Why Connection Might Be the Most Powerful Business Strategy

(02:12) Technology should feel invisible in daily operations — when systems are intuitive and seamless, teams stay focused and guests receive better service.
(04:00) Microlearning through short, engaging formats gives teams the autonomy to learn on demand, reinforcing skills without disrupting the pace of service.
(08:36) Internal culture must align with public messaging. Guests and employees should experience the same values promised across all brand platforms.
(09:49) In off-premise channels, hospitality depends on operational accuracy and thoughtful packaging to communicate care when human interaction is absent.
(14:19) A mindset of ongoing curiosity helps leaders maximize existing systems, uncover new features and future-proof operations through better integrations.
(17:24) Asking about individual goals builds stronger team dynamics and helps leaders tailor growth opportunities to meet people where they are.
(19:13) Representation matters. When employees see someone who has navigated the journey before them, it expands their belief in what’s possible.
(22:29) Leadership requires emotional presence, courageous honesty and relational investment, especially in today’s socially fragmented, tech-driven world.
(24:01) Gratitude fosters perspective and contentment, anchoring both personal fulfillment and a more grounded, resilient organizational culture.

[00:00:00] Robin: Take those chances. And I think that's what emerging leadership is about, is seeing people in those roles, hearing their stories, hearing their journey, and being able to put themselves in those positions because they actually can see it lived out through someone else.
[00:00:16] Evan: Welcome to Wise Tales. We are joined here today by Robin Robinson. Robin is the president of Emerging Brands at Thrive Restaurant Group, leading two emerging brands, modern Market, eatery and Homegrown. [00:01:00] I. A daytime eatery with past leadership roles at Red Robin, Bob Evans and Chili's. She brings extensive experience in creating and executing winning strategies And a deep passion for developing strong teams and inspiring people to achieve outstanding results. During her time with Brinker, she served as the project leader for the Leadership Principles for Women Task Force, which she formed to create a best in class women leader mentorship program.
[00:01:27] Evan: This collaborative effort earned Robin, the Women's Food Service Forum Leadership Award given annually deserving women in the food service industry. Today, Robin continues to grow people first brands and lead with the belief that positive environments fuel positive results. Wow. Thank you for joining us today.
[00:01:49] Evan: that is an impressive pedigree, and we're very excited for this conversation.
[00:01:53] Robin: Thank you even. Thank you so much for having me on today. I'm really excited to talk a little bit more about, obviously [00:02:00] technology, but how technology can fuel people.
[00:02:02] Evan: That leads me into my first question for you. in our prep call, you said something that was really, really compelling. you said you enable people through technology. You help them grow through connection. Let's talk a little bit about the technology side first. What does that mean for you?
[00:02:20] Robin: Yeah, that's a really good question. I'm glad you captured that statement because I've reflected on that sense and I thought it is really interesting to think about what. What that means in terms of how we utilize technology as people, and then how people impact technology. So I would say first and foremost, technology has to be something that is easy and seamless for people.
[00:02:46] Robin: When it's hard, people step away from it. And so thinking about how to make technology as easy and seamless as possible, not just for your team members in restaurants or in hospitality, [00:03:00] but even for our guests to make the, the guest journey as easy and seamless as possible. I do think there's little things that can make a big difference too, that people may not even notice during a tech experience, right?
[00:03:14] Robin: Like years ago, video would, Not always play seamlessly or easily, and now video plays without even thinking about it. And if it doesn't work, all of a sudden, it's really problematic. And so making sure that all of the tech that you have built into your systems is easy and seamless for everybody. Feels like it's a really important piece of a team member journey and a guest journey along the way.
