Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders

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 our keep. Going above and beyond may be a nice and generous thing to do, the problem though is when becomes a tool to unfairly judge employees and to unfairly judge ourselves. I and many others have suffered under unreasonable standards that have been both imposed by bosses and self-imposed out of insecurity. Today we will be discussing how this manifests and what to do to avoid "going above and beyond" to the detriment of yourself and others. Related Episodes: 200! : From Tragedy to Triumph! Navigating Change w/ Talor Browne of Talormade, Oslo, Norway 253 : Mindsets that Sabotage Success 074 : The Life Changing Power of Good Authority w/ Jonathan Raymond 221 : Building your People Program w/ HR Consultant Dana Goodwin 095 : Dealing with Stress in the Cafe w/ Wellness Counselor, Joe Sanok Elevated batch brew and so much more! Ground Control Cyclops Brewer Your Own Branded App! www.espressly.co

This is an especially important time of the year for coffee shops. The holidays are where our hospitality skills are put to the ultimate test. In the midst of COVID lockdowns and never before seen strains on small businesses, the holidays are a great opportunity for us to more deeply establish our commitment to each other and to the customers through how we show up in the cafe. In today's episode we will be discussing some important points to consider as we enter into this season of holiday hospitality and how they will give you, your staff, and your customers the best chance at having a wonderful holiday season in spite of the present circumstances. We will cover: Empathy based action The gift significance Self-care, planning Organization and planning Attention and connection Honoring guests Checking in with and listening to staff Related Episodes: 058 : Holiday Hospitality 045 : Simple, Powerful Hospitality w/ Philip Turner 084 : Crushing the Rush : Tips and Best Practices for Busy Times 111 : Self Care 101: Taking care of yourself while taking care of others 176 : Harnessing Emotions at Work w/ Andrea Hoban of Oji Life Lab Episode 32: Making Order Out of Chaos Episode 57: SOPs FTW Starting a shop -or- want to level up you operations? KTTS Consulting can help! | Email me: Chris@keystotheshop.com The BEST in commercial coffee equipment! www.prima-coffee.com/keys Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks? www.pacificfoods.com/food-service

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 prevents us from seeing any substantive change take root. Today we are talking about this problem and how pain in the process a necessary apart of helping us make positive change. Related episodes: 200! : From Tragedy to Triumph! Navigating Change w/ Talor Browne of Talormade, Oslo, Norway 228 : Cracking the Leadership Code w/ Alain Hunkins 224 : Essentialism: Focusing on what truly Matters w/ Greg McKeown 176 : Harnessing Emotions at Work w/ Andrea Hoban of Oji Life Lab Elevated batch brew and so much more! Ground Control Cyclops Brewer Your Own Branded App! www.espressly.co

Actions are the products of mindsets and not all mindsets are beneficial. In fact, there are a few very common and very dangerous mindsets that will actually sabotage your success without you even knowing it. We will call it fate, the universe, circumstance but in actuality it could just be a problem in our minds. In today's episode we will going over what I believe are some of the more pernicious mindset traps we fall into that I have seen sabotage progress isn success. I have personally experienced all of these over the years and also seen the havoc they create in cafes. In addition to pointing out these thinking traps we will discover the mindset to replace it with in order to help you succeed and thrive. So let's dive into these mindsets with an open mind and start the process of fixing how we think to fix how we act. We will cover: Image vs. Substance Fast vs. Right Perfect vs. Good For power vs. From power Approval vs. Service Links: 067 : 6 Truths About Power : The Responsible Approach to Power Dynamics in the Cafe 194 : Encore Episode! Leadership in the Cafe: 10 Steps to being a People First Leader | Aired January 17 2017 Your peers are not your Customers Starting a shop -or- want to level up you operations? KTTS Consulting can help! | Email me: Chris@keystotheshop.com The BEST in commercial coffee equipment! www.prima-coffee.com/keys Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks? www.pacificfoods.com/food-service

