (03:36): I couldn't agree. I couldn't agree more. And I think that people who are successful often have failed quite a lot more than than others. And, and, and, and that's a sign of, of success and resilience. Mariangel Babbel (03:47): Yeah, I agree. I I've also heard of people that won't work with people unless they have failed and have had tremendous failures, right? Because it shows that they're willing to pick themselves back up and, and keep heading forward. So, yeah. Well, let's dive into it. I want, I'm, I'm excited to dive into this and figure out what your failures are and, and what you've learned from them. Jeff Weinstein (04:08): Absolutely. Well, look, I, I will, I know we're gonna talk about some, some best practices, but one thing I think I would say is that, you know, there are some universal best practices but there are also some best practices that, that may be right for one organization and not for another. And, and I think some of the ones that I'm gonna share today they, they're great for my organization but they might not be best for everybody's organization. So I guess to just say, sort of, sort of bear that in mind as, as a starting point I think that the idea of, of being willing to fail is important, especially in, in our business, because look, in the restaurant business, the vast majority of people in our company, including people at the most senior levels of leadership in the company, they all be they all learned from within the organization. (04:59): They were promoted from within the organization. I, I, the vast majority of us started as hourly team members on the front lines, either here or, or somewhere else. So, you know, if you're coming into an organization and you're learning how to do something for this first time, whether it's cooking or, you know, running a store or running a district, or, you know, playing a, a functional role you're, you, you're gonna have to learn a lot of that stuff, you know, on the job. And you've gotta be able to, the environment has gotta be a safe one for you to make mistakes, right? If people come in and they are just scared of making a mistake, they're, they're, they're not gonna learn it. It's, it's, it's just, it's, it's not gonna, it's not gonna work for them. They're not gonna take risks. They're not gonna be open to change. And I think we all know, even just from these past couple years, how important being willing to, to make and try some things, it is for us to be able to succeed. Mariangel Babbel (06:01): Right. So, how does one go about creating a safe environment where their team can fail, but not necessarily take the business along the way? Jeff Weinstein (06:09): <Laugh>? Well, I, I think for starters is you've gotta give them a little bit of room to fail, but you've also gotta give them a bit of a safety net, right? And so I, you know, look, I think that one of the, the most important ways that you do that is, you know, first, you know, you, you don't just throw them out there, right? You want to give people really good training and preparation. But, but then you need to let them know that you're there with them. And that takes a very high level of engagement. It means that you're giving somebody room to, okay, work their plan today, or work their plan this week, but you're gonna be following up with them tomorrow, or you're gonna be following up with them next week to, to debrief on it. And you can tell them that it's safe, but they're not actually going to believe that it's safe until you show them it, that it's safe. (07:04): And the way you show them that it's safe is that, look, if they're planning to work out so well yesterday, then you're, you're, it's gonna be okay. You're gonna say, okay, well, what, what worked yesterday? What didn't work yesterday? It's okay. What adjustments are we gonna make today? Right? Tell me what the plan is, and then we'll do this all again tomorrow. And I'm gonna show you that the mistakes you may have made yesterday I'm gonna show you that those things are, are part of the, the learning process. You're not, it's, you're not gonna be punished for that. You're just gonna be you're gonna have the opportunity to take what you, take what happened and translate it into something, you know, something new in a new plan. And so I think it's by being genuine, genuine with people, engaging with them in, in, in that meaningful way that they can, you, you can show them, Hey, it, it, it's okay, and I'm here with you, and we're gonna fix the things that, that maybe we broke. And then once we're having successes, we're gonna celebrate those successes together. Mariangel Babbel (08:05): Yeah. I think that's important celebrating the successes, but also having those meaningful conversations around maybe the, the hurdles that you faced along the way. Sure. I recently heard someone share the concept, and I, I might be butchering it here, but, but basically spotlighting failures, right? Like making an opportunity for you as a leader to kind of share yours with your team and have your team share theirs with the rest of the team. Right. How, how has your experience been with that? I mean, do you feel like it's something that's easily fostered, or does it, you know, what are some of the things that you have to kind of continually do to make sure that it happens? Well, Jeff Weinstein (08:40): Well, you know, one of the best ways to teach people and to role model in our business is through storytelling. And so I am very open with people about the mistakes that I've made and what the consequences are, and you've gotta have a sense of humor about those things too. Mariangel