[00:03:41] Evan: And I think, on the YSL side, we, we hear that all the time. Our employees have different expectations than they used to. from the day when you put a VCR tape in the, in the TV and just hoped it would play, I. And so I guess, how have you found ways to use technology to help [00:04:00] enable people
[00:04:01] Robin: I think Wisetail is one of the ways we use it internally with our team members. we talk about how important it is to be able to log into wisetail. We call Wisetail Jukebox internally, and It's a just a fun terminology. We decided to call our platform, which is really powered by Wise Tale and we have a lot of little clips in there like sales records and they're actually, they look like records in a jukebox.
[00:04:27] Robin: It's really cute how we've taken it and branded it to match our concepts. In terms of being able to use Wisetail for our advantage to make it easy and seamless. You know, the thing for us is we have to make micro learning easy for our team members, and so small snippets, whether that's something to quickly read or whether that's an eLearn or whether that's a video, wisetail provides a platform for us to be able to do all of that and a platform where people can actually jump on.[00:05:00]
[00:05:00] Robin: Click in at their convenience and be able to either do exactly what I said, do that reading, or watch a quick video, or take a quick eLearn. So that's been one way that's been extremely helpful. I think the other thing for us is making sure that our documents are current and in concepts I've worked at in the past, where we haven't necessarily always embraced technology to the fullest or technology hasn't been available yet.
[00:05:27] Robin: It is really wonderful to be able to say, you know what, we're changing that process or that procedure or a brand standard, and to easily upload that into Wise Tale so that our people get the very best content and the most current content has been powerful mechanism from a technology perspective for us.
[00:05:48] Evan: I have so many questions about this, version control is always a challenge for organizations and especially when they're dispersed or you have multiple locations, and you need to communicate effectively. And I [00:06:00] would imagine, correct me if I'm wrong, this is where some of that intersection between technology delivering those things in the human connection piece.
[00:06:08] Evan: Making sure it's enforced in a certain location, making sure everyone is on the same page. That to me, seems like where some of that integration takes place. is that fair to say?
[00:06:18] Robin: I think that's totally fair to say. we use our wise tell platform or jukebox to actually post all of our communication as well, so. It pushes people to be checking the communication frequently, and then from there they can quickly take a link to whatever the updated process, procedure standard is or new, standard is.
[00:06:40] Robin: So it's been really seamless from a user acceptance perspective to be able to keep things current and updated and the version accurate in there.
[00:06:49] Evan: I just wanna highlight, I brought up the VHS tape thing before I recognize that jukebox was your site and so. I'm really in favor of just highlighting these vintage, sort [00:07:00] of throwback things all throughout this conversation.
[00:07:03] Robin: That's awesome. That's really fun. Really, really fun. Yeah.
[00:07:07] Evan: I do wanna dive in a little bit into that connection piece. and, you know, technology is an enabler and we still need that, that human to human component for sure. And I know you're really, really passionate about developing emerging leaders. Something that's near and dear to my heart as well. Particularly empowering women in your industry, how do you use technology to create some of those accessible opportunities? and then how does the personal interaction really amplify growth, boost confidence, all the things we know emerging leaders need learn through their journeys.
[00:07:42] Robin: so first of all, I, think I'll reference back to what we do at Thrive Restaurant Group, which would, which is. Our goal is always to help people thrive through what they do every day. What we do every day is run and operate restaurants, right? But [00:08:00] there's something special about a restaurant connection when a person gets involved.
[00:08:06] Robin: And so I think of it as you can tell your story. Internally and externally as much as you want on any social channel, on any platform. you can tell that story, but where it comes alive, where it becomes meaningful is when somebody comes into one of our restaurants and actually experiences that live and in person and they have to match Right?
[00:08:29] Robin: What you're telling people. On social or on any platform for that matter, even, and even print. it had better match and exceed what the guest expects and what the team member expects when they come into work that day. And so to me, technology is the enabler that brings that connection to life. You have to have the standards.
[00:08:50] Robin: You have to have the mission and the vision and the values, and be able to speak to those in a really rich manner. It's even more important when it comes to life through that [00:09:00] connection either, team member to team member, team member to manager, or to the guest, and that's where the special occurs. I think a lot of folks have had a big challenge, us included with as much off-premise work or off-premise sales channels that we have now that.