I am thrilled to present this amazing conversation w/ Klaus Thompson to you all today! The Coffee Collective is at the top of a very short list of the world's best and most influential roasters. Today's guest, Klaus Thompson, is not only a Danish barista champion but is also the 2006 World Barista Champion. In 2007 Klaus, along with his co-founders Peter N. Dupont and Casper Engel Rasmussen, founded the Coffee Collective with a mission to build a different kind of coffee business from the ground up. One the focused on sustainability and hospitality both at the farm and in the cafe. For the last 13 years they have been growing the company slowly, responsibly, and are what many consider the vanguard of direct trade, transparent business practices, and the epitome of quality from seed to cup. Today they have a thriving wholesale business, global web store, and 6 amazing retail locations, and continue their positive impact on the specialty coffee industry. Of course, you don't get to this level without challenges, grit, determination, and lessons learned along the way. In this conversation we get an inside look into the story of the Coffee Collective from the first day until now and Klaus truly delivers some great insights and wisdom that we would do well to follow. We discuss: What it took to get started The goal of transforming the way coffee business is done Challenges in the early years Site selection and lessons from failures The value of starting small How retail fueled wholesale Creating a practical and personalized space Scaling the business and engaging customers Becoming more professional Prioritizing areas of the business Approach to sustainability Become a B-Corp Their long term goal and why it is never about profit Links: www.coffeecollective.dk Coffee Collective on Instagram Coffee Collective Youtube channel Related Episodes: 242 : A Conversation with James Hoffmann 196 : Understanding Customer Preferences w/ Peter Giuliano 118 : Founder Friday w/ Phil & Sebastian Coffee Roasters founders, Phil Robertson and Sebastian Sztabzyb 145: Founder Friday w/ Red Rooster Coffee Roasters co-founder, Haden Polseno-Hensley Starting a shop -or- want to level up you operations? KTTS Consulting can help! | Email me: Chris@keystotheshop.com The BEST in commercial coffee equipment! www.prima-coffee.com/keys Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks? www.pacificfoods.com/food-service

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 relational messes in the cafe. In today's episode we will talk about how you are NOT just one of the gang, why that is a good thing, and how to pull yourself out of that state if you have already gone down that path. Related Episodes: 141 : The 27 Challenges Managers Face w/ Bruce Tulgan 028 : Why it's Ok to be the Boss w/ Bruce Tulgan 226 : The Art of being Indispensable at Work w/Bruce Tulgan 229 : 7 Tips for New Managers Sponsors! Elevated batch brew and so much more! Ground Control Cyclops Brewer Your Own Branded App! www.espressly.co

How coffee is processed after the harvest is integral to whether or not it reaches its full flavor potential. Farmers depend on their crop's quality and consistency but all too often what happens during processing produces inconsistency and a less than full realization of that coffee's potential. Enter today's amazing guest, Lucia Solis! Lucia, specializes in "microbial demucilagination", or the use of microbes to process coffee following pulping. Born in Guatemala and raised in San Francisco, Lucia studied Viticulture and Enology at UC Davis prior to working in the wine industry in Napa Valley. In 2014 she started at Scott Laboratories and traveled to Central America applying commercial yeast strains at coffee mills to modulate flavors coming from the tank. Today she is an independent consultant working directly with coffee producers in origin countries to improve processing practices to increase quality. In her work she is able to help farmers control the variables in processing their coffee in order for them to efficiently produce consistent high quality coffee that opens up more opportunity for them to scale and thrive. In today's conversation we will be learning about her work and its implications for the future of farming. Additionally we will be discussing our role as retailers, roasters, and consumers in how we have communicated with and influenced the farming community in ways that have been potentially damaging and some helpful mindsets to adopt going forward that create a better chance of success for all parties. We will cover: The role of microbes and fermentation coffee production Why fermentation has been undervalued Bridging the gap between consumer and farmer Creating efficiency and scale Do microdots really help producers? Romance vs exploitation Where do processing traditions come from How we shape production How consistency is key to quality Links: www.luxia.coffee Instagram Related Episodes: 072: Taking an Origin Trip w/ Kim Elena-Ionescu : How to go to origin in a mutual beneficial way 060 : Serving the Coffee Plant w/ Hanna Neuschwander, World Coffee Research 020 Joe Marrocco : Transparency, Origin Knowledge,and Your Shop : How to approach and apply coffee origin information to enhance, not detract, from the cafe experience 140 : A conversation w/ Erika Vonie, Director of Coffee at Trade Coffee 153 : Exploring the Peace Trade in the Congo w/ Mighty Peace Coffee 138 : Joseph A. Rivera on Organic Acids and the Importance of Coffee Science Starting a shop -or- want to level up you operations? KTTS Consulting can help! | Email me: Chris@keystotheshop.com The BEST in commercial coffee equipment! www.prima-coffee.com/keys Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks? www.pacificfoods.com/food-service