Babbel (08:56): Right? Jeff Weinstein (08:56): Right. When I came into this job, as, you know, as a franchisee for the first time, I had never selected a new store site. And, you know, we've opened up a lot of successful stores in the last six or seven years, but I can tell you that some of those stores haven't worked out exactly as I expected them to. And I'll be the first person to tell people about those experiences and maybe what, you know, what did I learn from them? And, and, and, and maybe laugh about it. I think that we've all made we've all selected people for our teams, and it turned out that those people were, were not the right fit for the, for the team. And, you know, without, without ever always respecting people's privacy, you need to be able to tell people about those, those mistakes when you've made them. So I think that being vulnerable yourself and sharing with people what your own mistakes have been is a really good way of role modeling that. And then people will trust you more. They'll feel more comfortable knowing that, that, that it's, that it's really true that they can, they, they can fail sometimes. Mariangel Babbel (09:59): That's great. Love that. Yeah. So there's something that you hit on there that I think dovetails really nicely into kind of the next learning that you've had, which was, you know, being able to share all that openly, right. Making sure that there's some transparency there that happens, but what are some other, other key best practices on that same concept that you would share with us? Jeff Weinstein (10:20): You know, I think that there are probably some organizations that may not want to go quite as far as we do with transparency, but I look it, and this just may be a personality quirk of our organization, but we, we have this mindset where we sort of insist on transparency. And the way that I think about that is that we just, we don't have meetings after the meeting. We try to make sure that whether it's at the store level or it's, it's I think the best example is with our, our district managers, right? Is that when we sort of insist on people getting out onto the table, whatever is on their mind, and I, I think about it a little bit like, well, do you have, do you have siblings? Mariangel Babbel (11:11): Oh, yes, many. Yeah. I'm one of nine. Jeff Weinstein (11:14): You're one of nine. And so I, I imagine that sometimes the conversations between you and your siblings can be somewhat animated sometimes. Mariangel Babbel (11:22): Absolutely. Jeff Weinstein (11:23): Yeah. Well, so the thing that with I, I have, I have a brother and a sister as well, and, you know, I probably, I probably argue more with my brother and sister than I do with most people. But, and we, we have the most candid conversations, but they're also, look, I'm always gonna be first to, to have their back and defend them. And I, I think that's a really important team dynamic. Mm-Hmm <affirmative>. I think that everyone really needs to be able to speak their mind if they've got something to say, they need to say it there in the meeting. And that way everybody's voice gets heard. It doesn't mean that we end up doing what everybody wants us to do, but at least then, no, at least we've heard the best ideas and nobody feels like they haven't been heard. And then once you have it out, once you have the discussion or maybe the argument <laugh>, then you can make a decision together. (12:16): And at the end of that process whether the decision was, whether you like the decision or not, you, you, you, everyone can kind of rally together and treat that decision like it's their own. And then when they walk out of the room, we're, we're all on the same page. I think that that dynamic is a really important one for you know, for an organization that relies on teamwork. It's difficult though, right? Because sometimes those conversations are really uncomfortable. Right. And I think the important thing to bear in mind there, and this is another real value of our company, is that we're really not trying to make people comfortable. We're not trying to make them uncomfortable, but we would rather that people be confident than to be comfortable. Because we think that confidence, having confidence in, in your own voice, confidence in your role that that's really gonna drive leadership, leadership success. And then let's connect it back to the first best practice, which is that, you know, if you're confident, you're, you're gonna be more willing to take some risks and put yourself out there and, and, and be more willing to fail. Mariangel Babbel (13:36): That's a really interesting idea. And it also feels like there's a lot of underlying fear that comes with that too, which is why people probably don't practice that the, you know, the, the motion of being transparent with their teams often. And I imagine that that fear probably lives on both sides, right? From team members that don't feel like they have a safe place to share something, but from leaders who maybe also don't wanna hear what the team has to say, Jeff Weinstein (14:01): <Laugh>. Mariangel Babbel (14:02): Right? What, what have you noticed more of and, and what's like a good starting point for people to get over that fear? Jeff Weinstein (14:10): Well, look, let's, let's go back to kind of the nature of our industry, right? Which is, you've got people coming in for whom, if it's not their first job, it's often one of their first jobs, right? And they may have an educational background, or they may not they may have come from a really healthy family dynamic, or they might not. And so, you know, the way that I think