Buns, Burgers & Big Ideas

"How do you follow Will Smith in the snow?" "You follow the fresh prints." Today Eric and Riley have a good laugh at themselves and share how a good sense of humor can help you connect and lead your teams. With the likes of Simon Sinek on TikTok and his words of wisdom, the pair discuss how having fun, laughing and telling dad jokes can help boost your culture. Thanks for listening and please feel...

On this comedy run we stumbled across Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart's movie Central Intelligence and in this clip Kevin hart is asked if he's in or out. As it turn out it's harder to get your team's buy-in sometimes. Eric and Riley discuss the clip and emphasize the importance of building trust with your team. It's okay to be out but you have to be honest about it! Thanks for listening and please...

Have you ever read a text from your boss and thought, "What the heck!", well Eric and Riley dive into the world of miscommunication. It's hard to understand tone and intention in a text message or group chat. Key + Peele from Comedy Central shows an exaggerated example of miscommunication through texting. Thanks for listening and please feel free to contact us with feedback or if you have any insi...

Today the duo discuss overwhelming your team with to many high priorities. Focus can get lost quickly if your team doesn't know what's actually important. Think "if everything is important, nothing is", as leaders we have to be clear and focused with our goals. The team needs that to perform with confidence. They understand that there will be many priorities in your restaurant and that those prior...

Today Eric and Riley talk about succession planning! In the fast food industry it's more important than ever because of our innate high turnover. They talk about ways to identify and develop people that you might want to invest in. It's important to follow through on your investment! Avoid the crisis promoting and develop your people into the leaders they can be. Thanks for listening and please fe...

We have a guest today! Hailey Benish is our organization's Employee Relations Coordinator, she works directly with our leadership team to help coach and develop them, as well as handles many general HR functions. Eric and Riley chat with her about the importance of accountability (+ the 4C's) to really understand how Clarity, Coaching, Consistency and Consequences really matter in our restaurants....

Short cuts sound great, but they usually are the longest road. Eric and Riley talk about their experiences with taking short cuts and caution against them. It might seem worth it but they are a gamble and it's better to take the time and do it right than risk mistakes or problems down the road. Don't be intentional in giving something less than it deserves! Share your story about a short cut with...

Today Eric and Riley dive into the different roles in our restaurants and what comes with it. Every role is important and is vital to a restaurants success. It's up to the leaders in the restaurant to help empower and develop them to be successful and beyond. They also don't take for granted the team members who perform the simplest of tasks because we will miss them if they leave! Thanks for list...

Today Eric and Riley discuss the difference between asking closed and open questions. While both are necessary the true gold in a conversation is mined by using open ended questions. They provide texture and context about how the team member thinks, what they value and who they are! It's a great way to connect with people. If their body language says otherwise you know to walk slowly through the c...

Today Eric and Riley share the exciting news that their organization just launched a rewards system that helps keep employees engaged and empowers them to choose what prizes they want! Earning points on Birthday's & Anniversaries to hitting key targets, our team can redeem the points they earn for exciting prizes or raffles! Pizza parties are one thing but this is some exciting stuff! Take a liste...

We need to talk. Meet me in my office. HR has been invited to this meeting. These are all gut wrenching things your manager or boss might say to you. This episode Eric and Riley discuss how to have hard conversations with our people with opportunities. Set the standard, have consistent meetings and hold them accountable. The conversations might not get easier but they will become more natural. It'...

It's tax time, W2s are being sent out and everyone is excited to get their refund. We want everyone to be successful and have the tools and resources to make good decisions. We work hard for our money! Listen as Eric and Riley chat with the Vice President of Illinois Bank & Trust, Kay Wadsworth, about some things to watch out for with your money especially during tax season! Thanks for listening a...

Today Eric & Riley dive into building habits and sticking to them so they are just like tying your shoes! They find that sometimes motivation and big ideas only get you so far. Shorter episode today but what are you going to do to take that next step into your healthy habit? Thanks for listening and please feel free to contact us with feedback or if you have any insights to share we are here for y...