[00:09:21] Robin: How do you put that hospitality or that connection in a bag versus looking somebody in the face and smiling and thanking them for coming in and being kind to people. It's different. Right. And so we've talked a lot internally about what does the connection look like when it's a takeout, that you never ever see the guest.
[00:09:41] Robin: It's third party. And we've decided that, hospitality in a bag is making sure that we get it right for the guest. The guest may never see our face, they may never interact with one of our people, but if they open that bag and something's missing or something's incorrect. If they're gonna [00:10:00] remember that experience, and what we want them to remember is they open the bag and everything was right, everything was correct, the food was delicious, and at the end of the day, the connection is somebody cared enough to pack it correctly and make it correct.
[00:10:45] Evan: there is so much to impact. Right here. I really like the way you said that those experiential pieces need to meet or exceed expectations. We all have expectations, we all have partaken in certain [00:11:00] hospitality, experiences, and I am really. Interested in this hospitality in a bag because there is an interceding sort of third party that influences your experiences and your guest experiences.
[00:11:15] Evan: And so how have you continued to uphold those, those brand standards and those expectations? As things have continued to evolve and we have more ways, more channels to have hospitality delivered to us.
[00:11:32] Robin: I find that if you use technology to your advantage and you properly. Train and develop people with that technology, it becomes the enabler. And so it's something as small as having a, what we call a sticky printer or a chip that prints out for every takeout order with the full order on it and checking what's going into that bag against that [00:12:00] chi, making sure that, Your technology, your system is accurate. So whatever the guests may be ordering from their home or from their office, and they're saying, I don't want any tomatoes on that, or Please do this, that, that flows through from a technology perspective, either to a ticket into the restaurant. Or onto a kitchen display system of some sort so that the person on the end that's preparing that order can make that order as the guest specified.
[00:12:31] Robin: And then once that goes into the bag for me, the hospitality is, did we do it right? Did we do it on time? And did we exceed that guest expectation? Because so many people, so many companies are really struggling with that right now. I'm sure you've ordered, I've ordered from companies that it's hard, it's hard to get it right a hundred percent of the time.
[00:12:53] Robin: And so when you get it right, it's really amazing what the guest says about their experience.
[00:12:59] Evan: [00:13:00] It's unfortunate my guess is you do it right, so many opportunities that you're, you're afforded, but those one pieces that don't go right all the time seem to just happen to one person. And so, oh, luck of the draw on that for sure. really like the idea of, of where the special occurs.
[00:13:17] Evan: I think that is a really, really compelling sort of statement toward how everything intersects. And so, As we think about technology, it is increasing, speed to delivery. It sounds like you have been adding more technology systems with the printers and using that for some of your, your SOPs. What strategies or advice do you have for some of our listeners that would ensure that that technology piece as an enabler and that human connection piece.
[00:13:49] Evan: Coexist peacefully, and neither one is seen as superfluous versus the other.
[00:13:58] Robin: I think [00:14:00] technology is rapidly changing all the time. By the time you choose something, sometimes there's something new out there that you're like, oh, I wish we had that in our technology. Right? But I think the important thing to think about, for myself and probably others, is I. And it's one of our values internally at Thrive, is to stay curious and to be curious in everything that you do.
[00:14:24] Robin: Seek continuous understanding not only of your current systems, No matter how well you deploy something, you may not understand everything within that system to its fullest capacity. And so continuing to stay connected, continuing to be curious and discover what else a system can do or if piece of technology can do for you.
[00:14:49] Robin: Is it feels really important to me. We have a loyalty company that I can do continuous, discovery with and stay curious around because as those companies grow, [00:15:00] your company should be able to grow as well. Right. And so I tend to try to learn through our. Current systems as much as possible, and then tack onto that, what else is out there?