about this is that part of what we're doing is we're, we're really trying to help people develop, not just develop their confidence, not just so that they can be successful in their roles with us, but that they can be more successful in their lives, right? And so I think it really begins with teaching those frontline team members how to, how to be, how to make themselves vulnerable, how to put themselves out there to, to learn that when they, when they do that, that things tend to actually work out better for them than not. And yeah, I think I would, I would leave it there. Mariangel Babbel (15:22): Yeah. Well, and you know, what I love about that is that it, it doesn't feel transactional, right? I feel like while what you're doing in your leadership style is you're looking at the human and not just necessarily an employee with an employee number which I think is such a, a, a value add to the culture and the way that you build teams and the way that the teams serve customers. So, thank you. Jeff Weinstein (15:46): I think that you just made a really important connection, right? Which is that we've gotta be genuine with people because we're asking them to be genuine with our guests. Mariangel Babbel (15:58): Mm-Hmm <affirmative>. Jeff Weinstein (15:59): Right? We, we're not a transactional business. Now, there are transactional businesses in the restaurant business, right? Sometimes it's about and that's not right or wrong, that's just the nature of that. Some restaurants are different, right? And sometimes it's about, it's about speed. It's about getting 'em through the line. It's about you know, and it's about getting them their, their product fast. It's a transactional business. But our business I mean, sure being fast is, is is important. But I think that what we've really come to understand about our guests is that it's even more important to them that that we're that they feel acknowledged and recognized and, and cared for that we're learning about them. We're learning about what their unique needs are that we're really serving those needs and and that they're feeling that when they come back again tomorrow, they're not just coming back again tomorrow for a smoothie, for a cinnamon roll, but they're coming back again tomorrow to see us, because we've built that connection and we actually look forward to, to seeing them. Mariangel Babbel (17:05): Right? Absolutely. And I love that you just talked on all three things that you said, like, is, is the vision and mission of, of intelligent, right? You've talked about the guest, the employees, and then building that sense of community amongst both, which is such a powerful thing for that long tail game of running a successful restaurant. Jeff Weinstein (17:24): It, it definitely is. And, you know, so these are best practices, right? Mm-Hmm <affirmative>. But I think that the <laugh> in a certain sense, the real best practice is to ask yourself before you get into this business, or before you get into any business, really, that is so dependent on people and the relationships that you have with people, is to ask yourself, do, do you really care about people <laugh>, right? And are you really prepared to invest in people because it you really, the both of those things really need to be true. If you're gonna be as successful in a, in a business like this one, Mariangel Babbel (18:11): And how do you make that like a, a priority, right? Especially right now when things are so chaotic within the restaurant industry, right? There's a lot going on that you know, there's a high turnover rate you're facing. Customers have their expectations and, and level of service that they want has gone up quite a bit. Not right or wrong, just kind of the reality that we're in. And the rising cost a lot of things. So it's really easy to just focus on the numbers and to the day-to-day grind and less on the, the feeling that you're creating with your customer base. Jeff Weinstein (18:49): It's never been more difficult than it is right now, right? With with, with our, you know, with our team members, with, with our employees, you're, you're absolutely right. Look, it, it's been at the top of the list these past couple years. I mean, safety is always important, but we've, we've had to make clear to people, and we, and this has had to be reflected in all of our decision making, right? Is that we, we put safety first in all situations, right? So that, I think I'd say that as a starting point. I, I think that I think that the way that you, you can, you, you really reinforce that, is that you treat each individual as an individual and you instead of just thinking about, what, what can you, as my team member, what can you do for me? You've gotta really think about things through the lens of what's best for them, right? Mariangel Babbel (19:50): Mm-Hmm <affirmative>. Jeff Weinstein (19:51): And, you know, what, what is a positive outcome gonna be for them? Now look, when you're really trying to focus on positive outcomes for people usually those interests overlap with your interests as a comp your, your interests as a company, right? So providing them with the extra training or the coaching is it's going to help them move their career forward. It's also gonna be really good for, for the organization always trying to understand what's important to them in terms of benefits and being willing to adjust the benefits that you're able to offer them so that you hit you're hitting the ones that are most important to them. But I, I think that it's also really important that, you know, as you're focusing on what's in their best interest, that sometimes you