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 there. Today we will be discussing how your shop can benefit from the impact of absence. Related Episodes: Working clean Fix the small stuff "It's not my Job" & Self-Sabotage The Customer Service Pro is not Always Right 2nd First Impression : Tips for Welcoming Customers Back Elevated batch brew and so much more! Ground Control Cyclops Brewer Your Own Branded App! www.espressly.co

These days community and connection are needed more than ever. There can be many hurdles to creating opportunities for having events whether in-person or online, but how we go about planning and execution those events does not have to be one of them! For 6 years The Barista League has been at the forefront of what it means to produce a community driven and community connecting event in specialty coffee. Today we will be talking with the founder of The Barista League, Steven Moloney. Steve Moloney is a two-time Swedish Barista Champion and founded The Barista League in 2015. Since then, his team has grown The Barista League's original coffee competition concept into a global brand across three continents. Whether it's throwing wild coffee parties, producing reality competition shows or running barista competitions, every project that The Barista League creates follows their three core values of Accessibility, Sustainability and Community. Steven is also the author of the organization's brand new book The Barista League's Guide to Planning Better Events - a practical guide of how to run coffee events for your community. In todays discussion with Steven we will be talking about how things have evolved over the years and in response to COVID, plus we will dive into some of the most important points in this new book. We wil cover: How they have grown and pivoted in 2020 Connecting the barista community Producing a great event in-person and online Balancing entertainment with content Breaking down and focusing on the details Focusing on who you are serving Keeping everyone's attention Communication Staffing and delegation Links: www.thebaristaleague.com Instagram Related Episodes: 163 : Lessons from Crush the Rush w/ Josh Little Field 195 : Organizing the Community w/ Espresso State of Mind founders Javier Alvarez and Joseph W. Gonzalez 146 : How to Host a Throwdown w/ Justin Shepherd of Spencers Coffee, Bowling Green, KY Starting a shop -or- want to level up you operations? KTTS Consulting can help! | Email me: Chris@keystotheshop.com The BEST in commercial coffee equipment! www.prima-coffee.com/keys Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks? www.pacificfoods.com/food-service

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 the best possible experience. Unfortunately, we (myself included) can sometimes default to pettiness rather than advocacy and generosity. On today's shift break we will be talking about re-making drinks and the motive and the mindset that drives good in-the-moment hospitality decisions. Related episodes: 030 : Casey Underkofler : Matching Your Service to Your Quality : How to Manage and Control the critical details of service so both the experience and product are excellent 016: Raising the Bar on your Customer Experience w/ Michael Butterworth 045 : Simple, Powerful Hospitality w/ Philip Turner 058 : Holiday Hospitality 084 : Crushing the Rush : Tips and Best Practices for Busy Times Visit our amazing sponsors!!! Elevated batch brew and so much more! Ground Control Cyclops Brewer Your Own Branded App! www.espressly.co