Today's episode Eric and Riley talk about how to handle poor attendance in your team. We've all heard the question when calling people in to work "Who's the manager?" While it's easy to place blame and talk about the one's who don't show up, why not motivate the team that did show up! Thanks for listening and please feel free to contact us with feedback or if you have any insights to share we are...

Have a hard time connecting with your team? Small talk awkward? Today Riley and Eric break down how to connect with your team! It sounds cheesy but you can connect over topics as simple as the weather. Find out how by listening! Thanks for listening and please feel free to contact us with feedback or if you have any insights to share we are here for you! 📧: bx3leadership@gmail.com 📱: ‪(608) 728-...

Eric & Riley are back with level 2 of leadership! If you missed last weeks episode be sure to learn more about level 1 leadership. This is the relationship level, where you really start to connect with your team. They stick around because they want to not because they have to. Learn to listen actively and observe! Thanks for listening and please feel free to contact us with feedback or if you have...

Eric and Riley discuss the John Maxwell Levels of Leadership and start to define what Level 1 Leadership really is and it's importance. Level 1 allows us the time to grow and develop ourselves to be the best leader and get to the next level which they will talk about next week! It's all about finding out what type of leader you want to be and using these Levels of Leadership to guide you will prod...

This episode is jam packed with practical tips on dealing with upset guests. Eric and Riley debrief the LCR concept. Listen, Connect and Resolve are our team's secret sauce when handling these types of feedback. Think about a time where this might be helpful with the kiddos too! Listen, learn and lead with us! Thanks for listening and please feel free to contact us with feedback or if you have any...

On today's episode Eric and Riley define customer satisfaction and accepting feedback. It's not all that bad! It's what we choose to do with that feedback that really matters. The customer wants us to get better and be better, let's show them we can and take their feedback seriously. Listen, Learn and lead with us! Thanks for listening and please feel free to contact us with feedback or if you hav...

Riley and Eric share what our organization's vision is as well as our WIG! We don't mean the things you wear on your head. We mean Wildly Important Goals! We are setting the standard for our team and that makes all the difference! Listen, Learn and Lead with us! Thanks for listening and please feel free to contact us with feedback or if you have any insights to share we are here for you! 📧: bx3le...

Eric and Riley have a special guest on the podcast to dive deeper into Emotional Intelligence. Amanda Kieper has been teaching public speaking and leadership development at Rock Valley College for over 25 years. She is also a Clinical Mental Health Counselor and a Corporate Trainer who loves helping people uncover blind spots, recognize and break unhealthy patterns, and design lives that lead to f...

Bonus Episode! This episode is Buns, Burgers &. Big Idea's first BONUS episode. Eric & Riley have a big meeting coming up and they share tips on how to prepare and attend a meeting. A growth mindset and planning ahead of time will help ensure a successful meeting. Participate, learn and lead! Thanks for listening and please feel free to contact us with feedback or if you have any insights to share...

In this episode Eric and Riley discuss ways to help grow our confidence. Sometimes it's as easy as doing. They discuss how taking risks can pay off when we step outside our comfort zone and just try it. You never know what might happen! Thanks for listening and please feel free to contact us with feedback or if you have any insights to share we are here for you! 📧: bx3leadership@gmail.com 📱: ‪(6...

Eric & Riley talk about empowering your team and the importance and power it has. It's a great way to motivate your people. It can be scary but listen close and learn how to be more comfortable with empowering your team! Thanks for listening and please feel free to contact us with feedback or if you have any insights to share we are here for you! 📧: bx3leadership@gmail.com 📱: ‪(608) 728-8103‬

We're not talking therapy rather how do we manage our team's and our own emotions. Jam packed with emotional intelligence and real life examples on how to connect with guests and customers. We have to take care of our customers on both sides of the counter! It all starts with knowing yourself and taking steps to get to know your team. Join us! Thanks for listening and please feel free to contact u...