sort of not only have to accept, but you have to celebrate positive results that might not be in your best interest as an organization. (20:55): I, it may be that you've, you've prepared somebody for a level of leadership that's now enabling them to go do something outside your organization. And you need to, you need to celebrate that, and you need to show everybody in the, in the organization that you're celebrating that I, I just had, wow. We just had a general manager who's been with us from the beginning, from when we, you know, from, from since 2015, and really one of the strongest general managers in our company. And, you know, he has managed increasing increasingly large volumes of, of business. And we just learned that he has an opportunity now to to go into another area that's a little bit more specialized, and he's gonna be able to increase his paying, and he's gonna be able to do some new things for his family. And it's a little bit heartbreaking that we're gonna lose him, but it's not as heartbreaking as it is a really great thing that he's able to do this. (21:54): And it's very gratifying for us, for be for me personally, because one of the things that he said was, look, if, if not for the experience that I've had here, I never would've had the confidence to do this. Right? And so that's sort of one of the rewards of the business. And and there's also some good karma in there that I think we rec we have to recognize, which is that somewhere down the down the road, there's a pretty good chance that we'll be working with that person or other people who have left us again in the future. So I think, I think at the end of the day, I guess car, car, I know, I'm not sure if karma's the right word for it, but I think it, it really matters. Mariangel Babbel (22:31): Yeah, absolutely. I once heard A-A-A-C-E-O of a company say that he wants to invest in his team enough that he's the number one company that's being poached, right? He wants to develop his people because it attracts those same people back in if they know, Hey, this guy, this company is investing so heavily, like that's the track I wanna be on. So it almost to your point like that, that sense of karma kind of repays itself. If people say, Hey, look what he did, and now he's off doing great things, and he did great things at the company too, there's opportunity there for me as well. Jeff Weinstein (23:06): Well, that's, that's a, that's a great, it's a great way of looking at it, you know, I, I agree with that. CEO. Mariangel Babbel (23:11): Yeah. Well, I, I hope this employee paths crossed with you sooner than later. I know he's just on his way out, but hopefully it's just a, a short run and you get him back. Well, Jeff, this has been so helpful. I love the best practices you've shared with us. If you were to give advice to somebody that's just you know, fairly new in the QSR space that is considering some of these best practices, like if you were to rank them in level of priority, where's their starting point? Jeff Weinstein (23:41): I think the starting point was the last one, which is, if you're going to get into the QSR space or the fast casual space, or however you wanna characterize just the restaurant space in general, I think that you have to think of it first as a people business. And, and, and before you think about it as a financial business, it's not to say that the financial part of the business is an important, of course, it's, it's what makes it all sustainable. But I think you have to look in the mirror and ask yourself do do I really care about people? And if I do and I get energy from investing in people, then this could be a great a, a great space for you. And then I think that I would also say that there's, there's something great about this business in that, in that, and I'm an example of this, right? (24:36): Because I'm, I didn't come to it with a business background, but mm-hmm <affirmative>. It, it really doesn't matter where you're coming from. It doesn't matter what your educational background is. If you kind of, if, if, if you bring people into your organization and those people are a really good reflection of the community that you're serving and you, you, you, you, you in, if you invest in them, if you give them the space to grow, it is, it is a meritocracy in the best sense of the word, that if you wanna be, anybody can be successful in this business with a little bit of talent and, and the willingness to work. And that again, is one of the things that I love about the business. But you really do need to have that mindset about it, which is that this business is for everybody. And so you really need to really have the mindset of creating opportunities for everybody. Mariangel Babbel (25:32): Well, I love that. I also love that what that also displays, that's also an opportunity for your employees to create that opportunity for themselves. Jeff Weinstein (25:40): That's exactly right. Right. They, they build the confidence to do that. Mariangel Babbel (25:44): Right. Absolutely. Well, Jeff, thank you so much for your time today. I really appreciate the conversation and you sharing some of the wisdom that you've gained along the way with all of us. And we will invite you back soon if you're up for it. Jeff Weinstein (25:56): I enjoy talking to you. I'd love to do it again. Thank you so much. Mariangel Babbel (25:59): Awesome. Thanks Jeff. Thanks again for joining us. If you enjoy today's session, please consider sharing it with a colleague or on social. And if you'd like to keep up on the latest QSR trends and best practices, check us out on workstream us slash blog. |