[00:15:14] Robin: What's new? Be that lifelong learner and say what else is possible? What else is new out there that we could potentially be taking advantage of? And in all of that. It feels important to ensure whatever choices you have or you make are compatible with each other. So open APIs are very, very important, and making sure the systems can speak to each other fluently and efficiently actually goes back to what I said at the beginning about ease and seamlessness for your, team members and your guests.
[00:15:49] Evan: So, you know, I'm gonna use this as a segue, because I promise to come back to this leadership development piece that I know could be an entire podcast all on its own, because. It is [00:16:00] so fascinating to me. But as you were describing rapidly changing technology, you talked about staying curious, continuous understanding, staying connected, and then that final piece that you just brought up was around compatibility.
[00:16:12] Evan: I would imagine those four tenets expand just beyond, thinking about technology and are part of. The philosophy around leadership development. Right. And so, coming back to my question that I obscured within another question before, how do you approach leadership development? you've had a long history of developing emerging leaders.
[00:16:38] Evan: How do you approach it and what, tools, what attributes do you. Hone in on to really amplify growth and boost confidence of some of your emerging leaders,
[00:16:50] Robin: Evan, I have to say that, I love the fact that you're even asking about that. Like it's such a. Almost a, a perspective within the [00:17:00] industry. That's an afterthought at times, right? Because we talk about developing people or training people, but we don't always expand upon leadership development, especially for our emerging leaders.
[00:17:14] Robin: And I think part of it. For me personally is going back to staying curious, staying curious about your people and what do they want in their careers? What are their aspirations? I call it hopes and dreams. What are their hopes and dreams? And I'll ask them directly that, what are your hopes and dreams? you'd be amazed at the answers that come out of people, honestly, and that, and it changes through the years, you know, life changes.
[00:17:38] Robin: So those answers change as well. but it's really important I think, for. Emerging leaders to be able to see people who have done it before them, who have paved the way and been on that journey as an example of what's possible for them. And oftentimes, especially [00:18:00] women leaders, don't always have that advantage.
[00:18:03] Robin: To see another woman in a position of leadership to really be able to think. I can do that. I absolutely 100% can do that. Now there's an old study that talks about if there are two people applying for the same position and the same position has the roles and responsibilities or the job description defined.
[00:18:26] Robin: And, a male will look at the job description and say, I have that. I have that. I have that. I don't have that, but I can learn it. A lot of women, on the other hand will say, I have that. I don't have that. I don't have that. I better not apply. And so the difference that I think emerging leaders can begin to think about is taking more of the stance of, I may not have it right now, but I'm capable and I'm energetic and I'm somebody that can learn and grow and contribute to [00:19:00] this organization in a really powerful way.
[00:19:02] Robin: I. Take those chances. And I think that's what emerging leadership is about, is seeing people in those roles, hearing their stories, hearing their journey, and being able to put themselves in those positions because they actually can see it lived out through someone else. And I do have to give a quick plug.
[00:19:21] Robin: I'm a founding member of lead and that stands for Leadership Exploration and Development. The organization has grown so tremendously over the last few years. It was born right before Covid and we've continued to work on the program. It's a hundred percent volunteer based. Nobody gets paid. It's a charitable Contribution of the heart and of the mind. And, we travel around the country three to four times a year, putting on basically a workshop. It's all, we get people to volunteer. These are CEOs, CDOs, COOs, across the industry to talk about [00:20:00] their journey to impart wisdom. everything from resilience to financial acumen, to just their own journey of leadership and how that happened for them.
[00:20:12] Robin: And it's a four or five hour session that people can ask questions and become involved. It's for men, it's for women, it's for emerging leaders. And it's all, given in a way that is, accessible to people depending on the city that it's in and very financially responsible. Some of these big conferences that focus on this are thousands of dollars.
[00:20:35] Robin: We charge less than $50 a session, and it's really to go into, our charity so that we can continue to do this across the country. So I'm really excited about what we're doing from a lead perspective.
[00:20:48] Evan: So. I am so appreciative that we, we started off this conversation talking about, helping people grow through connection. It sounds like this organization does exactly that. All [00:21:00] of the things you highlighted, seeing people who have done it before, modeling that behavior, that it can be done. Encouraging people to look at themselves with their own potential in mind versus their own experiences in mind.
[00:21:12] Evan: And I, appreciate that study that you brought up because that has been, Something near and dear to my heart to, to sort of flush some of that out too. and give emerging leaders the ability to see themselves differently and their capabilities differently. And so, learning to take chances.
[00:21:27] Evan: We, we all can take that to heart no matter where we sit, no matter what level we're at. Learn to take chances.
[00:21:35] Robin: I agree. I also think that it's not just taking chances, it's understanding that leadership isn't a destination. It's a journey. I learn every day from all of our people and from what they do and what they see. And I learn from peers. I have what I call my personal board of directors that I can text or call at any time and say, I'm struggling with this and they're gonna a tell me the truth, [00:22:00] right?
[00:22:00] Robin: You need those people that are gonna tell you the truth no matter what, even if it's a little hurtful. It's amazing how it helps you on your journey of leadership. but there are also people who are just gonna show up. I think showing up for people is one of the hardest things, especially in our society that's So driven by social media right now.
[00:22:19] Robin: Back to that word connection. Every human wants a connection. Every human wants to thrive in this world, and it takes other humans to help you do that. And the more we can show up for each other and be there for each other, even if it's a truth that hurts. That's okay. You're still showing up for somebody else.
[00:22:40] Robin: And I think that's the biggest part of my leadership journey is knowing that, and not just doing it, but allowing others to do it for me.
[00:22:49] Evan: So this leads me into my last question, and we ask this of every guest, and I am particularly excited to hear your response to this because you've had so many nuggets of wisdom throughout this [00:23:00] conversation.
[00:23:01] Evan: if you could create your own custom bumper sticker. You know, withholding judgment on whether or not people use bumper stickers or should use bumper stickers, but if you were to create your own, what would it say and why?
[00:23:14] Robin: Oh my gosh. So you'd have to have a really big car for, or truck or vehicle for my bumper sticker. But I often say this to a lot of people in my family and to people I work with, but being grateful for what you have turns what you have into enough.
[00:23:34] Evan: Oh my gosh. Those are true words of wisdom.
[00:23:39] Robin: I have it posted in my kitchen. I don't know why I selected my kitchen, but I have it in my kitchen and I think it's. It's like the recipe for life, and maybe that's why I put it in my kitchen. But being grateful for what you have turns what you have into enough. And I think there's times in our lives where we're chasing something.
[00:23:58] Robin: We're chasing [00:24:00] whatever the next role in our career, or a new home or a new ex, whatever it is. Not X as in X, but whatever it ends up being right. And just stopping and taking a deep breath and thinking about. Wow, what I have is really amazing and the gratitude. I'm a big Brene Brown fan and she talks a lot about gratitude
[00:24:24] Robin: It turns everything you have into enough when you sit and practice in gratitude.
[00:24:30] Evan: There's the special sauce recipe for success. I appreciate that, Robin. I cannot thank you enough for being a guest with us today. I. took copious notes during this conversation because not only do I think, obviously the technology piece is incredibly informative and I, I think that will help bridge some gaps for a lot of our listeners.
[00:24:49] Evan: But I think equally important is exactly what you called out that tech, or the, the, connection piece is recognizing all humans are on a journey [00:25:00] to thrive. The name of your restaurant group. and so I am very, very grateful for your willingness to participate and, and share your journey with us.
[00:25:12] Robin: Steven, thank you so much for having me. It was really a joy. I appreciate it and I look forward to our partnership in the future.
[00:25:19] Evan: Thank you.
[00:25:20] Robin: Thank you.